Financial Crime Manager

Who We Are:

Ethena Labs is a leading player in the DeFi space, crafting innovative financial products tailored for modern finance. Ethena specializes in a synthetic dollar protocol known as USDe, which offers a crypto-centric monetary solution, and sUSDe, an internationally accessible savings asset denominated in dollars.

Our main objective is to furnish truly crypto-native financial remedies that transcend global boundaries, effectively bridging the gap between the traditional financial system and the digital asset sector. We prioritize principles of transparency, efficiency, and empowerment, granting individuals and institutions greater authority over their financial holdings.

What we are Doing:

At Ethena Labs, we are actively conceptualizing and implementing a range of pioneering products designed to tackle fundamental hurdles and unlock fresh possibilities in the thriving digital finance realm.

Our flagship product, USDe, represents a synthetic dollar collateralized by digital assets, employing a unique delta-neutral hedging strategy to preserve its peg. This novel approach ensures a highly scalable and censorship-resistant digital dollar.

In continuation with USDe, we introduce sUSDe, a product that offers crypto-native rewards derived from derivative market funding rates, presenting an innovative alternative to existing products heavily reliant on traditional financial infrastructure.

Moreover, we are earnestly developing solutions to encourage the adoption of digital assets by institutional entities. In collaboration with Securitize and Blackrocks BUIDL fund, USDtb presents a more conventional, asset-backed stablecoin choice, leveraging established financial frameworks to cater to institutional clients. In tandem, iUSDe is specially tailored for traditional financial institutions, integrating essential compliance features to facilitate their access to the crypto-native rewards generated by our protocol in a manner conducive to institutional preferences.

Our most ambitious endeavor thus far is Converge, a collaborative blockchain initiative with Securitize. This hybrid blockchain architecture aims to serve as the epicenter where DeFi intersects with the requirements of CeFi and TradFi. Converge is poised to become the primary issuance layer for tokenized assets, seamlessly intertwining with existing DeFi protocols to furnish institutions with a platform to partake in the decentralized financial landscape.

Through our diverse product offerings, Ethena Labs is not only reshaping the financial product landscape but also setting the groundwork for a more open, streamlined, and interlinked global financial ecosystem.

Location: Europe

The Role

The FinCrime Manager at Ethena plays a pivotal role within the compliance team, directly reporting to the Head of Compliance and maintaining close coordination with Operations, Legal, and Product sectors. This position holds substantial responsibility in reinforcing Ethena's financial crime defenses across the core suite of products and forthcoming initiatives. As the FinCrime Manager, you will oversee investigations, sanctions assessments, and enhanced due diligence, steering the formulation of policies, playbooks, and monitoring systems essential for the scalable expansion of our operations.

This role necessitates a hands-on leadership approach: the FinCrime Manager will spearhead investigations and EDD processes daily, guide junior analysts, and act as the primary contact point for partners, auditors, and regulators concerning financial crime-related issues. The ideal candidate will be process-driven and detail-oriented yet adaptable – capable of harmonizing the pragmatic demands of a rapid crypto-native enterprise with the requisite diligence to meet regulatory standards on a global scale.

What You’ll Do

• Spearhead Ethena’s financial crime operations, overseeing investigations, sanctions reviews, and high-risk case escalations across various product lines, including USDe, sUSDe, USDtb, secondary markets, and upcoming offerings.
• Devise and implement enhanced due diligence protocols for institutional and B2B2C collaborations.
• Develop and refine frameworks for sanctions monitoring and blacklist processes to ensure consistent and effective implementation of in-house case management and auto-blacklisting mechanisms.
• Manage day-to-day investigative and monitoring tasks, establishing clear turnaround time expectations, ensuring workflow proficiency, and guaranteeing the proper handling of each case.
• Establish policies and procedures for financial crime controls covering aspects such as transaction monitoring, sanctions compliance, EDD procedures, and investigations. Keep these policies updated in alignment with evolving regulatory frameworks spanning MiCA, BVI, Cayman, and other jurisdictions, and translate them into practical guidelines for the team.
• Collaborate closely with Product, Legal, and Operations teams to embed financial crime controls into the fabric of Ethena's product development and launch processes.
• Act as the central liaison for interactions with law enforcement agencies, regulators, and auditors regarding financial crime concerns.
• Train and mentor teams across the organization, from compliance and operations staff to product managers, on recognizing financial crime risks in practice, assessing sanctions exposure in a crypto context, and fostering good monitoring practices daily.

What We’re Looking For

• Demonstrated expertise in conducting financial crime investigations, with a successful track record in managing intricate crypto-related cases such as mixers, cross-chain flows, and sanctions evasion.
• Proficient in utilizing blockchain analytics platforms (TRM, Chainalysis, Elliptic) and onboarding solutions (Sumsub or similar tools).
• Sound comprehension of AML/CFT, KYC/KYB, and sanctions regulations, supported by a proven ability to apply these regulations within a multi-jurisdictional framework spanning EU MiCA, BVI AML, Cayman foundation, U.S. MSB, and beyond.
• Experience in devising and leading EDD programs for diverse counterparties, including DAOs, offshore funds, and institutional limited partners.
• Familiarity with establishing and managing AML/CFT and financial crime programs, encompassing the drafting and upkeep of policies, procedures, and playbooks.
• Exposure to practices concerning audit readiness and assurance, involving tasks such as preparing for external AML/FinCrime audits and addressing control deficiencies to enhance operational robustness.
• Technologically savvy individual capable of navigating Ethena's product ecosystem encompassing mint/redeem mechanisms, staking functionalities, off-exchange settlements, and adept at integrating compliance tools into operational workflows.

This role offers a salary range of $89,998 to $120,000 annually.

Why Ethena Labs?

Join the dynamic realm of Ethena Labs, a forward-thinking organization dedicated to revolutionizing decentralized finance.

Collaborate with a driven and innovative team that fosters a conducive environment for creativity and teamwork.

Experience a flexible work environment supporting remote work arrangements, with ample opportunities for professional development and learning.

If you share our vision of decoupling the dollar from governmental influence, we are eager to learn more about you!

We await your application and will be in touch following a thorough review.

In the meantime, feel free to explore more about Ethena Labs on Twitter and LinkedIn.