Compliance Lead, Payments

Fireblocks•New York, NY

14h•Hybrid

About The Position

Fireblocks is seeking an experienced Compliance Lead to drive the compliance program for its regulated payments infrastructure. This role will be responsible for developing and implementing components of the Fireblocks Payments Services’ Bank Secrecy Act (“BSA”), Anti-Money Laundering (“AML”), Counter-Terrorist Financing (“CTF”), and Economic Sanctions Compliance Program. The ideal candidate will bring regulated financial services expertise, experience in US money service business activities, strong leadership capabilities, and expert knowledge of either payments or digital asset services to scale this new business unit. This role will leverage board-based expertise in transaction and customer monitoring to design a risk-based compliance program for its institutional clients. A deep knowledge of the regulations, guidelines and industry-leading practices for BSA/AML/CTF/OFAC compliance will be invaluable to helping Fireblocks design and deploy an effective compliance program that will protect the Company and meet regulatory expectations. This position reports directly to the Fireblocks’ Chief Compliance Officer. The position will oversee a small team while building out the program, but will grow as new regulated products come online. This role will be based in the US, with preference for candidates based near our NYC HQ, although qualified candidates from other locations are encouraged to apply.

Requirements

10+ years of experience working with regulated financial institutions in senior compliance roles with robust knowledge of BSA/AML and Sanctions Compliance Programs.
Knowledge and experience with Payments, Banking, Correspondent Banking, Fintech, or Cryptocurrency organizations at a department level.
Strong knowledge of relevant BSA/AML and Sanctions regulatory frameworks and leading industry practices for money service businesses or banks in the US.
Experience designing effective controls and leading the execution of key components of a BSA/AML and Sanctions Compliance Program.
Experience as a people manager with a preference for a player-coach organizational structure; a consummate team player.
Growth mindset to tackle any problem and learn any skill that will support the evolution of the compliance programs.
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, including how to identify patterns of unusual or suspicious activity.
Excellent personal, political, analytical, and communications skills with a high attention to detail.

Nice To Haves

Experience working in Web3 organizations or intermediate familiarity with digital assets.
Experience working with or for Federal or New York-regulated financial institutions, business consultancies, or the financial services regulator.
Experience managing model validation assessments.
An advanced degree in finance or law (e.g., Masters, Juris Doctor).
Domain-specific certification(s), such as Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (“CAMS”), or blockchain analytics tool, e.g., Chainalysis Reactor Certificate.
Experience or interest in novel payments or digital assets use cases, including stablecoins, tokenization, digital identity, non-fungible tokens, or blockchain infrastructure.

Responsibilities

Lead the design, development, and implementation of the BSA/AML and Sanctions compliance program components for a regulated money services business, Fireblocks LLC (e.g., Transaction Monitoring, Investigations, Governance, Customer Due Diligence).
Execute the compliance operations as needed including, but not limited to, name screening, transaction monitoring, investigations, report filing, client onboarding and ongoing review, and governance.
Be the responsible officer ensuring Suspicious Activity Reports meet requirements and are filed in a timely manner.
Oversee the BSA/AML and Sanctions compliance program and report on operational risks and metrics to stakeholders, including the Chief Compliance Officer and Board of Directors for Fireblocks Payments Services.
Drive updates to AML/CTF risk classifications and assessment of new products and services.
Act as the point person for regulatory inquiries, including securing new licenses and managing renewals, and manage coordination of regulatory examinations, audits and independent assessments.
Provide guidance on compliance-related matters to various internal stakeholders and ensure compliance with regulatory requirements.
Proactively identify opportunities to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of the compliance programs through process improvements or technological solutions, with particular focus on enabling AI services.
Tackle ad hoc projects as necessary to support the enhancement or operation of the compliance program at the direction of the Chief Compliance Officer.