Patreon is a media and community platform where over 300,000 creators give their biggest fans access to exclusive work and experiences. We offer creators a variety of ways to engage with their fans and build a lasting business including: paid memberships, free memberships, community chats, live video, and selling to fans directly with one-time purchases.

Ultimately our goal is simple: fund the creative class. And we're leaders in that space, with: $10 billion+ generated by creators since Patreon's inception, 100 million+ free memberships for fans who may not be ready to pay just yet, and 25 million+ paid memberships on Patreon today.

About the Role

We're continuing to invest heavily in building the best creator platform with the best team in the creator economy and are looking for a Head of Risk Engineering to support our mission.

This role is based in San Francisco and open to those who are able to be in-office 2 days per week on a hybrid work model.

Responsibilities

• Own Patreon’s Risk strategy and execution across Trust & Safety, Security, Fraud Prevention, and Compliance—ensuring alignment with company objectives and evolving regulatory landscapes.
• Lead and grow a team of engineers responsible for building scalable systems to identify, mitigate, and respond to platform risks.
• Partner cross-functionally with Legal, Product and Safety & Fraud Operations to implement controls that minimize fraud, abuse, and regulatory risk while preserving user experience.
• Design and oversee the development of systems that monitor suspicious behavior, prevent payment fraud, and enforce content moderation policies.
• Build automated solutions to ensure best in-class data protection and prevention of abuse at scale.
• Thought leader and advisor to the executive team on emerging risks, global compliance requirements (e.g., PCI, OFAC, GDPR), and security best practices.

Requirements

• A strong technical background; experience leading software engineering teams and developing risk-related systems at scale.
• Experience in marketplaces or platforms that handle UGC.
• Significant experience managing high performing teams w/a focus on Security or Risk.
• Significant experience in engineering leadership roles managing multiple teams.
• Proven success building and scaling cross-functional programs that combine technical solutions, policy, and operations.
• Deep understanding of financial fraud prevention, abuse detection, data privacy regulations, and trust frameworks.
• Strong cross-functional communication and collaboration; the ability translate complex risks into prioritized business impact.

Preferred Qualifications

• Strong technical background in Security; experience securing platforms with high financial throughput and user-generated content.
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or a related field, or the equivalent

Patreon is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We provide employment opportunities without regard to age, race, color, ancestry, national origin, religion, disability, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, veteran status, or any other protected class.

Patreon offers a competitive benefits package including and not limited to salary, equity plans, healthcare, flexible time off, company holidays and recharge days, commuter benefits, lifestyle stipends, learning and development stipends, patronage, parental leave, and 401k plan with matching.