Head of Compliance

Breeze; New York (NY); Hybrid; USD 190,000 - 270,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Health coverage

Annual global offsite

MacBook Air provided

Office & education allowance

Wellness reimbursement

Job summary

Breeze, based in New York City, is hiring a Head of Compliance to own the company’s entire compliance program, ensure regulatory alignment, and enable rapid product and market expansion. You will collaborate with Product, Engineering, Legal, Risk, Operations, and leadership to build a robust function that protects Breeze and its customers.

We seek a proactive leader who thrives in fast-moving environments, owns end-to-end compliance, and leverages AI and automation to rethink processes while

Qualifications

• 10+ years of compliance experience in financial services, payments, fintech, or the blockchain and digital asset sector.
• Experience as a BSA/AML Officer or Head of Compliance with accountability for program outcomes.
• Experience managing and developing a team, including analysts or investigators.
• Deep familiarity with KYC/KYB, BSA/AML, sanctions, EDD, and financial crimes compliance.
• Solid understanding of federal and state payments laws and regulations, including money transmission licensing.
• Experience operating a compliance program across multiple jurisdictions, with knowledge of at least one major non-US regime (EU, UK, Canada, or APAC).
• Familiarity with cryptocurrency markets, blockchain technology, and virtual currency regulation.
• Direct experience engaging with regulators and managing examinations and audits.
• Certifications such as CAMS, CRCM, or CFE are a plus.

Responsibilities

• Develop, implement, and maintain a risk-based compliance program — policies, procedures, and controls — to meet AML/BSA requirements and applicable Breeze regulations.
• Act as the BSA/AML Officer, operationalizing KYC/KYB, enhanced due diligence, monitoring, and SAR reporting.
• Engage with regulators, manage examinations and audits by state, federal, and international authorities.
• Own Breeze’s licensing footprint, including state money transmission licenses and renewals for US and non-US jurisdictions.
• Lead the compliance workstreams for entry into new markets.
• Conduct regular risk assessments, audits, and gap analyses, and collaborate to mitigate risk across product and operations.
• Lead and develop the compliance team, and report on program effectiveness to executives and the board.
• Own company-wide compliance training — curriculum, vendor selection, and external consultants — with IT/InfoSec collaboration.

Skills

BSA/AML Officer

Compliance leadership

KYC/KYB

Regulatory affairs

Cross-functional collaboration

Regulatory audits

Vendor/partner engagement

Team building

Executive communication

Job description

New York City | Hybrid (remote considered) | Full-Time

At Breeze, we’re building the AI-powered infrastructure layer for global commerce, making it radically simpler for businesses to sell, get paid, and operate across markets.

We go far beyond traditional payment processing. Breeze combines global payments, AI, stablecoins, and a Merchant of Record-like model to take on the complexity businesses typically manage themselves, including compliance, risk, fraud, chargebacks, reconciliation, and customer support.

Our goal is simple: let businesses focus on building and selling great products while Breeze handles the complexity behind getting paid.

Backed by Sequoia Capital, Multicoin Capital, and The Chainsmokers, Breeze is a successful, rapidly growing, and exceptionally well-capitalized company. We have the runway to think long term while remaining early enough that every person joining today can have a meaningful impact on what we build.

We are hiring a Head of Compliance!

As our Head of Compliance, you’ll own Breeze’s entire compliance program and play a key role in enabling us to ship new products and enter new markets without taking on undue regulatory risk. You’ll work closely with Product, Engineering, Legal, Risk, Operations, and executive leadership to build a compliance function that protects the company and its customers while keeping pace with the business.

We’re looking for someone who thrives in fast-moving environments, wants meaningful ownership, and is excited to build rather than simply maintain.

What You’ll Do

• Develop, implement, and maintain a risk-based compliance program — policies, procedures, and controls — to meet AML/BSA requirements (aligned with FinCEN, OFAC, and FATF standards) as well as the consumer and enterprise payment regulations applicable to Breeze’s products.


• Act as the BSA/AML Officer, operationalizing KYC/KYB, enhanced due diligence, transaction monitoring, and suspicious activity investigations and reporting (SARs), and continuously iterating on those processes.


• Engage with regulators, manage examinations and audits by state, federal, and international authorities, and translate regulatory requirements into clear direction for Breeze stakeholders.


• Own Breeze’s licensing footprint, including state money transmission licenses, applications, annual reports, and renewals, alongside the compliance requirements for non-US jurisdictions relevant to our markets.


• Lead the compliance workstreams for entry into new markets.


• Conduct regular compliance risk assessments, audits, and gap analyses, including customer risk scoring and product and service risk analysis, and partner cross-functionally to mitigate identified risk across product and operations.


• Lead and develop the compliance team, and report on program effectiveness to executives and the board.


• Own compliance training company-wide — curriculum, vendor selection, and external consultants — spanning AML/BSA, InfoSec, and risk, and partner with Engineering and IT on related audits.

What We’re Looking For

• 10+ years of experience in compliance or a closely related function within financial services, payments, fintech, or the blockchain and digital asset sector.


