VP, Loyalty Technology Leader

Company: Synchrony Financial
Location: Costa Mesa
Posted on: February 2, 2026

Job Description:

Job ID: 2600172Job Description:Role Summary / PurposeThe Vice President, Loyalty Technology Leader will provide technical leadership and strategic vision for Synchrony’s loyalty systems and capabilities, with a strong focus on innovating for the future of loyalty. This role requires deep expertise in current loyalty platforms and technologies, combined with a thorough understanding of overarching business processes to ensure loyalty initiatives support broad enterprise goals. The leader will define and execute a transformative loyalty roadmap aligned with Synchrony’s long-term business objectives. This role manages a high-performing, diverse team consisting of individuals across various leadership and development stages, fostering a culture that motivates, develops, and retains talent through change and innovation. The leader will collaborate closely with the Loyalty Center of Excellence (LCOE) to co-create and execute this vision, ensuring the team is engaged and empowered throughout the journey.Our Way of WorkingWe’re proud to offer you choice and flexibility. At Synchrony, our way of working allows you to have the option to work from home near one of our Hubs or come into one of our offices. Occasionally you may be required to commute to our nearest office for in person engagement activities such as business or team meetings, training and culture events.Essential ResponsibilitiesDemonstrate deep understanding of overarching business processes to ensure loyalty program technologies and operations are aligned with broader enterprise strategies and objectives.Lead, develop, and inspire a high-performing team with diverse skill levels, including varied leadership and technical expertise, fostering professional growth and a culture of continuous improvement.Partner effectively with the Loyalty Center of Excellence (LCOE) to co-create strategy, align priorities, and drive accountability while maintaining strong team morale and engagement.Continue to enhance and evolve loyalty capabilities and features via the Synchrony Rewards System (SRS), ensuring the platform remains competitive and adaptable to future needs.Deliver critical files, APIs, and integrations to support end-to-end connectivity of loyalty solutions across Synchrony clients, internal platforms, and third-party loyalty systems.Provide visionary leadership and develop strategies to advance the loyalty product roadmap in alignment with organizational goals.Drive measurable business outcomes through innovative loyalty technology solutions that enhance customer engagement and revenue growth.Build and maintain strong cross-functional relationships with the LCOE, Growth Product Team, client marketing managers, IT leaders, architects, developers, vendors, and other stakeholders to ensure seamless delivery of loyalty services and continuity.Lead by example, fostering a collaborative and high-performance team environment that supports Synchrony’s culture and enhances employee engagement metrics.Demonstrate deep subject matter expertise in loyalty systems, especially Fiserv’s Premier Loyalty Platform and other leading loyalty technologies.Apply extensive Agile experience to lead and manage complex client launches, migrations, and loyalty platform enhancements, ensuring adherence to Agile methodology and Synchrony’s Office of Agile standards.Establish and enforce best practices for application release management, outage and change management, and operational controls.Manage and mitigate operational risks associated with loyalty program delivery, ensuring compliance with regulatory and corporate standards.Oversee program delivery timelines, budget adherence, quality control, and risk mitigation across internal teams and third-party vendors.Foster peer, cross-functional, and cross-business collaboration to drive best practices and operational effectiveness.Take financial ownership of program budgets, ensuring fiscal responsibility and resource optimization.This role requires flexibility in travel. Candidates must be comfortable with travel and adaptable to a dynamic schedule.Perform other duties and/or special projects as assigned.Qualifications/RequirementsBachelor’s degree with a minimum of 10 years of IT experience, or in lieu of degree, a high school diploma/GED with at least 15 years of IT experience.At least 5 years of loyalty-specific experience, preferably from management consulting delivering large-scale IT loyalty solutions or from outsourced application development and operations management.Minimum 10 years managing large, direct and matrixed teams demonstrating strong leadership abilities.Minimum 10 years of experience in the payments industry or a closely related financial services environment.Ability and flexibility to travel for business as requiredDesired CharacteristicsExposure to, or interest in, AI-driven insights and emerging technologies