Sanctions Advisor

SoFi; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

SoFi is seeking a Sanctions Advisor to lead second-line compliance across the enterprise, including SoFi Bank and SoFi Securities. You will identify and mitigate sanctions risks tied to OFAC, UN, EU, and UK regimes, while ensuring regulatory readiness as the firm expands into crypto and digital assets.

You will partner with Compliance, product, and engineering teams to implement and tune controls, policies, and governance. Strong leadership, analytics, and written communication are required.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of sanctions experience in a complex financial institution, including crypto and global sanctions compliance.
• Comprehensive understanding of BaaS products and traditional banking services.
• Ability to lead development and governance structures for sanctions policies.
• Direct advisory support to Compliance and Risk Leadership on high-risk transactions.
• Strong written and verbal communication across levels.

Responsibilities

• Support the sanctions oversight controls framework with risk analyses and an enterprise inventory.
• Serve as escalation point for sanctions investigations, including cryptocurrency scenarios.
• Advise product managers, engineers, and business units throughout the product lifecycle.
• Assist in tuning and testing payment screening models to minimize risk.
• Draft analyses, reports, and governance documentation for regulatory reviews.
• Collaborate with AML leadership to align sanctions obligations with product assessments.
• Build and maintain sanctions policies and controls across lifecycle stages.
• Monitor regulatory changes and translate them into actionable guidance.

Skills

Communication

Leadership

Multitasking

Analytical skills

Collaboration

Education

Bachelor’s Degree

Job description

Who we are

Shape a brighter financial future with us.

Employee Applicant Privacy Notice

Who we are: Shape a brighter financial future with us. Together with our members, we’re changing the way people think about and interact with personal finance. We’re a next-generation financial services company and national bank using innovative, mobile-first technology to help our millions of members reach their goals. The industry is going through an unprecedented transformation, and we’re at the forefront. We’re proud to come to work every day knowing that what we do has a direct impact on people’s lives, with our core values guiding us every step of the way. Join us to invest in yourself, your career, and the financial world.

The role

The Sanctions Advisor will provide specialized, second-line-of-defense compliance services across the entire SoFi Enterprise, including SoFi Bank, N.A., SoFi Securities, LLC, and the technology platform. As SoFi continues its expansion into digital assets and cutting-edge financial technology, you will play a critical role in ensuring our sanctions compliance program keeps pace. Your role will be to support the business in identifying, mitigating, and managing risks related to global sanctions (OFAC, UN, EU, UK), while ensuring the enterprise meets evolving regulatory expectations.

What you’ll do

• Support the execution and maintenance of SoFi’s sanctions oversight controls framework by producing clear sanctions risk analyses and maintaining an enterprise-wide inventory.
• Serve as a point of escalation for sanctions investigations, including cryptocurrency, providing regulatory guidance for complex scenarios, risk determinations, and actionable mitigating steps.
• Act as sanctions subject matter expert for the SoFi Enterprise, advising Compliance, product managers, engineers, and SoFi’s business units during the entire product lifecycle.
• Support the ongoing tuning, testing, and optimization of payment and name screening, ensuring models are calibrated to minimize risk.
• Draft clear and well-reasoned sanctions risk analyses, reporting, and governance documentation. Assist in preparing materials for regulatory examinations, internal audits, risk assessments, and third-party reviews.
• Collaborate closely with AML leadership to integrate and operationalize sanctions obligations into new product assessments and ensure continuous alignment between Sanctions Advisory and broader financial crime objectives.
• Build and support the development of sanctions policies, procedures, and controls, ensuring that they align with regulatory requirements and business objectives and are properly implemented throughout the product lifecycle.
• Monitor developments and changes in sanctions regulations, industry trends, and best practices, and translate them into actionable guidance.

What you’ll need

• Bachelor’s Degree from a four-year college or university in a related field.
• 5+ years of sanctions experience in a complex financial institution, including crypto and global sanctions compliance.
• A comprehensive understanding of BaaS products, including payment processing, card issuance, credit and lending, and other traditional banking services.
• Ability to lead the development and continuous enhancement of core sanctions policies, risk appetites, and governance structures to reflect evolving legal, geopolitical, and regulatory landscapes.
• Provide direct advisory support to the Compliance and Risk Leadership team on high-risk transactions, strategic market expansions, mergers, and emerging international sanctions regimes.
• Demonstrated ability to communicate effectively with all levels of the organization and across different business lines.
• Demonstrated strong leadership and management skills that build solid working relationships within the organization.
• Excellent working knowledge of Sanctions Compliance within various international jurisdictions.
• Excellent organizational, verbal, written, and interpersonal skills are required.
• Must be able to multitask, adapt well to changing priorities, and effectively prioritize responsibilities to meet critical deadlines.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced, demanding, and changing environment; must work well under pressure.
• Excellent analytical skills required.
• Ability to work collaboratively and independently while managing projects and assignments.

Nice to have

• CAMS/CGSS certification

Compensation And Benefits

The base pay range for this role is listed below. Final base pay offer will be determined based on individual factors such as the candidate’s experience, skills, and location. To view all of our comprehensive and competitive benefits, visit our Benefits at SoFi page! SoFi provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion (including religious dress and grooming practices), sex (including pregnancy, childbirth and related medical conditions, breastfeeding, and conditions related to breastfeeding), gender, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, ancestry, age (40 or over), physical or medical disability, medical condition, marital status, registered domestic partner status, sexual orientation, genetic information, military and/or veteran status, or any other basis prohibited by applicable state or federal law. The Company hires the best qualified candidate for the job, without regard to protected characteristics. Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records. New York applicants: Notice of Employee Rights SoFi is committed to an inclusive culture. As part of this commitment, SoFi offers reasonable accommodations to candidates with physical or mental disabilities. If you need accommodations to participate in the job application or interview process, please let your recruiter know or email [e-mail]. We are unable to accommodate remote work from Hawaii, Alaska or Puerto Rico at this time.