Chief Compliance Officer (USA)

Location

United States (Remote). This role is fully remote within the U.S., with occasional travel as needed.

Role Overview

We are seeking a highly experienced and strategic Chief Compliance Officer (CCO) to build and lead our U.S. regulatory compliance, BSA/AML, and financial crimes program from the ground up. This is a critical executive role responsible for architecting our compliance infrastructure, securing U.S. Money Transmitter Licenses (MTLs), and serving as the primary liaison with regulators, banking partners, and other oversight bodies.

If you thrive in high-growth, high-ambiguity environments and enjoy building programs from scratch, this role offers the opportunity to define the compliance culture and strategy for the company from day one.

Key Responsibilities

Program Leadership & Governance

• Build the U.S. compliance department from the ground up including organizational structure, staffing strategy, technology roadmap, and governance frameworks.
• Oversee and drive the design, implementation, and continuous refinement of all compliance programs, including AML/BSA, KYC, KYB, EDD, sanctions, fraud mitigation, consumer protection, and state regulatory requirements.
• Serve as the company’s BSA Officer, ensuring compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act, OFAC requirements, state money transmitter laws, and applicable federal guidance.
• Lead the enterprise-wide AML/compliance risk assessment and implement controls proportionate to emerging risks across fiat, blockchain, and API-based financial products.

Money Transmission Licensing (MTL) Strategy

• Lead, manage, and execute the U.S. Money Transmitter License (MTL) application process.
• Build policies, procedures, and operational frameworks required for MTL approval and ongoing compliance.
• Coordinate responses to regulatory inquiries, exams, audits, and ongoing reporting obligations for all U.S. states.

Policy & Procedure Development

• Draft, formalize, and maintain a comprehensive library of compliance policies, SOPs, risk assessments, training materials, and regulatory filings.
• Ensure all policies remain aligned with FinCEN, OFAC, state MSB/MTL requirements, and industry best practices.
• Implement compliance-by-design into product flows, onboarding, verification, payments, wallet activities, and transaction monitoring.

Operational Compliance Oversight

• Oversee day-to-day financial crimes operations, including transaction monitoring, blockchain analytics reviews, SAR/STR filings, sanctions screening, and high-risk customer escalations.
• Manage compliance tools, vendors, and infrastructure—identity verification, sanctions screening, case management, blockchain analytics, and automated monitoring systems.
• Own regulatory reporting, management information systems (MIS), testing, and internal/external audits.

Regulatory & External Relationship Management

• Serve as the primary point of contact for U.S. state regulators, FinCEN, banking partners, auditors, and other supervisory bodies.
• Lead all regulatory exams, audits, inquiries, and annual/state-required reporting.
• Represent the company in industry groups, regulatory meetings, and compliance advisory forums.

Cross-Functional Leadership

• Collaborate with product, engineering, legal, and operations teams to embed compliance controls in new products, features, and markets.
• Advise the executive team and Board of Directors on compliance risk exposure, strategy, and regulatory developments.
• Build and mentor a high-performing compliance and financial crimes team as the company scales.

Required Qualifications & Experience

Minimum Qualifications

• 10 years of experience in compliance, AML/BSA, and financial crimes within fintech, payments, digital assets, banking, or related regulated sectors.
• Prior experience as a Chief Compliance Officer, BSA Officer, Deputy BSA Officer, or senior leader with full program ownership with a state regulated money transmitter.
• Direct experience applying for and managing U.S. Money Transmitter Licenses (MTLs) and working with state regulatory agencies.
• Proven ability to build compliance programs, teams, and operational processes from scratch.
• Deep knowledge of FinCEN, OFAC, state MSB/MTL regulations, and applicable industry frameworks (FATF, AMLD, etc.).
• Extensive experience drafting policies, controls, risk assessments, and regulatory documentation.
• Strong communication skills and comfort presenting to regulators, banking partners, investors, and senior leadership.