Head of KYC

As Head of KYC within Central Compliance at Coinbase, you own the global strategy, policy, and program execution for KYC across all Coinbase regulated entities. You serve as Coinbase's subject matter expert and senior escalation point for KYC, driving program design across jurisdictions, managing a team of KYC professionals, and partnering with operations, business, product, and regulatory stakeholders to ensure Coinbase's KYC program scales with the business while meeting evolving global regulatory requirements.

What you'll do

• Own the end-to-end strategic direction of Coinbase's Global KYC program, including policy development, program implementation, advisory support, and enterprise-wide process design across all regulated entities.
• Lead a team of KYC professionals across second-line compliance supporting program design, setting performance standards, developing talent, and ensuring consistent execution across jurisdictions.
• Drive KYC issue management and resolution globally, providing oversight of corrective actions, systemic enhancements, and first-line KYC function performance.
• Partner with sales, coverage, account management, customer experience, product, and engineering teams to design and implement KYC initiatives for new product and jurisdiction launches.
• Serve as the Directly Responsible Individual (DRI) for regulatory reporting and correspondence related to global KYC program inquiries, and deliver senior management and executive-level reporting on KPIs and program health.
• Shape the interpretation and implementation of global KYC requirements in collaboration with Legal and Compliance colleagues and business stakeholders, designing scalable solutions that balance regulatory compliance with business velocity.

What you bring

• 10+ years of experience managing, designing, and implementing KYC programs at a financial institution, including direct people management experience, preferably with digital assets and/or fintech exposure.
• Deep knowledge of global AML, CTF, and sanctions regulations (including BSA, USA PATRIOT Act, FinCEN CDD Rule, 4MLD/5MLD/6MLD, OFAC sanctions) and demonstrated ability to translate regulatory requirements into scalable KYC program design across multiple jurisdictions.
• Proven track record of building and scaling a global KYC program from design through execution, including policy development, risk-based frameworks, and operational process implementation.
• Experience serving as a senior escalation point for KYC/onboarding matters, with the ability to advise on client risk, provide regulatory guidance to cross-functional teams, and represent the KYC function to regulators and senior leadership.
• Demonstrated ability to manage concurrent regulatory initiatives, jurisdiction launches, and program enhancements in a matrixed environment while delivering executive-level reporting on program performance.
• Ability to utilize generative AI responsibly, maintaining human oversight to deliver business-ready outputs and drive measurable improvements in workflow efficiency, cost, and quality.

What we offer

• Annual base salary of $252,620 to $297,200 USD (varies by location)
• Equity and bonus eligibility
• Benefits including medical, dental, vision, and 401(k)
• Remote-first work with quarterly in-person working sessions (surges)

About Coinbase

Coinbase is building the future of finance with a mission to increase economic freedom. The company operates as a remote-first organization and brings teams together quarterly for intensive in-person working sessions called surges.