Compliance Senior Lead - Sanctions Operations

Kraken International; United States; Remote; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Kraken is seeking a Sr. Compliance Associate Lead, Sanctions Operations to join fully remote. You’ll handle sanctions escalations, review screening alerts, and assess crypto-related risk across Kraken’s global footprint.

You’ll report to Kraken's Chief Sanctions Officer and help scale the operation using automation and AI while maintaining rigorous compliance standards.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of compliance, sanctions or financial crime experience.
• Working knowledge of OFAC, EU, UK and UN regimes.
• Experience writing sanctions reviews or narratives.

Responsibilities

• Perform sanctions reviews from escalations across Kraken and 1LOD.
• Review name and transaction screening alerts for accurate resolution.
• Assess blockchain monitoring alerts for sanctions exposure.
• Identify sanctions circumvention risks in Kraken accounts.
• Review account opening docs escalated by 1LOD.
• Analyze large data sets for risk analyses and insights.

Skills

Regulatory judgment

Sanctions investigations

Data analysis

Stakeholder communication

Automation/AI tools

Crypto/fintech knowledge

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent

Tools

Hummingbird

Zendesk

AI tools (Claude/ChatGPT)

Job description

Building the Future of Open Finance

Payward - the parent company behind Kraken, NinjaTrader, Breakout, xStocks, Payward Services and CF Benchmarks - has spent the last 15 years building one of the most modern and globally accessible financial infrastructure platforms in the industry, built to advance an open, global financial system.

The team

Founded in 2011, Kraken is one of the world's longest-standing crypto platforms, trusted by over 10 million individuals and institutions across the globe. It offers spot trading, margin, futures, staking, and OTC services, with products built for both individual investors and institutional clients.

At Kraken, compliance is not a checkbox. It's a core expression of who we are and how we operate. Our Global Sanctions Compliance function sits at the intersection of regulatory accountability and technology, building processes that don't just meet the standard but set it. We're looking for people who bring both sharp regulatory judgment and a builder's mindset to the table.

We're looking for a Sr. Compliance Associate Lead, Sanctions Operations to join us fully remote. This role reports directly to Kraken's Chief Sanctions Officer and sits at the heart of how we review, expand and resolve sanctions risk across Kraken's global footprint. You'll work the escalations generated by our sanctions controls and by our first line of defence, focusing on the complex sanctions risks that matter most, and you'll help us make the operation faster and more scalable as volumes grow.

The opportunity

• Perform sanctions reviews in response to escalations generated across Kraken, from blockchain monitoring, name screening and transaction screening to anti-circumvention controls and account sign-up and maintenance rules
• Review name screening alerts and transaction screening alerts escalated to the Sanctions team, applying sound judgment to resolve them accurately and on time
• Review blockchain monitoring alerts for direct and indirect sanctions exposure.
• Analyse Kraken accounts for potential sanctions circumvention risk
• Review account opening documentation escalated by Kraken's first line of defence (1LOD).
• Review large data sets to support proactive and ad-hoc risk analyses
• Communicate with Regional Compliance Officers and other Compliance teams, ensuring regional perspectives are reflected while maintaining sanctions programme integrity
• Coordinate with teammates to establish streamlined processes, using automation and AI-assisted tools where they make the work faster and better, with appropriate human oversight
• Prepare regulatory reports in response to investigations as needed
• Prepare and deliver presentations as needed

What you bring

• 5+ years of experience in compliance, sanctions or financial crime compliance, including hands-on sanctions investigations, ideally gained within financial services such as banking, crypto or fintech
• Working knowledge of the major sanctions regimes: US OFAC, EU, UK and UN programmes.
• Experience writing sanctions reviews or investigation narratives
• Strong analytical and writing skills, sound judgment, and a detail-oriented, problem-solving approach
• Knowledge of crypto, banking or payment processes, procedures and systems
• Experience working with case management systems such as Hummingbird, Zendesk or equivalent
• Hands-on experience using automation and AI tools, such as Claude or ChatGPT, to make the team faster and the work better
• Effective verbal and written communication, with the ability to convey complex issues and manage stakeholders across global and regional compliance partners
• Ability to collaborate effectively with colleagues across functions
• Ownership of your work product, and a record of delivering results in a fast-paced environment
• High degree of integrity, discretion and ability to handle confidential and sensitive information
• A bachelor's degree or equivalent practical experience

Nice to haves

• ACAMS (CAMS) or ACSS sanctions certification
• Prior regulatory experience or blockchain analytics vendor experience, such as attributing sanctions risk
• Experience supporting regulatory exams, audits or enforcement-related inquiries

We consider qualified applicants with criminal histories for employment on our team, assessing candidates in a manner consistent with the requirements of the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance.

Our commitment

Payward is powered by people from around the world and we celebrate the diverse talents, backgrounds, contributions, and unique perspectives that everyone brings to the table. We hire based on merit, seeking out people with the right abilities, knowledge, and skills for the job. We encourage you to apply for roles where you don't fully meet the listed requirements, especially if you're passionate or knowledgeable about crypto.

We may ask candidates to complete job-related skills or work-style assessments as part of our hiring process. These assessments evaluate competencies relevant to the role and are applied consistently across candidates for similar positions. Results are considered alongside experience and interviews, and are not the sole basis for any employment decision.

As an equal opportunity employer, we don't tolerate discrimination or harassment of any kind, whether based on race, ethnicity, age, gender identity, citizenship, religion, sexual orientation, disability, pregnancy, veteran status, or any other protected characteristic as outlined by federal, state, or local laws.

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