Compliance & AML Lead

About the role

The acts as the main liaison for Hong Kong regulators and owns the full compliance program lifecycle for the entity. This role is responsible for driving the strategic direction and operational execution of anti-money laundering (AML), counter-terrorism financing (CTF), sanctions, and Know Your Business (KYB) frameworks. The lead ensures that all compliance activities align with the regulatory expectations of the Hong Kong authorities, including the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC). They establish, implement, and maintain policies and controls to mitigate regulatory and reputational risk. This position requires a high level of professionalism, sound judgment, and integrity when handling sensitive regulatory matters. Success is measured by the ability to build strong relationships with supervisory bodies and ensure the firm maintains its license to operate. The Compliance & AML Lead also ensures that compliance activities are documented, governed, and audit-ready at all times.

What you'll do

Regulators receive communication through a designated role that leads examinations, inspections, and ongoing supervisory engagements for the entity. The Compliance & AML Lead serves as this central point of contact and manages all interactions with Hong Kong regulators. They are responsible for building and maintaining the compliance framework, including policies for anti-money laundering, counter-terrorism financing, sanctions, KYC and KYB, transaction monitoring, and regulatory reporting. The governance and audit readiness function ensures that documentation, oversight, and audit preparedness are maintained for all compliance activities. The lead builds, mentors, and leads a high-performing global compliance team, setting clear accountability and performance standards. They track global regulatory developments, assess their impact on the business, and proactively adapt the compliance program accordingly. The role involves designing, implementing, and maintaining controls to meet Hong Kong regulatory standards and international best practices. Regular risk assessments are conducted to identify gaps, and remediation plans are driven across business units. The lead manages the end-to-end liaison with the SFC for Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) licensing applications, updates, and regulatory correspondence. They also develop and deliver compliance training and awareness programs to foster a strong control culture across the organization. Performance reports on compliance, incidents, and regulatory interactions are prepared for senior management and the board.

Requirements

A bachelor's degree in law, finance, business administration, or a related discipline from Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, UK, or US. The candidate must bring 10+ years of compliance experience within a bank, financial institution, fintech, or crypto firm. Prior experience as Manager in Charge of Compliance and AML in Hong Kong licensed institutions is essential. Extensive direct interaction with Hong Kong regulatory agencies is required. Exposure to regulatory governance, licensing, or compliance monitoring within a regulated financial institution is necessary. Strong analytical and problem-solving skills are needed to interpret regulations and apply them to new products and business models. The candidate must demonstrate flexibility to adapt regulatory frameworks as the business and regulatory landscape evolves. Strong communication and stakeholder-management skills are required for engagement with regulators, senior management, and cross-functional teams. The ability to manage multiple priorities and deliver high-quality work under tight timelines is critical. Excellent command of both written and spoken English and Chinese is mandatory. Strong teamwork orientation, ownership, and pride in deliverables are expected.

Practical notes

The role is based in Hong Kong SAR and requires engagement with the SFC for VASP licensing. You will act as the key liaison with Hong Kong regulators, examinations, and inspections. Team leadership involves building and mentoring a global compliance function. Typical interview steps for data roles commonly include a SQL or coding exercise, a statistics question, and a case study. Candidates may be asked to design a metric, interpret an experiment, or build a small model. Some companies also use take-home analysis. Expect questions about past projects and the business impact of your work. Interviewers often evaluate how you communicate uncertainty and business impact, not only technical ability. Bringing a clean write-up of a past analysis to the interview is well received.

Good to know

Compliance professionals use rule-based systems to assess risk and monitor activity. Regulatory technology platforms support monitoring, reporting, and documentation workflows. Communication skills are essential for stakeholder engagement in financial services. Cross-functional collaboration aligns controls with product and business initiatives.

Career growth

Data careers grow toward senior analyst, staff data scientist, or data engineering lead. Many professionals specialize in machine learning, analytics, or infrastructure. Cross-functional work with product and engineering teams becomes more important at senior levels. The field changes quickly, so continuous learning is part of the job. Professionals who can translate numbers into decisions tend to advance fastest.