---
title: 'Strategy & Operations | Payments Lead at Authentic'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/strategy-operations-payments-lead-authentic-new-york-6m8ne08f51my'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-11-09'
---

# Strategy & Operations | Payments Lead at Authentic

- **Company:** Authentic
- **Location:** New York, NY
- **Posted:** 2026-10-29
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-11-09
- **Apply:** https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/authenticinsurance/jobs/4472304009

## Job description

Authentic is a tech-enabled MGA (managing general agent). We design and run insurance programs for specific kinds of businesses, like restaurants, gyms, and power producers. Brokers bring us the businesses that need coverage, and carriers back our policies. Every program runs on a platform we built ourselves, and we own every line of code behind it. Engineers and insurance experts build it side by side in New York and Dayton, Ohio. Since our founding in 2022, we’ve grown to 80+ people and been named to the 2026 CB Insights Insurtech 50.

## The Role

We are looking for a high-agency generalist to join as our first Strategy & Operations hire. Our rapid growth over the past year has created a substantial opportunity to bring structure and automation to our core business processes. You will take ownership of some of our most pressing operational challenges, solve problems across teams, and help build the technology and systems that will allow our business to scale with best-in-class efficiency.

## What You'll Do

- Own the outcomes - starting with financial operations, you will own the core workflows and KPIs across payments, collections, reconciliation, reporting, compliance, and more. Understand where things break down, set priorities, and drive measurable improvements.
- Build technology to increase efficiency - use the subject matter expertise you develop to serve as a product lead, identifying the highest-impact opportunities, defining what we should build, and working with engineering to turn manual workflows into software and agents that create operating leverage.
- Build repeatable processes - establish clear owners, handoffs, and documentation so routine work runs reliably without requiring you to manage every step.
- Drive cross-functional execution - work with GMs, Finance, and other teams to resolve complex issues. Get the right people involved, make decisions, and carry solutions through to completion.

## Who You Are

- 2-4 years of experience in a high-intensity environment like investment banking, consulting, private equity, venture capital, or startups.
- Proactive - you don't wait for explicit instructions. You seek out problems, scope solutions, and drive them to resolution with minimal oversight.
- Low ego - you have no problem rolling up your sleeves to do whatever it takes to help the business win. No task is beneath you.
- Wants ownership and responsibility - being fully responsible for an outcome gives you energy. You're someone who wants to choose the approach and be accountable for the result.
- Reliable - you follow through on commitments and consistently deliver. You are known as someone who never drops the ball.
- Self-sufficient and a quick learner - you are resourceful and naturally try to figure things out before asking for help. You pick things up quickly and can find solutions to problems without an existing playbook.

## Why This Role

- Set the foundation - as our first Strategy & Operations hire, you will help define the function, how it works with each team, and what good looks like. You’ll have the opportunity to create the playbook, so what you build becomes the standard.
- Room for growth - you will have significant opportunities to expand your scope, take on more responsibility, and own more of the product roadmap as you build expertise and deliver results.
- Define AI-native operations - you will be on the frontlines of figuring out how to build software and leverage AI to fundamentally improve the economics of running a tech-enabled services business.

## Compensation

This role pays a base salary of $130,000-$160,000 and includes meaningful equity, so you’ll have real ownership in what we’re building. Your offer will depend on your experience and skills. Our (FTE) benefits

- Competitive salary, equity, and role trajectory
- Comprehensive health benefits for you and your family
- 401(k) plan with company match
- Unlimited PTO
- Paid parental leave

## About Authentic

Authentic builds the infrastructure that program insurance runs on. We partner with leading brokerages to design and manage custom insurance programs, backed by A and A- rated carriers operating nationwide. Brokers bring the data and distribution. We bring everything else: the technology, the capacity, and the underwriting expertise to stand up specialized programs at speed and build them to last.  We’re a Series A company backed by top investors, including FirstMark Capital, Zigg Capital, Slow Ventures, Clocktower, Commerce Ventures, and Altai. We’ve grown over 15x in the past year with a massive market opportunity ahead.

Authentic is committed to building an inclusive working environment regardless of gender, sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity, race, education, age, or other personal characteristics. We believe that people do their best work when they can be themselves, and different perspectives and experiences make us stronger as a team. We’re proud of the supportive and inclusive workplace we're building together and are always working to make it even better.

## About Authentic

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Authentic provides technology infrastructure that enables insurance brokers to design, manage, and distribute custom, tech-enabled insurance programs.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Seed and Series A funded)
- **Headquarters**: New York City, New York, United States
- **Founded**: Not publicly available (earliest known funding round in 2022)
- **Founders**: Cole Riccardi (CEO & Cofounder), Kyle Babirad (COO & Cofounder), Saravana Kumar (CTO & Cofounder)

## Core Business
- **Primary industry**: Insurance technology (program insurance, captive insurance, specialty commercial insurance)
- **Target customers**: B2B – insurance brokers, carrier partners, and community organizations (associations, SaaS companies, affinity groups)
- **Mission or purpose**: “Powering the future of program insurance” – helping brokers create tailored, proprietary insurance products with better economics and less administrative friction.

