Financial Crimes Program Manager

📋 Description

• • Lightspark is at the forefront of revolutionizing the internet's payment infrastructure, building an open protocol that enables money to move as seamlessly as data – instantly, globally, and without friction. Our enterprise-grade tools, including Grid, Node, and Spark, empower businesses to conduct financial transactions with unparalleled speed, security, and cost-efficiency, irrespective of time or location. While headquartered in Los Angeles, California, our vision and operations are global.
• • This pivotal role is designed for an individual to architect and implement Lightspark's Financial Crimes function from its inception. You will be instrumental in establishing a robust investigative framework, developing the necessary operational infrastructure, and assembling a high-caliber team to support our rapid expansion within a dynamic and intricate payments ecosystem. The compliance landscape is multifaceted, encompassing multi-asset flows that span fiat currencies, stablecoins, and Bitcoin; high-volume cross-border transaction corridors; critical crypto on- and off-ramps; and a rapidly growing network of institutional partners.
• • Reporting directly to the Chief Compliance Officer, you will define the strategic trajectory for Anti-Money Laundering (AML), sanctions, and fraud investigations. In this early-stage capacity, you will remain actively involved in hands-on execution, playing a central role in shaping how Lightspark responsibly scales its compliance operations to meet future demands.
• • **Key Responsibilities and Contributions:**
• • **Build and Lead Financial Crimes Operations:** Design and implement the end-to-end operating model, including defining workflows, crafting comprehensive policies, and establishing detailed procedures for AML and fraud investigations, with a strong emphasis on scalability and future growth.
• • **Develop and Own the Investigations Program:** Establish best-in-class case management processes, define clear escalation frameworks, and set rigorous quality standards for investigations into potential money laundering, fraud, terrorist financing, elder abuse, and other illicit financial activities.
• • **Drive Strategic Transaction Monitoring Improvements:** Move beyond traditional reactive rule-tuning to proactively identify emerging threats and gaps in detection. Propose novel typologies specifically tailored to the nuances of cryptocurrency and cross-border payment flows. Collaborate closely with Product and Engineering teams to enhance and innovate detection capabilities.
• • **Ensure Regulatory Excellence and Compliance:** Oversee the timely and thorough submission of Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) to FinCEN. Maintain ultimate accountability for the program's overall compliance posture across all relevant domestic and international jurisdictions.
• • **Establish a Quality Assurance Function:** Build and manage a dedicated QA function to ensure Service Level Agreements (SLAs) for alert review, case investigation, and SAR filing are consistently met. Guarantee that decision-making at every critical juncture is consistent, well-documented, and defensible.
• • **Develop a Forward-Looking Vendor and Tooling Strategy:** Evaluate, select, and manage third-party vendors specializing in fraud and AML solutions. Actively explore and integrate emerging AI and machine learning tools to augment detection, investigation, and reporting workflows. This involves not just procuring software, but architecting a technologically advanced financial crimes stack.
• • **Operate Efficiently at Scale:** Implement creative strategies to maximize impact with a lean team. Leverage automation, AI-assisted triage, and intelligent process design to achieve broad coverage without compromising investigative quality.
• • **Hire and Mentor a High-Performing Team:** As the function expands, recruit, onboard, and develop junior investigators and analysts, fostering a culture of excellence and continuous learning within the team.
• • **Serve as a Key Cross-Functional Partner:** Collaborate effectively with Legal, Product, Engineering, and Customer Operations teams to integrate financial crimes risk considerations into product development lifecycles and operational processes.
• • **Act as the Primary Regulator Liaison:** Serve as the main point of contact for regulators and examiners on all financial crimes matters. Manage exam requests, respond to inquiries, and cultivate strong, proactive relationships with FinCEN and other pertinent authorities.
• • Regular travel to our Los Angeles headquarters is anticipated to foster collaboration with your team and cross-functional stakeholders, ensuring alignment and driving initiatives forward.