Senior Manager, Sanctions

About the role

Polymarket operates as a peer-to-peer marketplace for individuals to trade on outcomes of real-world events across various sectors. As the company grows, it aims to enhance its role as a reliable source of information and needs a dedicated compliance leader to manage sanctions.

In this role, you will be responsible for developing and overseeing the sanctions compliance framework, ensuring that all aspects of U.S. economic sanctions are adhered to. This includes building and leading a sanctions team, managing screening processes, and collaborating with various departments to integrate sanctions controls effectively.

Who this role suits

• A candidate with over 8 years of experience in sanctions or financial crime compliance.
• Someone who has previously built or led a sanctions program within a regulated financial environment.
• A proactive individual who can interpret complex regulations and implement practical solutions.
• An effective communicator who can relay compliance risks to both specialists and non-specialists.

From the employer

What You'll Do

• Own and continuously enhance Polymarket US's sanctions compliance framework, including policies, procedures, governance, risk assessments, screening controls, escalation standards, and supporting documentation.
• Serve as the company's primary sanctions subject matter expert, translating OFAC requirements, U.S. economic sanctions programs, regulatory developments, and emerging risks into practical controls and operational requirements.
• Own the end-to-end sanctions screening framework across customers, transactions, counterparties, beneficial owners, and related parties, including requirements for list management, matching logic, thresholds, testing, quality assurance, and ongoing effectiveness reviews.
• Build and lead the sanctions team responsible for executing the screening framework, including establishing staffing, workflows, procedures, escalation criteria, service levels, quality standards, and performance expectations.
• Manage the investigation and disposition of sanctions screening alerts, including potential sanctions matches, ensuring decisions are consistent, well documented, and aligned with applicable requirements.
• Develop and maintain escalation and decision frameworks for potential blocked or prohibited activity, partnering with Legal and senior Compliance leadership on significant matters and regulatory reporting where required.
• Advise Legal, Compliance, Product, and business teams on sanctions risks associated with customers, counterparties, products, jurisdictions, transactions, and new business initiatives, including ownership and control considerations and application of OFAC's 50 Percent Rule.
• Partner closely with Product, Engineering, and Data teams to embed sanctions controls into onboarding, transaction flows, and other relevant product processes and to continuously improve screening effectiveness.
• Establish a strong quality and testing framework to assess whether sanctions controls are operating as designed and to identify opportunities to improve accuracy, consistency, and efficiency.
• Identify and implement opportunities to leverage AI and automation to improve the effectiveness, consistency, and efficiency of sanctions screening and alert reviews, while maintaining appropriate human oversight, controls, testing, and governance.
• Ensure the sanctions function remains closely integrated with KYC, AML Investigations, Fraud, and other Financial Crimes teams.

What We're Looking For

• 8+ years of sanctions, financial crimes, AML, or related compliance experience, with significant direct responsibility for U.S. economic sanctions.
• Deep subject matter expertise in OFAC regulations, sanctions programs, and guidance.
• Demonstrated experience building or leading both a sanctions program and sanctions / financial crime screening operations within a regulated financial institution, FinTech, broker-dealer, derivatives firm, payments company, or similarly complex environment.
• A combination of sanctions advisory and operational leadership experience - this role requires someone who can interpret complex requirements and build and manage the teams and processes used to execute them.
• Experience leveraging AI, automation, and emerging technologies to improve sanctions screening, alert review, investigations, or other financial crimes processes, with a practical understanding of appropriate governance, testing, and human oversight.
• Hands-on experience with sanctions screening, alert investigation, escalation, disposition, and blocked or rejected transaction analysis.
• Experience designing or overseeing sanctions screening systems, including matching logic, tuning, testing, list management, QA/QC, and false-positive reduction.
• Experience establishing operational metrics, productivity expectations, quality programs, escalation frameworks, and queue-management processes.
• Experience advising on sanctions risks associated with customers, counterparties, jurisdictions, transactions, products, and new business initiatives.
• Demonstrated ability to translate complex regulatory requirements into clear, practical guidance and operational controls.
• Experience drafting sanctions policies, procedures, risk assessments, escalation standards, and operational documentation.
• Experience supporting regulatory exams, audits, investigations, or independent testing.
• Strong judgment and the ability to independently assess and escalate complex sanctions matters.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to communicate sanctions risks and recommendations to senior leadership and non-specialist stakeholders.
• Ability to operate effectively in a fast-moving environment and build a program and operations function while the business continues to scale.

Benefits

• Competitive salary & equity
• Unlimited PTO
• Full Health, Vision, & Dental coverage
• 401k match
• Hardware setup: new MacBook Pro, big display, & accessories