Senior Intelligence Analyst, Iran Focus

As a Senior Intelligence Analyst with Iran focus at Chainalysis, you own end-to-end attribution for Iran's cryptocurrency footprint. You join the Global Intelligence Team, becoming the subject-matter expert inside and across the industry on how Iran, the IRGC, and its proxy networks use cryptocurrency to raise, move, and launder value beyond traditional financial systems. Your work makes that activity visible on-chain and turns it into finished intelligence that investigators, sanctions authorities, and national-security agencies act on.

What you'll do

• Own Iran attribution end to end, including threat-actor entities, Iranian exchanges and OTC/no-KYC networks, IRGC and IRGC-QF financing, Iranian proxy and Shia militant finance (Hezbollah, the Houthis, Iraqi militias), sanctions-evasion infrastructure, Iranian ransomware and state-linked cyber operations, and oil-, commodity-, and procurement-for-crypto flows.
• Lead the attribution response to Iran-related sanctions events by driving rapid, high-visibility on-chain attribution when OFAC or allied authorities designate Iranian entities, actors, or infrastructure.
• Map networks on-chain by tracing how Iranian actors raise, move, launder, and cash out value through Iranian VASPs, regional exchanges, mixers, no-KYC swaps, mining operations, and off-ramps, keeping that picture current as they adapt.
• Produce finished intelligence through advisory notes, customer and partner briefings, and contributions to flagship publications like the Crypto Crime Report that make the Iran crypto threat legible and actionable.
• Represent Chainalysis as the named external expert on Iran crypto threats at conferences, panels, media interviews, and briefings to public- and private-sector partners.
• Help set the Iran collection agenda by surfacing what data you need on Iranian networks and feeding those requirements into the team's collection process and priority intelligence requirements.
• Translate Iranian methods and typologies into detection guidance that your products and customers can operationalize.
• Design and tune automation that scales your analysis and the team's, while handling the hard cases automation cannot.
• Raise the bar on Iran and threat-finance tradecraft broadly, partnering closely with analysts, other subject-matter experts, data science, and engineering.

What you bring

• Deep, demonstrable Iran expertise with real command of the IRGC and IRGC-Qods Force, Iran's proxy and Shia militant landscape, Iranian sanctions evasion, and/or Iran's illicit-finance and procurement systems.
• On-chain tracing ability against Iranian targets through direct experience following Iranian crypto activity on-chain (Iranian exchanges, sanctions evasion, proxy or terror finance), or deep Iran threat-finance expertise paired with proven blockchain-tracing skill.
• A national-security or threat-finance background from intelligence agencies, Treasury/OFAC, law enforcement, the military, a think tank, research institution, or private-sector counter-threat-finance and sanctions work.
• Regional fluency with a strong grasp of Iranian geopolitics, the proxy network, and regional financial flows.
• Exceptional aptitude, judgment, and work ethic with a proven track record leading hard problems end to end and raising everyone around you.
• Excellent writing and communication skills suited to an outward-facing expert role where your intelligence must land with analysts, customers, and senior audiences.
• AI-forward instincts where you build automation to scale your work and others', not just use it.
• Comfort working with data; blockchain forensics experience strongly preferred.
• 5+ years of relevant analytic, intelligence, or threat-finance experience for a Senior hire; 8+ years and recognized domain authority for a Staff hire.

Nice to have

• Farsi or Arabic language ability.
• Direct experience with OFAC sanctions, terror-finance designations, or the designation process.
• A record of published research or public speaking on Iran, sanctions evasion, or crypto threat finance.
• Familiarity with Iranian exchange infrastructure, crypto mining as a sanctions-evasion vector, or dual-use procurement networks.

About Chainalysis

Chainalysis is the blockchain data platform enabling organizations to investigate illicit activity, manage risk exposure, and develop innovative market solutions. Powered by deep blockchain data and AI, Chainalysis sits at the intersection of proprietary data, regulatory relationships, and crypto expertise to shape the next era of AI-driven intelligence.