• Demonstrated experience as a BSA/AML Officer, Head of Compliance, or in a senior compliance leadership role, with direct accountability for program outcomes.


• Experience managing and developing a team, including analysts or investigators.


• Deep familiarity with KYC/KYB, BSA/AML, sanctions, EDD, and financial crimes compliance.


• Solid understanding of federal and state payments laws and regulations, including money transmission licensing.


• Experience operating a compliance program across multiple jurisdictions, with working knowledge of at least one major non-US regime (EU, UK, Canada, or APAC) in addition to US requirements.


• Familiarity with cryptocurrency markets, blockchain technology, and virtual currency regulation.


• Direct experience engaging with regulators and managing examinations and audits.


• Excellent written and oral communication skills, with the ability to present to executives and the board.


• Strong leadership skills and the ability to influence cross-functional teams and stakeholders.


• Comfortable operating in fast-moving environments without an established playbook.


• Excited to use AI and automation to work smarter and rethink existing processes.


• Comfortable getting into the details and doing the work, regardless of seniority.

Nice to Have

• Experience building a compliance program from an early stage, or scaling one through rapid growth.


• Experience with cross-border payments, merchant of record models, or multi-jurisdiction licensing.


• Direct experience standing up compliance in a new international market — licensing, registration, or local partner onboarding.


• Familiarity with MiCA, EU AML, UK FCA, FINTRAC / RPAA, or comparable non-US frameworks.


• Hands-on experience selecting and implementing compliance tooling — transaction monitoring, sanctions screening, KYC/KYB, and blockchain analytics platforms.


• Relevant certifications such as CAMS, CRCM, or CFE.


• Experience working with banking partners, sponsor banks, or payment processors.

Why Breeze

• More than payments: We’re building an intelligent infrastructure layer across payments, compliance, risk, fraud, chargebacks, reconciliation, and customer support.


• AI from the ground up: AI isn’t an add-on. It’s central to how we’re building our products and how our teams operate.


• Successful and still early: We have meaningful traction and strong financial foundations while remaining early enough for new hires to have outsized impact.


• Built for the long term: Backed by Sequoia Capital, Multicoin Capital, and The Chainsmokers, we’re exceptionally well-capitalized with the runway to think big.


• Real ownership: You’ll own the compliance function outright, with a direct line to executive leadership and the board.


• Hard problems: Work at the intersection of AI, payments, stablecoins, risk, compliance, financial infrastructure, and global commerce.


• Exceptional team: Work with ambitious, curious, low-ego people who move quickly and care deeply about what they build.


• Room to grow: As Breeze grows, strong performers can quickly expand their scope and take on bigger problems.

How We Work

• Act Now, Improve Later: Ship something real today. Move fast, learn from what happens, and make it better.


• Disagree and Commit: Debate hard before a decision. Once it’s made, commit fully and make the outcome right.


• Customers First: When in doubt, start with what’s most painful for the customer.


• Own It, End to End: Don’t wait to be asked. If you see a problem, take responsibility for solving it.


• Default to Public: Share context openly so the whole team can move faster and learn from each other.


• High Standards, Genuine Warmth: Hold the bar high and treat people well. Be direct, rigorous, kind, and low ego.


• Outcomes Over Activity: We care about what ships, what works, and what moves the needle, not how busy you look.


• AI Forward, Always Learning: Experiment with new tools, automate the repetitive, share what works, and continuously rethink how you can work smarter.

Compensation Philosophy

We believe compensation should be fair, competitive, consistent, and transparent.

• We benchmark compensation against the market and establish thoughtful bands for each role.


• Compensation reflects experience, skills, location, role scope, and expected impact.


• We don’t believe pay should primarily depend on how aggressively someone negotiates.


• Eligible employees receive meaningful equity, so the people building Breeze can participate in the long-term value they help create.


• Health coverage: Breeze covers 100% of employee premiums on our competitive base plan and 75% of dependent premiums.


• 401(k): Breeze covers all plan administration fees.


• Equity: Meaningful ownership in the company you’re helping build.


• Equipment: A new MacBook Air and whatever else you need to do your best work.


• Office & education allowance: An annual budget for your workspace, tools, and professional development.


• Wellness: A monthly reimbursement to support your well-being.


• Annual global offsite: We bring the global Breeze team together every year. Previous destinations include Bali and Singapore, with Japan coming next.

Location / Working Model

This role is hybrid and based in New York City.

We believe there is real value in building together in person, and our preference is for this role to work from our NYC office. That said, we’ll consider a remote arrangement for an exceptional candidate.

Come Build With Us

Breeze offers a rare combination: the ownership and speed of an early-stage company with the traction, backing, and financial foundations of a successful business.

We’re building at the convergence of AI, payments, stablecoins, financial infrastructure, and global commerce. The opportunity is much bigger than building another payment processor.

We’re building the intelligent infrastructure layer for global commerce, and there’s still an enormous amount left to build.

If you want meaningful ownership, hard problems, exceptional teammates, and the opportunity to help define what comes next, we’d love to hear from you.