Senior Data Researcher

Technology Resource Management; United States; Hybrid; USD 160,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity plan

Job summary

TRM Labs is seeking a Senior Data Researcher to lead original investigative work from evidence gathering to publication. You will leverage AI-native tools to stress-test methodologies and produce data-backed narratives for multiple channels.

You will collaborate across Marketing, Communications, and product teams, shaping training content and contributing to TRM’s public research footprint. A strong portfolio and crypto/financial crime experience are valued.

Qualifications

• 5–8 years of research or data analysis with published writing.
• Strong analytical skills across diverse sources and AI-assisted work.
• Public portfolio of investigative or research-led work with measurable reach.
• Deep AI fluency and experience using agent-based production workflows.
• Experience in financial crime, sanctions, cybercrime, or crypto is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Gather and pressure-test evidence to reveal a story and publish it.
• Lead original research from data collection to final piece for publication.
• Package findings for multiple channels and train investigators and staff.
• Coordinate with Marketing, Communications, and product teams.

Skills

Investigative research

Data analysis

AI fluency

Public portfolio

Financial crime knowledge

Open-source research

Tools

Claude

ChatGPT

Job description

Introduction

BUILD A SAFER WORLD. TRM Labs provides AI-powered intelligence solutions that help public and private sector agencies investigate and disrupt crime. TRM's platforms enable investigators to trace illicit activity, build cases, and construct operating pictures of threat networks. Leading agencies and businesses worldwide rely on TRM to make the world safer and more secure. TRM's Insights team publishes the original research that shapes how journalists, policymakers and investigators understand illicit finance and the crime behind it. As Senior Data Researcher, you will take a topic from question to published piece: gather and pressure-test the evidence, find the story and write it. Few roles anywhere combine intelligence across crime types with full ownership of the public narrative.

The impact you will have:

• Publish original investigative research on the threats that matter most: fraud and scams, sanctions evasion, ransomware and cybercrime, terrorist financing, drug and human trafficking, and the financial networks behind them. Your work holds up under scrutiny from top-tier press and policymakers.
• Use AI heavily in everything you do. TRM is an AI-native investigative company, so expect to use Claude, ChatGPT and agent-based tools to research, analyze data, stress-test methodology, draft and package each finding for every channel.
• Lead original research that answers the biggest open questions about crime and the financial networks that power it. Combine TRM's blockchain intelligence with non-crypto sources (sanctions lists, court filings, corporate records, open-source and threat intelligence) to find patterns no one else has connected, then turn them into evidence that holds up.
• Extend the research beyond the blog. Turn findings into training content for investigators and compliance teams, and pass emerging threat intelligence back to TRM's product and intelligence teams.

What we're looking for:

• 5 to 8 years combining research or data analysis with published writing, including at least one high-impact investigation you led from evidence-gathering to final piece.
• Strong analytical skills across varied sources (financial, open-source, court and regulatory records, structured datasets), using AI to speed up and check the work.
• A public portfolio of investigative or research-led work with measurable reach (major media pickup, citations, audience growth). Investigative journalists, financial crime and threat intelligence researchers, and research-focused writers who do their own analysis have all done well in roles like this.
• Deep AI fluency: you already rely heavily on AI across research, analysis, drafting and packaging, and you're comfortable running and quality-checking an agent-based production workflow. Experience in financial crime, sanctions, cybercrime, national security or crypto is a strong plus.

About the Team:

• Insights is the public voice of TRM's research. It connects TRM's intelligence on illicit finance and crime with the press, policymakers and the wider industry.
• The work is research-led, focused on the story, fast-moving and AI-native.
• You'll work closely with Marketing, Communications, TRM's intelligence and investigations teams, product teams, and TRM Academy.
• The team is small and opinionated, and it owns some of the most visible work TRM produces. Distributed, not distant.

Team Operating Rhythms:

• Weekly Insights research review to set priorities and look at work in progress.
• A weekly working session with Marketing to plan distribution and timing.
• Async by default for drafts and methodology review. Meetings are for editorial decisions and launch planning.
• The research and content workflow runs continuously, and you manage it day to day and week to week.

Learn about TRM Speed in this position:

• Measurable example #1: Within 30 days, you publish your first piece of original data-backed research on TRM's blog, with a Marketing push behind it.
• Measurable example #2: Within 60 days, you take a topic you picked through the full cycle (research, narrative, distribution) and show measurable gains in media coverage.
• Measurable example #3: Within 90 days, you run the research and content workflow end to end, and your research feeds weekly training sessions for TRM Academy instructors.

The following represents the expected range of compensation for this role:

• Individual pay is determined by skills, qualifications, experience, and location. The compensation details listed in this posting reflect the US base salary only.
• The estimated base salary range for this role is $160,000 - $180,000.
• Additionally, this role may be eligible to participate in TRM's equity plan.
• Please note - we factor in the different costs for geographies outside the United States.

Work Week Travel: This role requires participation in in-person R&D work weeks, typically 1-2 times per quarter, at a TRM hub or other designated location. Work weeks may be scheduled with as little as 14 days’ notice, and some roles may require additional travel based on team and cross-functional needs. TRM coordinates and covers approved travel, lodging, and workspace. Accommodations are available for legitimate caregiving, health, immigration, and similar constraints.

AI FLUENCY AT TRM

• Accelerate repeatable workflows
• Structure and solve problems
• Improve output quality
• Increase speed and leverage

LIFE AT TRM

• Priorities and targets to change quickly
• Operating with a high degree of ambiguity
• A high level of personal ownership and accountability
• Close collaboration across teams and functions
• Frequent, high-touch communication
• Creative problem-solving and out-of-the-box thinking
• A pace that rewards urgency, adaptability, and outcomes

This environment is energizing for people who enjoy building, solving hard problems, and making progress in situations that are not always fully defined. It also requires thriving in ambiguity, adjusting course as new information emerges, and maintaining focus and positivity in a fast-moving and intense environment. We also recognize that this style of operating is not for everyone. If you are primarily optimizing for predictability or a consistently balanced workload, we encourage you to use the interview process to pressure-test whether this environment is truly the right fit. We want teammates who thrive here, not just survive here.

LEADERSHIP PRINCIPLES

• Impact-Oriented Trailblazer: We put customers first and move with speed, focus, and adaptability. We treat every plan like an experiment - test, ship, measure, and iterate quickly.
• Master Craftsperson: We care deeply about our craft. We balance speed with high standards, own outcomes end-to-end, and invest in getting better everyday.
• Inspiring Colleague: We add clarity and energy, not noise. We bring humility, candor, and a one-team mindset - giving and receiving feedback to make the team stronger.

JOIN OUR MISSION

At TRM, we care deeply about our craft. We are looking for individuals who want their work to matter, who experiment with speed and rigor, and who take pride in building a safer world for billions of people. If you're excited by TRM's mission but don't check every box, we encourage you to apply — we hire for slope, judgment, and the will to learn fast. TRM is a Series C company with $220M in total funding, backed by Goldman Sachs, Bessemer, Y Combinator, Thoma Bravo, and others. Headquartered in San Francisco, TRM operates as a distributed-first company with hubs in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Washington D.C., London, and Singapore.