## Products & Services
- **Authentic Platform (Program Insurance OS)**: An end-to-end insurance program management solution that includes a rate-quote-bind engine, compliance support, and partnerships with A- and A-rated carriers. Brokers use it to launch and manage specialized programs, earning higher commissions (25% on average) while carriers improve margins. [authenticinsurance.com](https://authenticinsurance.com/)
- **Captive Insurance Programs**: A service that allows community leaders (e.g., associations, SaaS platforms) to launch captive insurance programs, returning insurance to its roots of pooled risk within a community. [builtin.com](https://builtin.com/company/authentic-authenticinsurancecom)

## Market Standing
- **Valuation**: Not disclosed
- **Key Metrics**:
  - Annual Revenue: $2.1M (estimated) [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/authentic-insurance)
  - Total Funding: $20.5M across three rounds (Seed 2022: $4.0M, Seed 2023: $5.5M led by Slow Ventures, Series A 2024: $11.0M led by FirstMark) [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/authentic-insurance)
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Slow Ventures, FirstMark, and other undisclosed investors; partners with A/A- rated carriers nationwide.
- **Growth Signals**:
  - Headcount grew 123.1% year-over-year (from ~17 to 38 employees) [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/authentic-insurance)
  - Active job postings: 12 (as of mid-2025), with a 33.3% monthly increase in listings [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/authentic-insurance)
  - Offices in New York City (HQ) and Dayton, Ohio; expanding into healthcare underwriting programs.

## Competitive Advantages
- **Tech-enabled infrastructure**: The only end-to-end program management platform built for speed, scale, and customization – reduces friction for brokers and carriers.
- **Vertical specialization**: Programs are built in verticals where Authentic delivers real competitive advantage in form, pricing, and compliance.
- **Better economics**: Brokers earn 25% higher commissions on average; carriers improve margins through data-driven underwriting.
- **Experienced leadership team**: Blend of insurance entrepreneurs, seasoned technologists, and finance operators who “genuinely love insurance” and are committed to long-term value creation. [authenticinsurance.com/who-we-are](https://authenticinsurance.com/who-we-are)

## Strategic Focus
- **Program insurance as a structural shift**: Authentic believes specialized programs are not a trend but the new unit of progress in commercial insurance.
- **Expanding into new verticals**: Currently hiring a Program Manager for Healthcare Underwriting, indicating a push into healthcare-related insurance programs.
- **Continuous platform investment**: Hiring software engineers in data, platform, and product to further develop the technology stack (PostgreSQL, Snowflake, Python, TypeScript, React, etc.). [job-boards.greenhouse.io/authenticinsurance](http://job-boards.greenhouse.io/authenticinsurance)

## Why Work Here
- **Culture**: Described as a “unique blend of insurance entrepreneurs, seasoned technologists, and finance-minded operators” who are deeply passionate about the craft of insurance. [authenticinsurance.com/who-we-are](https://authenticinsurance.com/who-we-are)
- **Work environment**: In-office roles in New York City (HQ) and Dayton, Ohio. The company emphasizes in-person collaboration. [builtin.com](https://builtin.com/company/authentic-authenticinsurancecom)
- **Growth stage**: Rapidly scaling (123% headcount growth) with significant funding runway – offers early-stage impact with established backing.
- **Engineering focus**: Strong technical roles available (Software Engineer – Data, Platform, Product) with a modern stack; the team is building infrastructure that directly impacts the economics of insurance.
- **Notable perks**: Not explicitly detailed, but the company offers the chance to work on “one simple, powerful OS” that is reshaping a multi-trillion-dollar industry.

## Sources
1. [authenticinsurance.com](https://authenticinsurance.com/)
2. [authenticinsurance.com/who-we-are](https://authenticinsurance.com/who-we-are)
3. [job-boards.greenhouse.io/authenticinsurance](http://job-boards.greenhouse.io/authenticinsurance)
4. [linkedin.com/company/authentic-insurance](https://www.linkedin.com/company/authentic-insurance)
5. [builtin.com/company/authentic-authenticinsurancecom](https://builtin.com/company/authentic-authenticinsurancecom)

## Other roles at Authentic

- [Customer Success Agent](https://feeny.ai/job/customer-success-agent-authentic-dayton-1t7yydnqy5dh) — Dayton, OH
- [Program Development Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/program-development-manager-authentic-new-york-6n15mktjene2) — New York, NY
- [Sr. Software Engineer - Platform](https://feeny.ai/job/sr-software-engineer-platform-authentic-new-york-0sdg042evxr7) — New York, NY
- [Senior Claims Specialist](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-claims-specialist-authentic-dayton-x68v9k717ybc) — Dayton, OH
- [Pricing Actuary](https://feeny.ai/job/pricing-actuary-authentic-dayton-n4dfa72synxz) — Dayton, OH
- [Sr. Software Engineer - Product](https://feeny.ai/job/sr-software-engineer-product-authentic-new-york-yb3dzy9yq5jk) — New York, NY
- [Software Engineer - Platform](https://feeny.ai/job/software-engineer-platform-authentic-new-york-a3zjr445n2qx) — New York, NY
- [New Grad Software Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/new-grad-software-engineer-authentic-new-york-kc0ga601bahc) — New York, NY