Senior Intelligence Analyst, Iran Focus

As the Senior Intelligence Analyst with Iran focus at Chainalysis, you become the Global Intelligence Team's subject-matter expert on Iran and the IRGC. You own end-to-end attribution for Iran's crypto footprint, mapping how the Islamic Republic and its proxy networks use cryptocurrency to raise, move, and launder value beyond traditional financial systems. You are the expert voice representing Chainalysis on Iran crypto threats, inside the company and increasingly across the industry.

What you'll do

• Own Iran attribution end to end: threat-actor entities, their definitions, and the accounts, addresses, and infrastructure they operate, including Iranian exchanges and OTC/no-KYC networks, IRGC and IRGC-Qods Force 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: when OFAC or allied authorities designate Iranian entities, actors, or infrastructure, drive rapid, high-visibility on-chain attribution that turns those designations into coverage in Chainalysis data.
• Map networks on-chain: trace how Iranian actors raise, move, launder, and cash out value through Iranian VASPs, regional exchanges, mixers, no-KYC swaps, mining operations, and off-ramps, and keep that picture current as they adapt.
• Produce finished intelligence: advisory notes, customer and partner briefings, and contributions to flagship publications such as the Crypto Crime Report that make the Iran crypto threat actionable.
• Represent Chainalysis as the named external expert on Iran crypto threats at conferences, panels, in press engagements, and briefings to public- and private-sector partners.
• Help set the Iran collection agenda: surface what data you need on Iranian networks and feed those requirements into the team's collection process and priority intelligence requirements.
• Translate typologies into detection: turn what you learn about Iranian methods into guidance that products and customers can operationalize.
• Build with AI: design and tune the automation that scales your analysis and the team's, and handle hard cases automation cannot.
• Level up the team: raise the bar on Iran and threat-finance tradecraft broadly, and partner closely with analysts, other subject-matter experts, data science, and engineering.

What you bring

• Deep, demonstrable Iran expertise: 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: 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: intelligence, sanctions, counter-threat-finance, or investigations work from the intelligence community, Treasury/OFAC, law enforcement, the military, a think tank or research institution, or private-sector counter-threat-finance and sanctions work.
• Regional fluency: a strong grasp of Iranian geopolitics, the proxy network, and regional financial flows.
• Elite potential and a proven track record: exceptional aptitude, judgment, and work ethic; you have led hard problems end to end and you raise everyone around you.
• Excellent writing and communication: this is an outward-facing expert role; your intelligence must land with analysts, customers, and senior audiences.
• AI-forward instincts: 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 that connects the movement of digital assets to real-world services. Powered by deep blockchain data and AI, the company helps organizations investigate illicit activity, manage risk exposure, and develop innovative market solutions built on the industry's most trusted blockchain intelligence.