Senior Manager, FinCrimes/AML – KYC

Job description

ABOUT POLYMARKET Polymarket is the world's largest prediction market platform. We enable individuals to express views on real-world events by trading on outcomes across politics, economics, sports, culture, and current affairs. Built as a peer-to-peer marketplace with no centralized "house," Polymarket aggregates diverse opinions into transparent, market-based probabilities that reflect collective expectations about the future. We're growing fast, both in terms of volume ($21B traded in 2025) and adoption as an alternative news source. Our ambition is to become a ubiquitous beacon of truth in global media and we need your help adding fuel to the fire. ABOUT THE ROLE Polymarket US is hiring a Senior Manager of KYC to own our Know Your Customer program end-to-end. This is a hands-on leadership role sitting within the Legal and Compliance function. You will be responsible for the design, implementation, and ongoing maintenance of our CIP, CDD, and EDD processes, and you will manage a team of KYC analysts who execute against those programs daily. The mandate is clear: build a KYC program that meets CFTC, BSA, and OFAC requirements, scales with our growth, and does not create unnecessary friction for customers trying to get on the platform. This role matters because Polymarket is operating in a fast-moving regulatory environment, and we need someone who has been here before. You will be setting the standards, writing the procedures, and making the calls that determine how we identify and manage customer risk across the full client lifecycle, including clearing members, market participants, and institutional clients. You will coordinate closely with Operations, Product, and Legal to make sure KYC requirements are embedded into onboarding workflows from the start, not bolted on after the fact. If you have personally rebuilt or designed a KYC framework at a regulated FinTech or derivatives firm, managed a team of AML analysts through a period of real growth, and navigated a regulatory exam without significant findings, this role was written for you. WHAT YOU'LL DO - Own and continuously maintain Polymarket's KYC program, including all CIP, CDD, and EDD policies, procedures, and process documentation, keeping them current with CFTC, NFA, and BSA requirements. - Design and refine the customer risk rating methodology, including documentation standards, escalation criteria, and decisioning frameworks, and recalibrate it as customer profiles and regulatory expectations evolve. - Review and adjudicate escalated EDD cases from the analyst team, and establish quality assurance and quality control processes to ensure KYC files are consistent, accurate, and audit-ready. - Manage a team of KYC analysts, including hiring, training, coaching, and performance management, with a focus on building a high-performing team that can scale with the business. - Partner with Product and Operations to embed KYC and CIP requirements into onboarding workflows for new products, resolving blockers in the onboarding queue and ensuring compliance does not slow down the customer experience unnecessarily. - Track KYC program metrics and trends, present findings to senior leadership and the Risk Committee, and represent the AML and sanctions function in discussions with regulators, prospective clients, and external partners. - Manage relationships with third-party vendors and technology providers across case management, screening, and blockchain analytics, including evaluating AI and automation tools that can improve program efficiency. WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR - 10 or more years of progressive BSA/AML experience, with direct ownership or leadership of a KYC program at a FinTech, derivatives firm, or broker-dealer. - 5 or more years managing and developing AML and KYC analyst teams, including hiring, coaching, and performance management, with concrete results to point to. - Hands-on experience designing or rebuilding a CIP/CDD/EDD framework, including specific decisions made around risk rating methodology, escalation criteria, and documentation standards. - Strong working knowledge of BSA requirements and CFTC/NFA regulatory expectations for DCMs, DCOs, and FCMs. - Demonstrated ability to embed KYC requirements into product onboarding workflows in close coordination with Operations, Product, and Legal teams. - Experience supporting regulatory exams, audits, or independent testing of an AML or sanctions program, with a track record of minimal findings. - Clear written and verbal communication skills, including experience presenting program metrics and escalations to senior leadership or board-level stakeholders. - (Plus) CAMS certification or Chainalysis credentials such as Chainalysis Fundamentals or Ethereum Investigations. - (Plus) Prior experience at a CFTC or NFA-registered entity. - (Plus) Experience evaluating AI or automation vendors within a compliance function. - (Plus) Familiarity with data or visualization tools such as Looker, R, or Stata for trend analysis and reporting. BENEFITS - Competitive salary & equity - Unlimited PTO - Full Health, Vision, & Dental coverage - 401k match - Hardware setup: new MacBook Pro, big display, & accessories