that have the potential to transform loyalty and customer engagement.Ability to develop and communicate a compelling, forward-looking loyalty vision that integrates AI-driven insights and emerging technologies to position Synchrony as a market leader in customer engagement.Inspirational and collaborative leader with proven ability to build strong, motivated teams and foster effective cross-team collaboration.Deep knowledge of loyalty systems architecture, launch and migration strategies, with hands-on experience in Fiserv Premier Loyalty Platform being a strong plus.Familiarity with marketing strategies and analytics-driven loyalty solutions is advantageous.Strategic thinker with a track record of challenging the status quo to drive continuous improvement across clients and teams.Self-starter with a strong results orientation and ability to independently manage competing priorities under tight deadlines.Experienced in Agile software development lifecycle management with proven success leading teams in this context.Exceptional communication skills, comfortable presenting to large groups and negotiating with multiple internal and external stakeholders.Outstanding people management and leadership skills with a demonstrated ability to develop and motivate diverse teams.Ability to thrive in a complex, highly matrixed organizational environment, handling multiple priorities simultaneously.Grade/Level: 14The salary range for this position is 170,000.00 – 290,000.00 USD Annual and is eligible for an annual bonus based on individual and company performance.Actual compensation offered within the posted salary range will be based upon work experience, skill level or knowledge.Salaries are adjusted according to market in CA, NY Metro and Seattle.Eligibility Requirements:You must be 18 years or olderYou must have a high school diploma or equivalentYou must be willing to take a drug test, submit to a background investigation and submit fingerprints as part of the onboarding processYou must be able to satisfy the requirements of Section 19 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act.New hires (Level 4-7) must have 9 months of continuous service with the company before they are eligible to post on other roles. Once this new hire time in position requirement is met, the associate will have a minimum 6 months’ time in position before they can post for future non-exempt roles. Employees, level 8 or greater, must have at least 18 months’ time in position before they can post. All internal employees must consistently meet performance expectations and have approval from your manager to post (or the approval of your manager and HR if you don’t meet the time in position or performance expectations).Legal authorization to work in the U.S. is required. We will not sponsor individuals for employment visas, now or in the future, for this job opening. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or veteran status. Our Commitment:When you join us, you’ll be part of an inclusive culture where your individual skills, experience, and voice are not only heard – but valued. Together, we’re building a future where we can all belong, connect, and turn ideals into action. More than 50% of our workforce is engaged in our Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), where community and passion intersect to offer a safe space to learn and grow. This starts when you choose to apply for a role at Synchrony. We ensure all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or veteran status. We’re proud to have an award-winning culture for all. Reasonable Accommodation Notice:Federal law requires employers to provide reasonable accommodation to qualified individuals with disabilities. Please tell us if you require a reasonable accommodation to apply for a job or to perform your job. Examples of reasonable accommodation include making a change to the application process or work procedures, providing documents in an alternate format, using a sign language interpreter, or using specialized equipment.If you need special accommodations, please call our Career Support Line so that we can discuss your specific situation. We can be reached at 1-866-301-5627. Representatives are available from 8am – 5pm Monday to Friday, Central Standard TimeJob Family Group:Information Technology By applying, you consent to your information being transmitted by Veritone to the Employer, as data controller, through the Employer’s data processor SonicJobs. See Synchrony Financial Terms & Conditions at https://www.synchrony.com/terms-of-use.html and Privacy Policy at https://www.synchrony.com/privacy-policy.html and SonicJobs Privacy Policy at https://www.sonicjobs.com/us/privacy-policy and Terms of Use at https://www.sonicjobs.com/us/terms-conditions PandoLogic. Category:Marketing & Biz Dev, Keywords:Innovation Manager, Location:Costa Mesa, CA-92627

Keywords: Synchrony Financial, Whittier , VP, Loyalty Technology Leader, IT / Software / Systems , Costa Mesa, California