Compliance & BD Lead

About the Role

Defuse Labs is building programmable, intent-based infrastructure on NEAR Protocol — making blockchain interactions smoother, smarter, and more composable. 

We are seeking a Compliance & BD Lead to build and manage a pragmatic, risk-based compliance program for our global, non-custodial DEX, Near Intents. This role covers AML, sanctions, Law Enforcement (LE) response, CEX compliance relationships, and KYT operations. You’ll balance regulatory safety with protocol scalability—supporting DEX users and backend solver operations trading on centralized exchanges.

This is a hybrid role blending strategic compliance with external business development. You’ll ensure our protocol, interfaces, and backend solver operations remain safe, unblocked, and globally operable.

Responsibilities

• Design and own AML/CFT & sanctions programs aligned with FATF, OFAC, and EU Travel Rule standards.
• Operate our AML/LE portal, manage inbound requests, and publish transparency reports.
• Oversee the implementation and tuning of KYT systems (e.g. Chainalysis, TRM), ensuring legal/compliance coverage, policy alignment, and effective coordination with product and engineering teams
• Maintain sanctions screening infrastructure and geographic access controls.
• Build and manage compliance relationships with top CEXs (e.g., Binance, OKX, Coinbase).
• Evaluate and integrate Travel Rule solutions where applicable.
• Lead investigations into suspicious activity, address freezes, or regulatory escalations.
• Negotiate with vendors (analytics, Travel Rule, tooling) and coordinate integrations.

Requirements

• 5–8+ years of experience in crypto compliance, risk, or regulatory affairs.
• Strong knowledge of FATF R.15, OFAC regimes, EU Travel Rule, and EBA guidelines.
• Experienced in handling law enforcement requests and disclosures.
• Proven track record working with CEX compliance teams and analytics vendors.
• Comfortable owning both policy design and technical implementation.
• Excellent communicator with operational judgment and a proactive mindset.

Nice to have

• Experience with non-custodial protocols or DEX infrastructure.
• Exposure to trading bots / solver routing on CEXs.
• Legal, regulatory, or law enforcement liaison background.

Recruitment Disclaimer

All personal data submitted by you as part of a job application, whether through our website, will be processed exclusively for recruitment and selection purposes. By submitting such data, you acknowledge and consent to its use for assessing your qualifications, contacting you regarding relevant opportunities, and maintaining a candidate profile for potential future openings. 

For more detailed information about how your data is processed in the context of recruitment, including your rights under applicable data protection laws, please refer to our Privacy Policy, or contact us at legal@defuse.org