Senior Software Engineer - AI Enablement Compliance

As a Senior Software Engineer for AI Enablement Compliance at Kraken (part of Payward), you will be the primary architect and builder of AI-powered solutions within the Kraken Compliance team. This is a full-stack ownership role spanning opportunity identification, solution design, deployment, governance, and capability transfer across multiple jurisdictions and products including crypto, payments, futures, equities, custody, and margin.

What you'll do

• Architect and build agentic workflows using n8n, Claude API, Python, and MCP that take real actions in Compliance processes with appropriate human oversight and approval gates.
• Design and deliver solutions across priority Compliance use cases: alert pre-screening, case narrative generation, regulatory change summarization, EDD report drafting, and audit-ready documentation.
• Build scalable, automated analytics solutions that deliver high-quality, repeatable risk insights for Compliance leadership and regulators.
• Apply AI-enabled techniques for text analysis, transaction pattern recognition, and workflow automation to surface actionable signals from high-volume data.
• Build error handling, audit trails, regulatory-calendar awareness, and human-in-the-loop checkpoints into every production system before deployment.
• Ensure all automations comply with data classification requirements for customer PII, regulated financial data, and cross-jurisdictional privacy obligations including GDPR and applicable AML data retention rules.
• Classify all automation builds by risk tier before work begins, ensuring no build goes to production without a named Process Owner, documented data flows, access controls confirmed, and regulatory impact assessed.
• Maintain audit logging and documentation for all systems touching regulated data, SAR workflows, or sanctions-adjacent processes.
• Halt or redesign builds that introduce unacceptable regulatory, legal, or data privacy risk, owning that decision and securing organizational acceptance before proceeding.
• Serve as the Compliance domain representative in contributing to governance standards, model risk management, and cross-functional build alignment across the Automate Everything initiative.
• Produce documentation, workflow templates, and runbooks that Compliance professionals can use and maintain without technical support.
• Train Compliance team members on AI-assisted tools and workflows deployed in production and drive adoption.
• Track and report on automation impact: alert review time reduced, case throughput increased, regulatory report cycle time shortened, and analyst capacity unlocked for higher-risk work.

What you bring

• 8+ years of experience in Compliance operations, financial crime, regulatory technology, or a combined compliance and technical role with demonstrated senior-level execution.
• Strong fluency with AI and workflow automation tools, with demonstrated experience designing, deploying, and driving adoption of AI solutions within Compliance or RegTech workflows.
• Demonstrated hands-on experience designing and deploying AI-powered or automated workflows in a production environment used by others, not just experimentation.
• Deep working knowledge of anti-financial crime (AML/CFT, sanctions, transaction monitoring systems), capital markets compliance (sales and trading, market conduct, transaction surveillance, conflicts management), and data privacy frameworks.
• Systems thinking approach with a strong implementation mindset, able to move from discovery to design to build to deployment to optimization without relying on external consultants.
• Proficiency with AI tooling stack: n8n, Python, Claude API/Anthropic SDK, or equivalent. Experience connecting Compliance systems via API is required.
• Strong analytical problem-solving skills with the ability to structure ambiguous compliance questions into clear, actionable, automated analysis.
• Solid understanding of data classification, customer PII handling, and cross-jurisdictional compliance obligations including GDPR, BSA, FATF standards, and applicable AML data retention requirements.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, able to translate technical automation solutions and complex analytical results for Compliance professionals, senior leadership, and regulators who are not technical.

Nice to have

• Experience with case management platforms such as Actimize, NICE Actimize, Quantexa, or equivalent, and their API or integration architecture.
• Experience using AI for document analysis, transaction narrative generation, or regulatory report drafting in a financial crime or compliance context.
• Familiarity with regulatory examination readiness: documentation standards, model risk governance, and audit trail requirements for AI-assisted compliance decisions.
• Experience with spreadsheet automation using Google Apps Script or equivalent, and advanced proficiency in Excel and Google Sheets for compliance analytics.
• Python programming skills for transaction data analysis, risk scoring models, or compliance pipeline automation.
• Background in compliance technology platform administration: AML systems, KYC platforms, case management, markets business conduct, or sanctions screening tools.
• Prior experience standing up or operating a RegTech, compliance automation, or financial crime analytics function.
• Experience in crypto, fintech, payments, capital markets, or a regulated financial institution operating across multiple jurisdictions with exposure to FinCEN, SEC, FCA, MAS, or equivalent regulatory bodies.

About Kraken

Kraken, founded in 2011, is one of the world's longest-standing crypto platforms, trusted by over 10 million individuals and institutions globally. Kraken is part of Payward, which operates multiple financial infrastructure brands including NinjaTrader, Breakout, xStocks, Payward Services, and CF Benchmarks. Payward's Global Compliance team is the regulatory backbone of one of the world's most trusted crypto exchanges, spanning AML/KYC, sanctions, financial crime, regulatory affairs, and compliance operations across dozens of licensed entities and multiple jurisdictions.