Sanctions Compliance Officer

Polymarket

1d•$180,000 - $250,000

About The Position

Polymarket US is hiring a Sanctions Compliance Officer to build and lead its sanctions compliance program and operational screening function. This hands-on role within the Financial Crimes organization is responsible for program strategy and day-to-day operations across the growing U.S. business. The officer will serve as the primary sanctions subject matter expert, owning the policies, controls, screening framework, escalation standards, technology, and governance that support the program, while building and leading a standalone team responsible for reviewing sanctions alerts. The role combines regulatory expertise with operational leadership. It includes establishing operational procedures, staffing and managing the screening team, setting productivity and quality standards, overseeing escalations, and continuously improving screening effectiveness. The officer will work closely with Legal, Compliance, KYC, AML, Product, Engineering, Data, and Operations to interpret sanctions requirements, design controls, manage screening operations, and address complex sanctions matters.

Requirements

At least 8 years of sanctions, financial crimes, AML, or related compliance experience, with significant direct responsibility for U.S. economic sanctions.
Deep subject matter expertise in OFAC regulations, sanctions programs, and guidance.
Demonstrated experience building or leading both a sanctions program and sanctions or financial crime screening operations within a regulated financial institution, FinTech, broker-dealer, derivatives firm, payments company, or similarly complex environment.
A combination of sanctions advisory and operational leadership experience, including the ability to interpret complex requirements and build and manage the teams and processes used to execute them.
Experience leveraging AI, automation, and emerging technologies to improve sanctions screening, alert review, investigations, or other financial crimes processes, with a practical understanding of governance, testing, and human oversight.
Hands-on experience with sanctions screening, alert investigation, escalation, disposition, and blocked or rejected transaction analysis.
Experience designing or overseeing sanctions screening systems, including matching logic, tuning, testing, list management, QA/QC, and false-positive reduction.
Experience establishing operational metrics, productivity expectations, quality programs, escalation frameworks, and queue-management processes.
Experience advising on sanctions risks associated with customers, counterparties, jurisdictions, transactions, products, and new business initiatives.
Demonstrated ability to translate complex regulatory requirements into clear, practical guidance and operational controls.
Experience drafting sanctions policies, procedures, risk assessments, escalation standards, and operational documentation.
Experience supporting regulatory exams, audits, investigations, or independent testing.
Strong judgment and ability to independently assess and escalate complex sanctions matters.
Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to communicate sanctions risks and recommendations to senior leadership and non-specialist stakeholders.
Ability to operate effectively in a fast-moving environment and build a program and operations function while the business scales.

Nice To Haves

Prior experience working at the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
Experience at a CFTC- or NFA-registered entity, including a DCM, DCO, or FCM.
Experience with digital assets, blockchain analytics, or sanctions risks associated with crypto or blockchain-based activity.
Experience implementing or enhancing sanctions, PEP, and adverse media screening technology.
Experience building a screening operations function from the ground up.

Responsibilities

Own and continuously enhance Polymarket US's sanctions compliance framework, including policies, procedures, governance, risk assessments, screening controls, escalation standards, and supporting documentation.
Serve as the company's primary sanctions subject matter expert, translating OFAC requirements, U.S. economic sanctions programs, regulatory developments, and emerging risks into practical controls and operational requirements.
Own the end-to-end sanctions screening framework across customers, transactions, counterparties, beneficial owners, and related parties, including list management, matching logic, thresholds, testing, quality assurance, and ongoing effectiveness reviews.
Build and lead the sanctions team responsible for executing the screening framework, establishing staffing, workflows, procedures, escalation criteria, service levels, quality standards, and performance expectations.
Manage the investigation and disposition of sanctions screening alerts, including potential sanctions matches, and ensure decisions are consistent, documented, and aligned with applicable requirements.
Develop and maintain escalation and decision frameworks for potential blocked or prohibited activity, partnering with Legal and senior Compliance leadership on significant matters and regulatory reporting where required.
Advise Legal, Compliance, Product, and business teams on sanctions risks related to customers, counterparties, products, jurisdictions, transactions, and new business initiatives, including ownership and control considerations and OFAC's 50 Percent Rule.
Partner with Product, Engineering, and Data teams to embed sanctions controls into onboarding, transaction flows, and other relevant product processes and to improve screening effectiveness.
Establish a quality and testing framework to assess whether sanctions controls operate as designed and identify opportunities to improve accuracy, consistency, and efficiency.
Identify and implement opportunities to use AI and automation to improve sanctions screening and alert reviews while maintaining appropriate human oversight, controls, testing, and governance.
Ensure the sanctions function remains integrated with KYC, AML Investigations, Fraud, and other Financial Crimes teams.