As Chief Product Officer at Dark Matter, Stephanie Durflinger is reshaping mortgage origination through innovative technology, including the Empower Loan Origination System (LOS) and the AIVA suite of AI-powered virtual assistants. With prior leadership roles at ICE Mortgage Technology, Sagent Lending Technologies, and Ellie Mae—and experience as a mortgage banker—Durflinger brings deep industry knowledge and a track record of strategic innovation. At Dark Matter, she leads with empathy and vision, guiding teams to deliver solutions that help lenders better serve today’s homebuyers.
Under her leadership, Empower LOS has advanced from linear automation to a task-based architecture that runs multiple processes in parallel, requiring lender input only for exceptions. This streamlined approach delivers measurable time and cost savings for banks, credit unions, and independent mortgage lenders. Durflinger has also spearheaded transformative innovations such as piloting new AI applications and expanding Empower’s open API framework, earning Dark Matter a 2024 HousingWire Tech100 award.
A groundbreaking feature launched under her direction enables the transfer of assumable mortgages, a timely innovation in a high-rate environment. She also leads advancements with AIVA Docs, which processed 356 million pages and 148 million data labels in 2024 while maintaining 99% accuracy at double the previous scale.
Widely regarded as a thought leader, Durflinger frequently speaks at industry events and serves on MISMO’s Board of Directors, where she helps shape U.S. mortgage data standards. Her leadership continues to drive efficiency, intelligence, and innovation across the mortgage lifecycle.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
Always bet on yourself. That seems simple and obvious, and therein lies its power. We bring our unique talent, experiences, and viewpoints to the table. Look within and use them.
Name:
Stephanie Durflinger
Title:
Chief Product Officer
Company Name:
Dark Matter Technologies
