Transaction Monitoring Lead

About the Job

We are seeking a Transaction Monitoring Lead to own and build the transaction monitoring framework for a strategic new offering focused on stablecoin-based payments infrastructure. Reporting to the MLRO, you will play a critical role in ensuring the product is developed and scaled in line with regulatory standards across multiple jurisdictions. This is a hands-on and strategic role where you will partner closely with leadership, legal, product, and commercial teams to embed compliance into every stage of development and rollout.

About Lean

Lean is the leading financial infrastructure provider in the Middle East. We power some of the region’s largest companies with APIs that enable payments, account verification, financial data access, and other critical financial infrastructure.

What started as the region’s pioneering Open Banking platform and quickly became the de facto leader in account aggregation and payment initiation in the region is now becoming something bigger: a multi-product infrastructure company powering payments, data, and lending across MENA.

We’ve processed billions of dollars in transactions. We’re trusted by 350+ clients - from Binance and Careem to Etisalat - and backed by General Catalyst, Sequoia, and Shorooq. Our $67.5M Series B was just the beginning. We’re expanding into new markets, opening offices, acquiring businesses, and building capabilities that didn’t exist here before.

Responsibilities

• Design and operate Lean's transaction monitoring framework for cross-border payment/remittance flows,including stablecoin-based transfers, in line with ADGM FSRA and CBUAE AML/CFT regulatory requirements
• Own end-to-end sanctions and PEP screening across all UAE transaction flows, ensuring coverage against OFAC, UN, EU, and UAE Local Terrorist Designations lists
• Own the AI-first triage layer: work with our technology team to scope, prioritize, and QA the agentic tooling that handles first-pass screening, and define what good output looks like
• Handle manual review of escalated cases the AI layer cannot resolve with confidence, with documented decisions and clear audit trails for every disposition
• Establish and maintain the transaction monitoring policy, calibrated to our client base and risk profile
• Build coverage models and flag rate analysis from historical transaction data including pre-live calibration of thresholds and rules
• Prepare and submit Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) and Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs) to the MLRO to submit it to the UAE Financial Intelligence Unit (UAEFIU) via the goAML platform where required
• Ensure effective 24/7 coverage through tool-first design, with human judgment reserved for genuine ambiguity
• Act as the subject matter expert for transaction monitoring in regulatory examinations , MLRO-led reviews, client due diligence requests, and internal risk reviews
• Support the MLRO in periodic reporting obligations to ADGM FSRA and CBUAE, including AML/CFT annual reports and risk assessments

What we’re looking for

• Has owned transaction monitoring, not contributed to it. 5+ years in AML, financial crime compliance, or payments operations with direct hands-on experience in sanctions
• Prior exposure to remittance corridors, virtual asset transactions, or VASP compliance frameworks is a strong differentiator
• Has used compliance tooling beyond spreadsheets and can assess AI-assisted review tools critically: where they fail, what needs to change, and what the escalation logic should be
• Makes risk-based decisions under ambiguity with documented rationale. Understands the difference between a calibrated risk approach and blanket escalation
• Clear written communication. Can brief a regulator, a senior compliance officer, and an engineer in the same week without changing what you mean
• CAMS or equivalent certification preferred