Lead Compliance Officer

About the Role

Truss Payments is seeking a Lead Compliance Officer to build and lead our compliance program from the ground up. This is a foundational, in-office hire based at our San Francisco headquarters, five days a week. You will be the architect of our entire compliance infrastructure — designing policies, establishing controls, managing regulatory relationships, and ensuring we meet the rigorous standards required of a financial institution. We need a senior leader who has done this before at early-stage fintech companies and understands what it takes to stand up a compliance program that scales with rapid growth.

Key Responsibilities

• Build the compliance program from scratch, including BSA/AML, KYC/CIP, OFAC sanctions screening, fraud prevention, and consumer protection frameworks
• Design and implement compliance policies, procedures, and internal controls tailored to neobank and payment platform operations
• Serve as the primary point of contact with banking partners, regulators, and examiners, managing all regulatory examinations and audits
• Develop and oversee the transaction monitoring program, including SAR/CTR filing, alert tuning, and escalation procedures
• Build and manage the compliance team as the company scales, including hiring, training, and mentoring compliance staff
• Conduct and oversee enterprise-wide risk assessments, including money laundering, terrorist financing, and sanctions risk
• Establish vendor due diligence and third-party risk management processes for fintech partnerships and banking relationships
• Create and deliver compliance training programs across the organization
• Monitor regulatory developments (federal, state, and international) and proactively adapt the compliance program to evolving requirements
• Work closely with product, engineering, and operations teams to embed compliance controls into product design and customer onboarding flows
• Prepare and present compliance reporting to the board of directors and senior leadership

Requirements

• 5–10+ years of compliance experience in financial services, with a strong focus on fintech, neobanks, or digital banking startups
• Proven track record of building compliance programs from scratch at early-stage or growth-stage fintech companies
• Deep expertise in BSA/AML, KYC/CIP, OFAC, state money transmitter licensing, and consumer lending regulations
• Direct experience working with bank sponsors/partner banks and navigating the BaaS (Banking-as-a-Service) regulatory landscape
• Experience managing regulatory examinations, consent orders, or MRAs with federal and state regulators (OCC, FDIC, FinCEN, state DFIs)
• Strong understanding of payment systems (ACH, wire, card networks) and the compliance obligations specific to each rail
• Experience selecting and implementing compliance technology (transaction monitoring, case management, identity verification platforms)
• CAMS, CRCM, or equivalent professional certification strongly preferred
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to translate complex regulatory requirements for non-compliance audiences
• Ability to work on-site at our San Francisco office five days per week

Nice to Have

• Experience with AI/ML-powered compliance tools and regtech platforms — you’ve used technology to scale compliance operations, not just manual processes
• You’ve stood up a compliance program at a brand-new fintech from day one — not inherited an existing program, but actually built one from scratch
• Hands-on experience in client-facing roles such as bank teller or branch operations — you’ve had tough conversations with customers, reviewed fraud cases firsthand, and know what it’s like to investigate and report suspicious activity at the ground level

What We Offer

• Competitive salary and equity compensation reflecting the seniority and impact of the role
• Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance
• On-site work at our San Francisco headquarters with a collaborative team environment
• Opportunity to be a foundational leader shaping the compliance culture of a growing payments company
• Direct access to executive leadership and board-level visibility