Jake Walker Email & Phone Number

Southgate, Mi, Us

Southgate, Mi, Us

Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States

Chicago, Illinois, United States

Daily collaboration with newly acquired company, Gateless, Inc., to develop an AI-powered underwriting process. Frequent participation in collaborative sessions to review their machine learning rules and applied credit policy knowledge to inform rules, ensuring the process was in compliance with lending guidelines. Conducted rigorous testing of loans to confirm the accuracy and quality of the automated system. All work was managed through Jira. Additionally, conducted research and analysis on various underwriting projects to identify opportunities for increased efficiency, using advanced Excel skills to extract insights and report findings to the management team for any additional action that needed to be taken.

Chicago, Illinois, United States

Using the Encompass LOS, the role consisted of doing a final review of a loan profile to account for any changes and ensure the file was still in compliance with selling guidelines. One of the key differences in this role, however, was that these were requests made by a member of the Sales, Processing, or Closing team to make a change to some aspect of the loan at the last minute, which involved a lot more communication with other business areas. A significant opportunity to improve the overall process presented itself and I took the initiative to put my experience as a Business Analyst to use (details are in the Projects section of my profile). After the aforementioned project was completed, a role was created for me as a Project Specialist, so I could continue my work as a business analyst.

Detroit, Michigan, United States

As part of an Agile team, responsible for analyzing business requirements and collaborating with cross-functional teams to identify opportunities for process improvement and automation. Worked with business partners to gather and document requirements and translate them into technical specifications. Contributed to the design and development of new solutions and provided support for existing applications. Conducted testing and quality assurance of solutions to ensure optimal performance and user experience. This role mirrored the Business Analyst role, but the team focused on a different business area.

Detroit, Michigan, United States

I went into this role with no prior coding experience, with the intention of learning C# on the job through paired coding, mentorship, and self-learning to add to my skillset as a business analyst.Through this immersive experience, I expanded my knowledge of software development through observing the design, coding, testing, debugging, and deployment processes.

Detroit, Michigan, United States

Worked as part of an Agile team to support the Underwriting department. I communicated daily with our engineers and underwriting leadership to identify business requirements, potential technology solutions, and ensure that any changes kept us in compliance with selling guidelines. In addition to technology changes, there were also opportunities for non-tech solutions, like process changes.Additional aspects of the role were documenting both current and future-state process, creating training documentation, and implementing the training to the affected team members.

Detroit, Michigan, United States

As a Business Consultant at Quicken Loans, I worked as part of an internal consulting team that was focused on both existing processes and identifying opportunities for leadership and the technology teams to create new processes to improve the company’s quality, efficiency, and production. In this role, I would embed myself into a particular business area, shadow both leadership and production team members to learn their daily process as thoroughly and quickly as possible. After documenting the current state, my findings were analyzed to look for any opportunities to improve the process, while always making sure that the client’s experience would also remain positive. I was actively involved in monthly prioritization meetings with senior leadership from underwriting and technology teams, where I would present my findings and make my pitch for a project, along with other consultants from my team. The meetings involved conversations and negotiations with all parties to allocate the resources needed to start a project or a smaller sized pilot to test out the proposal, and by the end, senior leadership would vote on the prioritization of all projects presented to them. Since many of the projects that the Technology teams work on originated from Business Consultant proposals, I would often be a point of contact for them if they needed additional information or clarification. When one of my proposed solutions was being worked on by the Technology teams, or if it was a process change that did not require technology updates, I was often tasked with creating training material myself or collaborating with the training department on it for the teams affected by the change. This role required a strong ability to work cross-functionally and build relationships with other business areas.

Detroit, Michigan, United States

As a Final Signoff Underwriter with DE Certification, I was responsible for conducting a thorough re-underwrite of all loans processed through the company to ensure quality and compliance with government selling guidelines. While some front-end/initial underwriting activities were performed as needed, my primary focus was on reviewing loans that had already been underwritten and meeting all underwriting conditions. Depending on the loan type, this involved reviewing loan files and making sure they met either conventional or FHA product type guidelines, for both retail and wholesale channels. As a DE Certified underwriter, I had the expertise to underwrite FHA mortgages to meet the necessary standards. In this position I would continue my previous role of teaching new team members and aiding in whatever way I could. My attention to detail and dedication to ensuring compliance helped to maintain a high standard of quality in the loans processed by Quicken Loans.

Detroit, Michigan, United States

As a Team Captain of Underwriting, I acted as a servant leader for my team, balancing my own underwriting duties with the responsibility of ensuring maximum productivity and efficiency from each team member. It was very important to me that I frequently communicated with my team members and made sure that they felt both heard and respected. In this role, I provided guidance and support to team members by helping with the underwriting process, regularly shadowing team members to identify inefficiencies and teaching best practices to increase production and efficiency. I would help lead daily stand-up meetings with the team where any new process changes were explained, and it also allowed the team members an opportunity to ask any questions that they had or advice they wished to share with the group. Additionally, I conducted one-on-one meetings with team members to provide constructive feedback and to receive feedback myself, so that I could also grow. Through my efforts, I helped to develop a high-performance team that consistently met or exceeded production goals while maintaining quality standards and grew as a leader through the working relationships that I built with the team.

Detroit, Michigan, United States

In all three of these roles, my primary responsibility was to conduct a risk analysis of the loan file, including credit, income, assets, and property. The analysis was done to ensure creditworthiness and compliance with all applicable lending guidelines. The primary differences amongst the roles were the complexity of the file and the stage in the loan process. In the Underwriter and Final Signoff Underwriter roles, I took an active role in teaching and mentoring new team members, providing feedback and sharing best practices. My interest in these areas led me to enter a leadership role in the Underwriting teams.

Greater Detroit Area

As the Staff Accountant, I played a crucial role in maintaining financial records for Blue Line Foodservice Distribution. Conducted balance sheet account reconciliation, tracked, and updated fixed assets, and ensured the accuracy of rent and lease agreements across all distribution centers. Handled period end processes, which included preparing journal entries and financial statements. Served as the primary contact for Little Caesar's tax department, providing year-end reporting and apportionment schedules to both corporate and to outside accounting firms during annual audits.

Greater Detroit Area

As an Accounts Payable Clerk, I was responsible for ensuring the timely and accurate payment of invoices for both Little Caesar's and Subway products and equipment across 12 distribution centers.