Director, Compliance

About the Position

As Compliance Director, you will be focused on developing and implementing components of Fireblocks’ Bank Secrecy Act (“BSA”), Anti-Money Laundering (“AML”), and Counter-Terrorist Financing (“CTF”) Compliance Program for its regulated services products. Your expertise in transaction and customer monitoring will be critical in establishing and executing compliance operations for Fireblocks’ regulated services focused on supporting its institutional clients. The Compliance Director’s deep knowledge of the regulations, guidelines and industry-leading practices for BSA/AML/CTF compliance applied in a digital assets context will be invaluable to helping Fireblocks design and deploy an effective compliance program that will protect the Company and meet regulatory expectations. 

To be successful in this role, the candidate will need to work closely with internal and external stakeholders, including senior management and regulators, to achieve effective, risk-based compliance for these services. The successful candidate will be comfortable working in a fast-paced environment and up for the challenge of scaling a start-up to greater heights. A roll-up-your-sleeves mentality and forward-thinking approach to compliance will be critical to driving the exponential growth needed for this group. The ideal candidate will also possess a deep understanding of banking or payments, in either the traditional or Web3 worlds, to unlock operational efficiencies in our products and services. 

This position reports directly to the Fireblocks’ Senior Director of Compliance and Chief Compliance Officer for the regulated entities. The position will oversee a small team while building out the program, but will grow as new regulated products come online. This role will be based in the US, with preference for candidates based near our NYC HQ, although qualified candidates from other locations are encouraged to apply.

What You'll Do

• Lead the design, development, and implementation of the BSA/AML and Sanctions compliance program components for a regulated custodian and money services business (e.g., Transaction Monitoring, Investigations, Governance, Customer Due Diligence). 
• Executing compliance operations as needed including, but not limited to, name screening, transaction monitoring, investigations, report filing, client onboarding and ongoing review, and governance.
• Be the responsible officer ensuring Suspicious Activity Reports meet requirements and are filed in a timely manner. 
• Oversee the BSA/AML and Sanctions compliance program and report on operational risks and metrics to stakeholders, including the Chief Compliance Officer and Board of Directors for the regulated entities. 
• Drive updates to AML/CTF risk classifications and assessment of risks related to new products/activities.
• Act as the point person for regulatory inquiries, including securing new licenses and managing renewals, and manage coordination of regulatory examinations, audits and independent assessments. 
• Provide guidance on compliance-related matters to various internal stakeholders and ensure compliance with regulatory requirements. 
• Proactively identify opportunities to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of the compliance programs through process improvements or technological solutions. 
• Tackle ad hoc projects as necessary to support the enhancement or operation of the compliance program at the direction of the Senior Director of Compliance. 

What You'll Bring 

• 10+ years of experience working with regulated financial institutions in senior compliance roles with robust knowledge of BSA/AML and Sanctions Compliance Programs.
• Knowledge and experience with Payments, Banking, Correspondent Banking, Fintech, or Cryptocurrency organizations at a senior level. 
• Strong knowledge of relevant BSA/AML and Sanctions regulatory frameworks and leading industry practices for money service businesses or banks in the US. 
• Experience designing effective controls and leading the execution of key components of a BSA/AML and Sanctions Compliance Program. 
• Experience as a people manager with a preference for a player-coach organizational structure; a consummate team player. 
• Growth mindset to tackle any problem and learn any skill that will support the evolution of the compliance programs.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, including how to identify patterns of unusual or suspicious activity. 
• Excellent personal, political, analytical, and communications skills with a high attention to detail.

Nice to Have

• Experience working in Web3 organizations or intermediate familiarity with digital assets.
• Experience working with or for Federal or New York-regulated financial institutions, business consultancies, or the financial services regulator. 
• Experience designing transaction monitoring detection scenarios and managing model validation assessments. 
• An advanced degree in finance or law (e.g., Masters, Juris Doctor). 
• Domain-specific certification(s), such as Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (“CAMS”), or blockchain analytics tool, e.g., Chainanalysis Reactor Certificate.
• Experience or interest in novel payments or digital assets use cases, including stablecoins, tokenization, digital identity, non-fungible tokens, or blockchain infrastructure.

For employees hired to work from New York, or from our NYC HQ, Fireblocks is required by law to include a reasonable estimate of the compensation range for this role. This range is specific to New York City and takes into consideration a wide range of factors that are reviewed when making a hiring decision, such as years of experience, skills, and other business needs.

It is not typical for a candidate to be hired at or near the top of the pay range and each compensation decision is dependent on each individual case. A reasonable base salary range estimate for this position is $200,000 - $250,000. The base salary is one component of the total compensation package, which for some roles may include a target bonus, a competitive equity grant, and generous benefits.

While we believe competitive compensation is a critical aspect of your decision to join us, we do hope you also spend time considering why our mission and culture are right for you. We are creating something transformational here, and we hope you are as excited about the future as we are.