Head of KYC & AML Compliance, AI-Driven

Circle; San Diego (CA); On-site; USD 145,000 - 192,500; Full time

Job summary

Circle is seeking an experienced AML/KYC leader to oversee onboarding and periodic review processes, ensuring rigorous risk assessment and scalable governance. You will manage a team of analysts, drive high-quality risk writeups, and implement AI-driven improvements across KYC workflows.

The role emphasizes collaboration with Product, Engineering, and Commercial teams, advancing regulatory standards while maintaining an excellent candidate and customer experience.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of AML and KYC experience for corporate customers, designing scalable KYC processes and governance.
• 3+ years of experience managing teams of analysts, driving performance and operational excellence.
• 2+ years of crypto experience.
• Experience leveraging AI-enabled tools within compliance or KYC workflows with regulatory defensibility.
• Passion for digital currency, blockchain, and AI to modernize financial crime compliance.

Responsibilities

• Oversee customer KYC, onboarding and periodic review processes with specialized due diligence.
• Manage case volumes across workflows to ensure timely execution and SLA adherence.
• Oversee drafting quality of Customer Risk Acceptance memos and provide feedback for risk identification and mitigations.
• Lead and develop a team of KYC analysts to drive quality and risk-based decision-making.
• Lead compliance walkthroughs and reviews, identify gaps, and collaborate with stakeholders to improve customer experience.
• Identify, design, and implement AI-driven enhancements to KYC workflows for efficiency and scalability.
• Collaborate with Commercial teams and act as escalation point for complex issues.
• Ensure documentation, audit readiness and QA across onboarding and periodic reviews.
• Partner with Engineering and Product to support Compliance Operations with effective tooling.

Skills

AML/KYC expertise

Team leadership

AI-enabled compliance

RegTech/FinTech knowledge

Executive communication

Cross-functional collaboration

Regulatory awareness

Google Workspace

Mac environment familiarity

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Tools

Google Workspace

Slack

Job description

Circle is seeking an experienced AML/KYC leader to oversee onboarding and periodic review processes, ensuring rigorous risk assessment and scalable governance. You will manage a team of analysts, drive high-quality risk writeups, and implement AI-driven improvements across KYC workflows.

The role emphasizes collaboration with Product, Engineering, and Commercial teams, advancing regulatory standards while maintaining an excellent candidate and customer experience.