Associate, Financial Crimes Compliance

Who Are We Looking For?

Vestwell is seeking a Financial Crimes Compliance Associate to be part of our growing Legal and Compliance Team. In this role you will take ownership of day-to-day fraud detection and anti-money laundering operations across all three of our business lines to manage fraud risk and comply with regulatory requirements. You will report to the Manager of Financial Crimes Compliance and will work cross-functionally and in close collaboration with our Client, Operations and Services Teams. The role will have a significant impact by understanding, analyzing and controlling key risk for the company as we continue to scale.

What Will You Be Doing?

As a Financial Crimes Compliance Associate, you will serve as a strategic, exempt individual contributor responsible for monitoring, analyzing, and mitigating financial crime risk. This role requires independent judgment, strong analytical skills, and the ability to interpret and apply regulatory requirements to protect the company and its clients. You will collaborate across teams to ensure accurate escalation, investigation, and resolution of suspicious activity while supporting compliance initiatives.

Your responsibilities will include, but are not limited to:

• Fraud Detection & Analysis: Analyze daily high-risk fraud indicators and surveillance reports to identify suspicious activity, applying critical thinking and regulatory knowledge to assess potential risk.
• Typology Development: Identifying emerging fraud patterns and trends, and communicate them for adaptations to reporting and training materials.
• Regulatory Interpretation: Interpret applicable financial crimes and anti-money laundering regulations, applying them to business operations and client activity to ensure compliance and mitigate risk.
• Escalation & Reporting: Review, research, and respond to escalated surveillance and screening alerts. Prepare detailed escalation memos to alert clients or internal stakeholders of potential suspicious activity.
• Collaboration & Issue Resolution: Partner with Client, Operations, and Services Teams to track, research, and resolve inquiries, complaints, and escalations related to potential financial crimes.
• Data Logging & Reporting: Maintain accurate records of suspicious activity investigations and prepare data for management and client reporting.
• Process Improvement & Compliance Projects: Collaborate on improving procedures, workflows, and platform features to enhance efficiency and effectiveness of security reviews. Support Legal and Compliance team initiatives to scale financial crime mitigation strategies.
• Independent Judgment: Exercise discretion and analytical judgment when reviewing alerts, escalating issues, and recommending procedural or operational improvements.

Requirements

The Necessities

• A Bachelor's degree in business, finance and/or criminal justice
• Experience performing fraud detection or anti-money laundering functions.
• Comfort working in a fast-paced start-up environment with a substantial degree of autonomy.
• Exceptional analytical and detail-oriented aptitude; a high degree of accuracy is required.
• Strong critical-thinking skills, with the ability to analyze information, identify patterns, and make sound, evidence-based decisions.
• Ability to manage time effectively, set priorities, and meet deadlines.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Proficiency with productivity tools, especially JIRA.
• Experience with research tools like LexisNexis.

The Extras

• Experience working at a financial institution or fintech or high growth startup.
• Experience drafting SARs or responding to FinCEN 314(a) requests.
• Familiarity with identity-verification platforms such as Plaid or Persona.

This role could be based in our New York City, Austin, King of Prussia, or Scottsdale office and will be part of Vestwell's hybrid in-office operation.

The expected base salary range for this position is $60K - $70K base. This position is eligible to participate in the Company Bonus Pool and is eligible to receive new hire equity in the Company. Please note that salary bands are based on New York and other similar metro areas and may differ based on where the role is ultimately hired.