Compliance Program Manager, Lightspark Payments

Job Title: Compliance Lead

Salary: $160K - $225K Employment Type: Full-Time Location Type: Remote (Regular travel to Los Angeles required)

Position Overview

Lightspark is building enterprise-ready infrastructure for open payments on the Internet at scale, utilizing the Lightning Network. We are seeking an experienced Compliance Lead to establish and manage the compliance and risk program for our regulated payments business. This role is crucial for the initial launch of Lightspark Payments, focusing on customer onboarding, counterparty due diligence, fraud controls, and monitoring. Initially an independent contributor, this role will grow to manage a team of analysts and investigators.

Responsibilities

• Own and manage the KYC/CDD program: This includes execution and hiring of additional staff for customer due diligence reviews.
• Develop transaction monitoring rules: Define the initial set of rules and establish a formal manual review and investigations process.
• Perform counterparty due diligence: Develop a customer risk rating model for retail and business customers.
• Oversee fraud controls: Manage the configuration of our third-party fraud vendor's front-end and detective monitoring alerts.
• Cross-functional collaboration: Work closely with Product, Engineering, Legal, Design, and Business Development teams.
• Provide subject matter expertise: Offer real-time guidance on compliance requirements for new and enhanced products/services.
• Funds flow analysis: Understand and articulate how compliance requirements intersect with end-to-end funds flow.
• Risk identification and mitigation: Identify potential risks (compliance, regulatory, financial, fraud) and propose solutions to leadership.

Requirements

• Experience:
  • 10+ years of total experience.
  • At least 5 years in a compliance management role (e.g., BSA or Compliance Officer).
• Subject Matter Expertise: Essential in at least one of the following:
  • Domestic or cross-border payments.
  • Blockchain or cryptocurrency.
  • Stablecoin payment infrastructure.
  • Customer identification for a regulated entity.
• Technical Understanding:
  • Understanding of the functional and technical design of blockchain, Bitcoin, and ideally the Lightning Network.
• Prior Experience:
  • Experience with payment systems and US/international payment rails.
  • Familiarity with compliance obligations related to payments and customer onboarding.
  • Experience integrating or configuring compliance vendors or designing requirements for internal systems.
• Skills:
  • Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
  • Ability to translate complex requirements into actionable product documentation.
  • Excellent communication and collaboration skills.

About Lightspark

Lightspark is building the tools and services to create a protocol for money on the Internet. We are developing regulated services on the Lightning Network to enable an always-on, low-cost, universal payment network. This will transform how money is moved, empowering businesses and developers to build new financial systems accessible to everyone, globally. Lightspark is headquartered in Los Angeles, California, but serves the world.