Lead KYC Analyst

Lead KYC Analyst at Circle

Circle (NYSE: CRCL) is a leading internet financial platform, building an open, global economy through digital assets, payment applications, and programmable blockchain infrastructure. The platform features the world's largest regulated stablecoin network (USDC), Circle Payments Network for global money movement, and Arc, an enterprise-grade blockchain designed as the Economic OS for the internet. Enterprises, financial institutions, and developers leverage Circle for trusted, internet-scale financial innovation.

What You’ll Be Part Of

Circle prioritizes visibility and stability, expanding into robust global jurisdictions. Speed and efficiency drive our success, underpinned by values like High Integrity, Future Forward, Multistakeholder, Mindful, and Driven by Excellence. We foster a flexible, remote work environment where new ideas are encouraged, and every employee is a stakeholder.

What You’ll Be Responsible For

Circle is seeking a Lead KYC Analyst to join its Compliance Operations team, focusing on complex reviews and projects. This role involves managing the end-to-end KYC lifecycle, including onboarding, periodic reviews, event-driven reviews, and offboarding. You will operate at the intersection of innovative products and customers, supporting Circle’s commitment to platform safety through in-depth customer investigations and continuous monitoring of various threat vectors within the KYC landscape.

What You'll Work On

• Conducting detailed assessments of complex customers for risks like money laundering, financial crimes, and terrorist financing through thorough review and enhanced due diligence, including negative news and nature of business analysis.
• Ongoing monitoring of customers, which includes counterparty compliance calls, transactional activity assessment, and collecting/testing customer file samples.
• Partnering with key internal stakeholders, such as business teams and other control functions, to monitor client relationships and ensure compliance with regulatory expectations.
• Recommending appropriate risk-based business actions for customer onboarding and ongoing monitoring.
• Completing written reports of findings, including comprehensive details, narratives, and recommendations.
• Identifying customer risk appetite and making appropriate decisions regarding onboarding or rejecting customers.
• Recommending courses of action to management based on analysis of findings.
• Ensuring the highest standards of documentation and quality in executing onboarding and periodic review processes.
• Closely following regulatory, compliance, and enforcement developments in the cryptocurrency industry to keep processes updated.
• Driving standardization and optimization of KYC workflows across regions.
• Supporting technology teams in defining requirements for KYC systems and tools (e.g., onboarding platforms, document repositories, screening solutions).
• Monitoring and analyzing KYC metrics to identify trends and propose solutions for operational efficiency.

What You’ll Bring To Circle

• 7+ years of relevant experience in AML and KYC reviews for corporates, with at least 2 years in crypto, preferably in onboardings requiring specialized due diligence.
• A passion for digital currency, blockchain technology, and services built upon it.
• Deep understanding of blockchain technology.
• First-class investigative and problem-solving skills, with the ability to structure ambiguous problems, generate hypotheses, coordinate research, analyze data, and synthesize insights.
• A "get things done" mindset, capable of strategic thinking while taking tactical initiative, iterating, improving, and anticipating leadership demands.
• Experience collaborating cross-functionally and driving results with diverse stakeholders.
• Proven ability to work collaboratively and effectively with multiple internal teams.
• Appreciation for direct communication.
• Experience and comfort working in an ever-changing industry with flexibility to quickly react to changing demands; a continuous learner.
• Strong communication skills and presence, capable of interfacing with internal and external teams.
• B.A./B.S. degree; a quantitative or technical degree is a plus.
• CAMS, CFCS, or CFE certification is a plus.
• Ability to work effectively in a fully remote environment with teams spanning multiple time-zones (US, Europe & APAC).
• Familiarity with Slack, Apple MacOS, and GSuite.

Key skills/competency

• KYC lifecycle management
• AML compliance
• Enhanced due diligence
• Financial crime investigation
• Blockchain technology
• Risk assessment
• Regulatory compliance
• Workflow optimization
• Data analysis
• Stakeholder collaboration