Head of Compliance

1inch; Dubai; Hybrid; AED 367,000 - 515,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading DeFi company in Dubai is seeking a Head of Compliance to lead its compliance function, ensuring regulatory obligations are met while supporting crypto innovation. The ideal candidate has 7–10+ years in compliance within fintech, strong communication skills, and experience with compliance programs in a high-growth setting. Join us to make a significant impact in a rapidly evolving industry.

Qualifications

• 7–10+ years in compliance, risk, or legal roles.
• Proven experience in high-growth environments.
• Deep understanding of sanctions enforcement.

Responsibilities

• Ensure compliance with AML/KYC and sanctions regulations.
• Manage counterparty screening and onboarding.
• Coordinate with Legal on RiskCo reviews.

Skills

Compliance Design

AML/CFT Understanding

Cross-functional Project Delivery

Regulatory Communication

Documentation Skills

Tools

TRM

Chainalysis

Job description

Overview

1inch is the DeFi ecosystem building financial freedom for everyone. 1inch products help users and builders trade, hold and track digital assets - with the self-custody, comprehensive security and the intuitive user experience they need to unlock the potential of true crypto ownership. 1inch protocols and APIs provide core infrastructure across the DeFi industry and beyond.

So if you’re someone who thinks big, moves fast and wants to make an impact right from day one, then get ready to join our industry-changing team.

Location: We hire with a focus on Dubai and Europe. For this role, we prefer candidates who are either based in Dubai or working remotely within +/- 4 hours GST time.

Role

The Head of Compliance will lead and operate 1inch’s compliance function under the Legal department. This role ensures that 1inch meets its regulatory and risk obligations while supporting crypto-native innovation across decentralized products and institutional-facing APIs.

The ideal candidate brings both hands-on execution and strategic thinking, with experience in crypto, financial crime, sanctions, law enforcement response, and policy governance. You’ll collaborate with Legal, Security, Product, and Engineering, and own critical compliance programs (AML, enforcement, resolver onboarding, screening, etc.) across the group.

Responsibilities

• Ensure compliance with AML/KYC, sanctions, securities, and data privacy regulations across relevant jurisdictions (EU, VARA, Caymans, BVI, etc.).
• Oversee interaction with regulators and maintain ongoing compliance obligations (e.g. FINMA, VARA, other VASPs).
• Manage counterparty screening and onboarding (e.g. market makers, API clients, vendors) via DevPortal and internal risk exemption policies.
• Oversee sanctions and risk-based transaction monitoring using tools like TRM Labs, Blockaid, and VPN filters.
• Maintain dashboards for alert volumes, false positives, and tool coverage gaps.
• Maintain seizure logs and legal documentation related to enforcement outcomes.
• Lead coordination on hacks, scam reports, and DevPortal abuse cases with Security and Legal.
• Track incident response SLAs and ensure quarterly reporting to ExCo and BoD.
• Respond to LEA requests and regulator inquiries.
• Track timelines, dependencies, and disclosure coordination.
• Own the law enforcement tracker and ensure internal SLA reporting.
• Manage market makers access approvals, risk classification, and tracking.
• Coordinate refund and bounty wallet screenings.
• Oversee API onboarding logic and update exemption rules as needed.
• Maintain and publish security/compliance reports (internal and public-facing).
• Track training, whistleblower processes, and policy reviews.
• Coordinate with Legal and Ops on quarterly RiskCo reviews and compliance policy updates.
• Develop compliance training programs for contributors, including wallet safety, insider trading, sanctions, etc.
• Manage third-party compliance vendors, screeners, and investigators.

Requirements

• 7–10+ years in compliance, risk, or legal roles in fintech or financial services.
• Proven experience designing compliance programs in startup or high-growth environments.
• Deep understanding of AML/CFT, sanctions enforcement, and evolving crypto compliance trends.
• Strong cross-functional project delivery (Product, Legal, Security, Ops).
• Hands-on use of tools like TRM, Chainalysis, or onchain analytics platforms.
• Experience handling law enforcement and regulator communication.
• Comfortable navigating unclear or rapidly evolving regulatory terrain.
• Strong writing, documentation, and policy-building skills.

Nice to have

• Crypto-native experience or prior work at a DeFi protocol or Web3 infrastructure provider.
• Familiarity with cross-border licensing regimes (e.g., VARA, EU MiCA, Swiss FINMA).
• Familiarity with token screening or fusion-style resolver models.
• Experience supporting security audits, dApp incident response, or product launches.