Internal Audit Manager

As an Internal Audit Manager at Kraken (Payward), you'll lead risk-based operational audits across a global, multi-jurisdiction financial services business. You'll partner with Internal Audit leadership to evaluate governance, regulatory, financial, and operational controls, with an immediate priority on post-acquisition integration as the business scales through acquisition. You'll direct specialist support, manage concurrent audit engagements end-to-end, and apply AI-enabled auditing to expand coverage and efficiency while retaining human judgment on audit conclusions.

What you'll do

• Lead risk-based operational audits across governance, regulatory, financial, and operational processes, and help shape audit plan coverage across the business
• Lead post-acquisition integration audits, assessing readiness, control environment onboarding, and the design and operating effectiveness of controls in acquired businesses
• Assess integration and change risk across governance, regulatory licensing and change-of-control conditions, finance and operations, data migration, key-person retention, and conduct and culture
• Perform risk assessments to identify key areas of exposure and prioritize audit coverage across the plan and acquisition pipeline
• Direct co-sourced specialist support for deep-technical areas while retaining Internal Audit ownership of judgment and conclusions
• Lead AI-enabled auditing by applying generative AI, agentic workflows, and data analytics across the audit lifecycle to expand coverage and efficiency
• Lead multiple audit engagements concurrently, managing planning, fieldwork, and reporting end-to-end
• Document audit findings, control gaps, and root causes, and draft clear, well-supported workpapers and reports
• Track and validate remediation of identified issues, escalating delays or gaps to Internal Audit leadership
• Contribute to continuous improvement of audit methodologies and frameworks, ensuring conformance with IIA Global Internal Audit Standards and quality assurance requirements
• Lead engagement teams, including staffing and coordinating co-sourced specialists, and mentor junior auditors
• Partner with stakeholders across Compliance, Legal, Risk, Finance, and Engineering to communicate audit results and advise on control improvements while maintaining audit independence
• Monitor the audit plan, acquisition pipeline, and evolving regulatory expectations across relevant jurisdictions
• Partner with other Internal Audit managers and co-sourced specialists to ensure coordinated coverage across the audit plan

What you bring

• 8+ years of experience in internal audit, risk management, or regulatory examination within financial services, fintech, or crypto
• A strong generalist audit background with proven ability to plan and lead audits across business, financial, operational, and regulatory processes
• Experience auditing complex, regulated environments
• Multi-jurisdiction experience auditing or assessing controls across more than one regulatory regime, ideally with globally distributed teams
• Ability to get up to speed quickly on unfamiliar business models and direct specialist support where deep-technical depth is required
• Experience communicating findings and recommendations to senior stakeholders, including board or audit committee audiences
• Leadership experience managing audit workstreams, engagement teams, and co-sourced specialists
• Comfort operating across multiple time zones, partnering with globally distributed audit and business teams
• Ability to utilize generative AI responsibly, maintaining human oversight to deliver business-ready outputs and drive measurable improvements in workflow efficiency, cost, and quality

Nice to have

• Relevant certifications: CIA, CISA, CAMS, CFE, or equivalent
• Prior M&A or integration audit, or transaction diligence, experience
• Familiarity with crypto, fintech, or digital-asset business models

About Kraken (Payward)

Payward is the parent company behind Kraken, NinjaTrader, Breakout, xStocks, Payward Services and CF Benchmarks. Founded in 2011, Kraken is one of the world's longest-standing crypto platforms, trusted by over 10 million individuals and institutions globally, offering spot trading, margin, futures, staking, and OTC services for both individual and institutional clients.