Solo Legal & Compliance Lead for Fintech

Kovo; Austin (TX); On-site; USD 250,000 - 360,000; Full time

Job summary

Kovo is an early-stage fintech startup seeking its sole legal and compliance lead to own end-to-end function across current and future products. You will build the posture, automate where possible, and partner with product, engineering, and banks/regulators to scale with the company.

The role demands hands-on leadership, pragmatic risk minimization, and a bias for rapid iteration in a fast-growth environment. You will report to the founders in Austin, TX.

Qualifications

• Extremely organized with attention to detail.
• Clear, concise writer with ability to communicate complex legal concepts simply.
• Proficient in reading code/data and building AI-enabled workflows.

Responsibilities

• Stand up new products with minimal footprint and necessary licenses.
• Define entity, licensing, and bank-partner posture per product.
• Write policies, disclosures, and agreements; get approvals from partners/regulators.
• Review marketing, product flows, and partnerships for scalable compliance.
• Reconcile posture across product suite to remove duplication.
• Keep current legal/compliance operations; automate/codify where possible.
• Run litigation defense, dispute resolution, exams, and audits with limited cross-functional support.
• Own bank/partner compliance, privacy, and BSA/AML/KYC policies.
• Build and maintain agentic workflows to reduce manual work over time.
• Engage outside counsel only when strictly required.

Skills

Attention to detail

Clear writing

Technical proficiency

AI-enabled workflows

Education

JD and US bar admission

Job description

Kovo is an early-stage fintech startup seeking its sole legal and compliance lead to own end-to-end function across current and future products. You will build the posture, automate where possible, and partner with product, engineering, and banks/regulators to scale with the company.

The role demands hands-on leadership, pragmatic risk minimization, and a bias for rapid iteration in a fast-growth environment. You will report to the founders in Austin, TX.