Compliance and AML Lead

About Us

We're a venture-backed startup headquartered in downtown Palo Alto, preparing for a public launch later in 2026. Backed by leading institutional investors and strategic angels, we're building a verified operating system designed to run at national scale. Our platform brings together digital identity, secure communication, modern money movement, and intelligence-driven services in a single system. Built on modern financial rails and applied AI, it supports real-world use cases such as payments, remittances, and digital services - designed for reliability, security, and scale. We're starting with deployments across markets where modern infrastructure meets real operational demand, and expanding globally from there. Initial institutional deployments are underway, with commercial agreements in place and revenue already being realized. If you're motivated by building durable systems and shaping the next generation of digital infrastructure, we'd love to build with you.

The Opportunity

We're looking for a Compliance & AML Lead to own and scale our licensing and financial crimes compliance function as the platform grows. This role is central to how we operate: ensuring that regulatory rigor, licensing strategy, and operational execution move in lockstep with product and market expansion. You'll lead money transmission and digital asset licensing efforts in the US, partner closely with regulators and external stakeholders, and help design compliance programs that are practical, durable, and built to scale. This is a hands-on role for someone who is comfortable owning complex regulatory workstreams while collaborating deeply with legal, product, and engineering teams.

What You'll Do

Licensing & Regulatory Management

Lead the acquisition and ongoing maintenance of state money transmitter licenses, including preparation of applications, regulatory submissions, and ongoing filings.

Serve as a primary point of contact with regulators, auditors, legal counsel, and other third parties to support licensing, examinations, and reviews.

Maintain and evolve compliance documentation in response to regulatory changes and business growth.

Compliance Program Design & Implementation

Design, implement, and maintain key components of the compliance and risk management program, including policies, procedures, and operational controls.

Support BSA/AML program execution, including risk assessments, transaction monitoring oversight, alert escalation, and internal control evaluations.

Conduct monitoring and testing to assess the effectiveness of compliance controls across licensing, AML, and operational compliance.

Audit & Training

Support internal and external audits, regulatory exams, and supervisory inquiries.

Contribute to compliance training and awareness to reinforce a compliance-first culture.

Partner with product and technology teams to embed licensing and compliance considerations into new features and workflows.

Strategic Initiatives

Participate in strategic initiatives that leverage regulatory licenses to enable new markets and product capabilities.

What You'll Bring

Experience & Expertise

5+ years of experience in licensing, AML, or regulatory compliance at a financial services company, fintech, or compliance advisory firm.

Demonstrated experience managing end-to-end state licensing processes, including application preparation, regulator engagement, and ongoing maintenance.

Hands-on experience with the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System (NMLS).

Strong understanding of regulatory requirements applicable to money transmitters, payments companies, and/or digital asset businesses.

Working knowledge of BSA/AML programs, including customer due diligence, transaction monitoring, and risk assessments.

Skills & Attributes

Experience engaging directly with regulators, auditors, law firms, and other external stakeholders.

Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to explain complex regulatory concepts clearly and pragmatically.

Comfort operating in a fast-paced environment, balancing independence with close cross-functional collaboration.

A practical, systems-oriented mindset and comfort working with modern tools and workflows.

Why Join Us

Work That Matters

You'll help build critical financial and digital infrastructure that makes systems safer, faster, and more transparent at scale.

Frontier Problems

We operate at the intersection of identity, communities, modern money movement, and agent-driven services—complex, regulated domains that remain largely unsolved.

Global from Day One

Built in Silicon Valley and deployed across borders. What we ship has the potential to become core infrastructure for entire nations.

Real Ownership

You'll own clearly defined product and technical domains end to end, from strategy through execution and outcomes.

High-Agency Culture

High trust, low process, fast iteration. We value technical excellence and people who take initiative and act with ownership.

What We Offer

Compensation That Reflects Impact

Highly competitive salary plus meaningful equity, designed for people who want real ownership—not just upside.

Comprehensive Health Coverage

Top-tier medical, dental, and vision insurance for you and your dependents.

In-Person First

We work from the office three days a week to move fast and build together, with quarterly in-person all-hands.

Wellness Covered

Company-paid Equinox fitness membership to support wellbeing.

Meals Provided

All meals and beverages are covered on in-office days.

Commute Supported

Bay Area commuting expenses covered, including FasTrak, Caltrain, and BART.

Flexible Time Off

Flexible PTO with no preset cap—balanced by ownership, accountability, and outcomes.