BSA/AML Investigator

About Column

For companies building financial technology and transforming the financial services space, the biggest bottleneck to their growth and innovation is often the underlying banks and infrastructure stack they rely on. We have spent our careers founding and scaling companies like Plaid, Square, SoFi, Blend, and Affirm, and have seen this problem firsthand — builders and developers needing to partner with traditional banks, and creating API and abstraction layers over the patchwork that is the bank, its core, and many other vendors. All of this results in a complex (and often expensive) banking supply chain involving a user, fintech, BaaS middleware provider, bank, core and the Federal Reserve.

At Column, we set out to simplify and fix this. We are a bank and a software company built from the ground up, offering builders and developers technology-forward banking solutions that cut out the hundreds of vendors, middleware providers, and abstraction layers. This means a safer, more transparent, and less costly banking supply chain. Come build with us!

The opportunity:

Column's Financial Crimes team is responsible for protecting the Bank and its customers from money laundering, fraud, economic sanction evaluations, foreign corruption, and terrorist financing violations. Our program is designed to ensure the Bank, U. S. financial system, and our country are protected from illicit actors who exploit banking services with nefarious and criminal intent.

The BSA/AML Investigator performs triage investigations of transaction monitoring system generated alerts and referrals, including identifying root causes of the alert, sources and uses of funds, and potentially suspicious activity. The BSA/AML Investigator is responsible for conducting investigations to identify potentially suspicious financial and/or fraudulent activity, to include money laundering, terrorist financing, fraud and/or any other financial risks or crimes. The BSA/AML Investigator may also contribute to customer due diligence reviews and enhanced due diligence. Finally, the Investigator may support OFAC screening reviews and the triage of potential sanctions hits. 

This role reports directly to the Bank's BSA/AML Officer, and can be a remote position with occasional travel to the Bank's office in San Francisco.

What you'll do:

• Perform extensive investigations related to transaction monitoring and customer due diligence  that could implicate potential money laundering, fraud, or terrorist financing

• Prepare and document triage  investigations and their dispositions according to FInCEN/FFIEC expectations and Bank Procedures 

• Prepare detailed  escalation and dismissal narratives per FFIEC expectations  and Bank procedures

• Review transaction and customer screening reports for potential OFAC violations and reporting potential true positives to the BSA Officer

• Perform enhanced due diligence reviews of high and moderate risk customers

• Identify opportunities for procedure enhancements and efficiencies within Financial Crimes operations

• Maintain organized documentation related to financial crimes activities, including investigations, audits, and regulatory exams

• Perform day-to-day activities consistent with safe and sound business practices and regulatory requirements

What you'll need to be successful:

• Bachelor’s degree and/or equivalent experience performing investigations for a regulated financial institution

• 2-5 years of experience with BSA/AML and OFAC laws and regulations

• CAMS certification preferred but not required

• Detail oriented with excellent interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills

• Knowledge of AML typologies and red flags

• Experience preparing and documenting financial crimes investigations in accordance with FFIEC expectations

What you'll get from us:

• Comprehensive health, dental, and vision plans, including options that are 100% covered by Column for you and 50% covered for your dependents

• FSA and HSA account options to enable use of pre-tax money for medical and dependent care expenses

• 401k plan, including self-directed brokerage options

• Flexible time-off policy - take the time off that you want and need to relax and recharge

• 100% paid parental leave, including 16 weeks for birth mothers, 12 weeks for primary caregivers, and 8 weeks for secondary caregivers

• Catered lunches and dinners for SF employees

• Commuter benefits

• Regular team building events, including annual offsite

Pay transparency:

The annual base salary range for this position is $65,000 - $80,000, exclusive of equity compensation and benefits.

The range provided may be inclusive of several career levels at Column, and will be narrowed during the interview process based on a number of factors including, but not limited to, the candidate’s skill sets, experience, licensure and certifications, location, and other business and organizational needs.

We look forward to hearing from you

Column is committed to working with the best and brightest people from the broadest talent pool possible. We value bringing together a team with different perspectives, educational backgrounds, and life experiences, and believe a diversity of ideas is what allows us to develop the best solutions. All qualified individuals are encouraged to apply.

If you need assistance or a reasonable accommodation during the application and recruiting process, please reach out to accommodations@column.com.

We participate in the E-Verify program in certain locations as required by law. Learn more about the E-Verify program here.