Head of Compliance & MLRO (UAE)
Skills
About This Role
Who We Are
Alpaca is a US-headquartered self-clearing broker-dealer and brokerage infrastructure for stocks, ETFs, options, crypto, fixed income, 24/5 trading, and more.
Our recent Series D funding round brought our total investment to over $320 million, fueling our ambitious vision.
Amongst our subsidiaries, Alpaca is a licensed financial services company, serving hundreds of financial institutions across 40 countries with our institutional-grade APIs.
This includes broker-dealers, investment advisors, wealth managers, hedge funds, and crypto exchanges, totalling over 9 million brokerage accounts.
Our global team is a diverse group of experienced engineers, traders, and brokerage professionals who are working to achieve our mission of **opening financial services to everyone on the planet**.
We're deeply committed to open-source contributions and fostering a vibrant community, continuously enhancing our award-winning, developer-friendly API and the robust infrastructure behind it.
Alpaca is proudly backed by top-tier global investors, including Portage Ventures, Spark Capital, Tribe Capital, Social Leverage, Horizons Ventures, Unbound, SBI Group, Derayah Financial, Elefund, and Y Combinator.
Our Team Members
We're a dynamic team of 230+ globally distributed members who thrive working from our favorite places around the world, with teammates spanning the USA, Canada, Japan, Hungary, Nigeria, Brazil, the UK, and beyond!
We're searching for passionate individuals eager to contribute to Alpaca's rapid growth.
If you align with our core values—Stay Curious, Have Empathy, and Be Accountable—and are ready to make a significant impact, we encourage you to apply.
Your Role
Establish and lead a "compliance-by-design" framework that keeps Alpaca's twin ADGM licences, Category 3A (Dealing in Investments as Principal/Agent) and Category 3B (Providing Custody), in pristine regulatory standing while we scale a high-velocity, API-driven brokerage for both traditional securities and virtual assets.
What You'll Be Doing (Key Responsibilities)
- **Governance:** Chair the internal Compliance Committee and deliver quarterly reports to the Board.
- **Regulatory inventory and policies:** Keep a live register of all FSRA rules (GEN, COBS, PRU, AML, Virtual-Asset Guidance) and update policies within 10 days of any FSRA circular.
- **AML / CFT & MLRO:** Own the AML/CFT programme, conduct annual business-risk assessments, file Suspicious Activity Reports, and ensure full "Travel Rule" compliance for VA transfers.
- **Virtual-asset controls:** Maintain the Accepted Virtual Asset list, oversee blockchain-analytics, and ensure stablecoin/FRT activity meets the latest FSRA requirements.
- Monitoring & testing: Run a risk-based monitoring plan, complete thematic reviews, track remedial actions, and store evidence for FSRA inspections.
- Reg-tech and automation: Specify and integrate KYC/AML engines, Travel-Rule messaging, sanctions screening, and trade-surveillance tools that plug into Alpaca's APIs.
- Reporting & liaison: File all periodic and ad-hoc FSRA returns on time; act as Alpaca's single point of contact for onsite reviews and enforcement queries.
- Training & CPD: Deliver annual AML and rules refreshers; keep 100 % of staff current on CISI/FSRA CPD and maintain logs for 6 years.
- Incident and breach management: Maintain the breach register, notify FSRA within required timelines, and oversee remediation to closure.
- What We Look For in You (Job Requirements):
- **Education / Professional status**: Bachelor's in Law, Finance or Business PLUS a recognised compliance credential (e.g., ICA, ACAMS, CISI Global Financial Compliance).
- **Professional certification:** *UAE Financial Rules & Regulations* exam (CISI/ADGM Academy)
- **Professional certification:** CISI *Global Financial Compliance* (or equivalent)
- **Experience**: 7 years in compliance/AML at a broker-dealer, custodian or VASP, with 3 years in a senior regulated capacity; clean audit / enforcement record.
- **Rulebook mastery**: Deep knowledge of GEN, COBS, PRU, AML Rulebook (incl. Travel Rule), and FSRA Virtual-Asset Guidance.
- **Independence & presence**: Full-time, independent function as required by Condition 7.
- **Language:** Fluent in English and Arabic.
- Nice to Haves:
- Prior registration as Compliance Officer/MLRO with FSRA, DFSA, SCA or an equivalent top-tier regulator.
- Hands-on with chain-analytics, FATF Travel-Rule gateways and ISO 27001 / NIST cybersecurity frameworks.
- Exposure to cross-border brokerage, stablecoin/FRT programmes or tokenised securities.
• Competitive Salary & Stock Options
- Health Benefits
- New Hire Home-Office Setup: One-time USD $500
- Monthly Stipend: USD $150 per month via a Brex Card
- *Alpaca is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace dedicated to pursuing and hiring a diverse workforce.*
- *Recruitment Privacy Policy*
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