Sr. Screening Program Manager

📋 Description

• • As a Sr. Screening Program Manager at Kraken.Com, you will be instrumental in building and fortifying the future of cryptocurrency by ensuring robust compliance with global sanctions regulations. This fully remote role reports directly to Kraken's Chief Sanctions Officer (CSO) and operates within the critical Global Sanctions Compliance function, reporting to senior sanctions leadership. Your primary responsibility will be the comprehensive design, meticulous execution, and continuous enhancement of Kraken's sanctions screening program. This encompasses a wide array of critical areas, including name screening, transaction monitoring, geo-controls, sophisticated evasion detection mechanisms, and all related technical controls implemented across Kraken and its diverse global subsidiaries.
• • While this is an individual contributor role, its success hinges on extensive leadership experience. You will be the driving force behind sanctions screening strategy, control implementation, program optimization, and ensuring regulatory readiness. This requires exceptional communication, meticulous documentation, strong partnership-building capabilities, and strategic foresight, all underpinned by exemplary time management skills. You will be expected to lead initiatives, influence stakeholders, and execute independently with a high degree of ownership.
• • Your core mission will be to own and manage Kraken's global sanctions screening program. This involves not only maintaining but actively enhancing existing frameworks for name screening, transaction monitoring, IP geo-blocking, sanctions evasion detection, and associated technical controls. The goal is to ensure these frameworks consistently meet and exceed global regulatory expectations while simultaneously supporting the scalability and efficiency demanded by Kraken's rapid growth and expansion.
• • You will be tasked with designing and executing a forward-thinking screening strategy that not only ensures regulatory compliance but also actively supports business growth, facilitates seamless product launches, and enables successful global expansion initiatives. This strategic planning will be crucial in navigating the dynamic crypto landscape.
• • A significant part of your role will involve close collaboration with Compliance, Risk, and Engineering teams. You will lead and execute critical tuning efforts for sanctions screening tooling and related controls. Furthermore, you will partner closely with Engineering to develop, prioritize, and execute the sanctions screening roadmap. This includes managing vendor relationships, overseeing system control enhancements, and ensuring the technological infrastructure is robust and adaptable.
• • You will actively participate in annual and ad-hoc enterprise, product, and sanctions risk assessments, with a sharp focus on identifying and mitigating screening-related risks. This proactive approach involves identifying emerging sanctions risks, pinpointing control gaps, detecting data quality issues, performing thorough root cause analyses, and recommending effective corrective actions to prevent future issues.
• • Collaboration is key. You will work hand-in-hand with Product, Engineering, Legal, Client Engagement, and Finance teams to embed essential sanctions screening requirements into both new and existing products. This cross-functional partnership will ensure that compliance is a foundational element of our product development lifecycle. You will also assist Sanctions peers in the completion of Product Risk Assessments, specifically focusing on sanctions controls and risk mitigants.
• • You will be responsible for leading the creation of detailed Business Requirements Documents (BRDs) for all sanctions screening initiatives. This involves translating complex compliance needs into clear, actionable requirements that technical teams can effectively implement. Your ability to bridge the gap between compliance and technology will be paramount.
• • You will provide crucial support during regulatory exams, audits, testing, and inquiries related to sanctions screening controls and systems. This requires a deep understanding of regulatory expectations and the ability to clearly articulate Kraken's compliance posture. You will also serve as a key advisor, providing sanctions screening guidance to leadership, regional compliance partners, and various cross-functional stakeholders.
• • A continuous drive for improvement is expected. You will lead efforts to enhance processes, elevate documentation quality, and mature the overall sanctions screening program across all its verticals, ensuring Kraken remains at the forefront of compliance best practices.
• • This role demands a hands-on approach, requiring strong ownership, strategic thinking, and the ability to both lead complex initiatives and execute tasks independently in a fast-paced, highly regulated, and rapidly evolving cryptocurrency environment. Your expertise will directly contribute to Kraken's mission of accelerating global crypto adoption and fostering financial freedom and inclusion.