Team Lead, AML (Crypto)

Job description

BUILD SOMETHING PEOPLE LOVE Wealthsimple is Canada’s leading financial innovator. The company offers a full suite of simple, sophisticated financial products across managed investing, do-it-yourself trading, cryptocurrency, tax filing, spending and saving. Wealthsimple currently serves more than 4 million Canadians and holds over $155 billion in assets under administration. The company was founded in 2014 by a team of financial experts and technology entrepreneurs, and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada. We're proud of what we've built — and we're just getting started. Read our Culture Manual https://www.wealthsimple.com/en-ca/culture and learn more about how we work https://www.wealthsimple.com/en-ca/careers. The Anti-Money Laundering (AML) team is responsible for the detection, response, and mitigation of inherent and residual money laundering and terrorist financing risks. As a Team Lead, you’ll lead a team of Analysts focused on monitoring and investigating fiat and cryptocurrency transactions and risks. You'll drive proactive workflow improvements, navigate emerging AML typologies, and support your team’s continuous learning, helping set the standard for digital asset financial crime controls in Canada. IN THIS ROLE, YOU WILL: - Lead and develop a team of AML analysts, supporting their growth through coaching, regular 1:1s, feedback, and career conversations. - Set expectations and prioritization: communicate team and company goals, help analysts manage their workload, and adapt to shifting priorities. - Review and approve high-priority or complex investigations, ensuring adherence to internal AML policies and regulatory standards. - Champion operational excellence by monitoring team metrics (case turnaround, QA scores), analyzing trends, and acting on process or workflow gaps. - Utilize and help train the team on blockchain analytics tools, and support analysts in escalation and technical troubleshooting. - Act as a subject matter expert in financial crime (traditional fiat and/or cryptocurrency), staying up-to-date on typologies, regulatory changes, and emerging risks. - Drive improvement and innovation by proposing and piloting enhancements to alerts, casework, and overall risk strategy for fiat and crypto activity. - Ensure clear communication with stakeholders: giving proactive updates, escalating issues, and following through to resolution. - Foster a learning culture by leading regular knowledge-sharing or calibration sessions, supporting ongoing training, and spotlighting growth opportunities. WHAT DOES THE IDEAL CANDIDATE LOOK LIKE? - A hands-on leader and coach: strong at guiding others, giving feedback, and helping people stretch into new skills. - Passionate about AML: in-depth understanding of fiat and/or digital asset transaction monitoring, typologies, and regulatory best practices. - Accountable for results: data-driven, able to track and explain team performance, and agile in addressing emerging bottlenecks. - Comfortable with ambiguity and change: pro-actively finds improvement opportunities and leads the team through new workflows, system rollouts, or policy changes. - A great communicator: skilled at translating complex findings into plain language, and keeping both analysts and management informed. - Resilient and resourceful: sees challenges as chances to grow, and acts as a calm anchor in fast-evolving or high-pressure situations. QUALIFICATIONS - 4+ years of experience in AML/CTF, with 2+ years of hands-on crypto AML experience (e.g., at a crypto exchange, blockchain analytics provider, or fintech offering digital assets). - 1-2+ years in a team leadership role, coaching or managing direct reports in an operational environment. - Subject-matter expertise in AML controls, typologies, and compliance frameworks (FATF, FINTRAC, etc.). - Direct experience conducting investigations and preparing, filing, and reviewing Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs), Large Virtual Currency Transaction Reports (LVCTR), Electronic Funds Transfer Reports (EFTR), and other regulatory reports. - Strong operational rigor: proven track record of meeting SLAs, overseeing QA, and driving process improvements. - Proficient with crypto on-chain analytics tools (e.g., Chainalysis, TRM Labs, Elliptic). - Excellent written and verbal communication skills. NICE TO HAVES - Certifications in Chainalysis, TRM Labs, Elliptic, or financial crime designations (e.g., CAMS, CFE, CFCS). - Experience at a regulated crypto exchange or blockchain analytics firm. WHY WEALTHSIMPLE? 🌸 Top-tier health benefits and life insurance 📈 Long-term group savings with employer match, through Wealthsimple for Business 🌴 20 vacation days, 4 wellness days, and unlimited sick and mental health days per year ✈️ 90 days away: work outside Canada for up to 90 days per year 👥 Employee resource groups, including Rainbow (2SLGBTQ), Women of WS, and Black at WS 🌎 We are a hybrid team with over 1,500 employees across North America. The people are one of the best parts of working here: you'll collaborate with incredibly talented, curious, and driven teammates who are deeply committed to doing great work. ICYMI Technology & Innovation at Wealthsimple: We move quickly and build thoughtfully. That means we're always looking for better ways to work — whether that's new tools, AI, or rethinking how we approach a problem. We don't expect you to have all the answers, but we do expect curiosity and a willingness to evolve alongside the products we're building. Inclusion Statement: We're building products for a diverse world, and we need a diverse team to do it well. We strongly encourage applications from everyone, regardless of race, religion, colour, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, or disability status. Accessibility Statement: We're committed to an accessible hiring experience. If you need any accommodations throughout the interview process, please let us know — we'll work with you to make sure you have what you need. We also welcome any feedback on how we can better accommodate candidates with accessibility needs. AI in Hiring: We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of our hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses. These tools assist our team but don't replace human judgment – all final hiring decisions are made by people. If you have questions about how your data is used, reach out to us.