Lightspark

Financial Crimes Operations Program Manager

Lightspark

full-time

Posted on:

Location Type: Remote

Location: United States

Visit company website

Explore more

✨ AI Apply
Apply

Salary

💰 $192,000 - $225,000 per year

Job Level

SeniorLead

About the role

  • Build and lead the Financial Crimes Operations function — design the operating model, workflows, policies, and procedures for AML and fraud investigations from scratch, with an eye toward scalability
  • Develop and own the investigations program — establish case management processes, escalation frameworks, and quality standards for investigations into money laundering, fraud, terrorist financing, elder abuse, and other illicit activity
  • Drive strategic improvements to transaction monitoring — move beyond reactive rule-tuning to proactively identify gaps, propose new typologies specific to crypto and cross-border payment flows, and work cross-functionally with product and engineering to improve detection capabilities
  • Ensure regulatory excellence — oversee the timely and thorough filing of Suspicious Activity Reports with FinCEN, and maintain accountability for the program's overall compliance posture across domestic and international jurisdictions
  • Build a forward-looking vendor and tooling strategy — evaluate, select, and manage third-party fraud and AML vendors and actively explore how emerging AI and machine learning tools can augment detection, investigation, and reporting workflows; you're not just procuring software, you're designing a tech-forward financial crimes stack
  • Operate efficiently at scale — find creative ways to punch above your weight with a lean team, using automation, AI-assisted triage, and smart process design to maximize coverage without sacrificing quality
  • Hire and mentor investigators — as the function grows, recruit, onboard, and develop junior investigators and analysts, building a high-performing team
  • Serve as a key cross-functional partner — work closely with Legal, Product, Engineering, and Customer Operations to embed financial crimes risk considerations into product decisions and operational processes

Requirements

  • 8+ years of experience in AML compliance and/or fraud risk, with a demonstrated track record of building or significantly maturing an investigations function at a financial institution, crypto-native firm, or FinTech focused on cross-border payments
  • Required: direct, hands-on experience investigating crypto-related financial crimes, including tracing funds on-chain, working with blockchain analytics platforms (e.g., Chainalysis, TRM Labs, Elliptic), and filing SARs for crypto-specific typologies such as mixer usage, chain-hopping, and DeFi-related activity
  • Required: deep cross-border payments expertise, including familiarity with international AML frameworks (FATF, EU AMLD, FinCEN), correspondent banking risk, and the typologies unique to multi-jurisdictional payment flows
  • Prior experience leading or managing a team, with the ability to balance strategic leadership with hands-on execution in an early-stage environment
  • Deep knowledge of SAR filing requirements, AML transaction monitoring typologies, and fraud risk frameworks — particularly as they relate to payments, cross-border transactions, and cryptocurrency
  • Strong program-building instincts — you can design a process, document it, and then improve it based on real-world results
  • A genuine curiosity about AI and emerging tooling — you actively follow developments in AI-assisted investigations, anomaly detection, and compliance automation, and have ideally piloted or deployed tools in this space
  • A lean-team mentality — you know how to prioritize ruthlessly, build for scale from day one, and use technology to extend the reach of a small team rather than defaulting to headcount as the solution
  • Comfortable operating with ambiguity and taking initiative without a defined playbook
  • Experience in a start-up or high-growth environment strongly preferred
  • CAMS, CFCS, or CFE certification preferred
Benefits
  • Health insurance coverage including medical, dental, and vision
  • Competitive salary
  • Stock options
  • Company paid life insurance
  • 20 paid vacation days a year, as well as paid holidays
  • Flexible work schedule
  • Matching 401k
  • FSA/DCA accounts
  • Generous family leave policies
  • Annual bonuses
Applicant Tracking System Keywords

Tip: use these terms in your resume and cover letter to boost ATS matches.

Hard Skills & Tools
AML compliancefraud risk managementinvestigations program developmenttransaction monitoringcrypto-related financial crimes investigationSAR filingcross-border payments expertiseprogram-buildinganomaly detectioncompliance automation
Soft Skills
strategic leadershiphands-on executionteam managementprocess designcuriosity about AIprioritizationoperating with ambiguityinitiativementoringcross-functional collaboration
Certifications
CAMSCFCSCFE