Compliance Lead, Payments Compliance & Licensing Program

Compliance Lead

As Shopify expands its financial products and services, we're developing our compliance program to support our US money transmission licenses (MTLs). We hold MTLs in multiple states and are working through the next wave of licenses. We seek a Compliance Lead to build out this program to ensure we remain in good standing with regulators and financial partners, as well as contribute more broadly across our wider compliance work.

In this role, you'll be the owner of several components of our MTL compliance program. You'll engage directly with state regulators during licensing, examinations, and ongoing supervision; build relationships across the regulatory community; and represent Shopify at industry forums. You'll also pitch in across other parts of our compliance program - sanctions, AML/KYC, lending compliance, and policy work - depending on our product roadmap and prioritization.

We're not looking for someone who specializes in only one area of compliance. The ideal candidate has spent meaningful time in financial services compliance, has real exposure to regulators (exams, presentations, conferences, formal correspondence), and is comfortable advocating for Shopify as we continue to obtain licenses and grow our products. You think like a builder, you're energized by AI as a force multiplier, and you genuinely enjoy the variety that comes with working at a company expanding fast into new regulated spaces.

Team Overview

Within the Shopify Legal Team, the Compliance Team ensures that Shopify meets its regulatory and contractual commitments while staying agile enough to support growth and innovation. Our team's mission is to design and enforce policies and procedures that keep Shopify compliant with applicable laws so our merchants, partners, and third parties can trust us.

Key Responsibilities

• Own key areas of Shopify's MTL program: licensing applications, renewals, state examinations, and ongoing regulator engagement
• Build and maintain high-trust relationships with state regulators (NY DFS, CA DFPI, TX DOB, and other state regulators)
• Represent Shopify in regulator-facing interactions - meetings, exams, written responses, supervisory engagement, and industry conferences (MTRA, ACAMS, NMLS events)
• Identify the positions Shopify should advocate for, and know where our red lines are
• Contribute across the broader compliance program - sanctions, AML/KYC, lending compliance, policy work - wherever the team's priorities point
• Use AI tooling extensively to automate compliance workflows (reporting, monitoring, response drafting) and bring forward new ideas for where it should be applied next
• Partner with Legal, Finance, Product, and Engineering to advise on compliance risks and surface practical paths forward
• Develop playbooks, internal resources, and process documentation that scale with Shopify's product expansion

Job Requirements

• Multiple years of experience in financial services compliance, with direct exposure to money transmission regulations
• Hands-on experience engaging with regulators - exams, licensing applications, formal correspondence, or supervisory engagement. Deep tenure in a licensing and exam management role isn't required if you've built similar experience in your compliance career.
• Broad working knowledge of compliance in areas such as sanctions, AML, KYC, and lending compliance (e.g., UDAAP, ECOA)
• Exceptional written and verbal communication - you can hold your own with a regulator and translate complex requirements into clear internal guidance
• A builder's mindset - energized by ambiguity, comfortable taking positions, and excited by an environment where the program is being built, not maintained
• Demonstrated curiosity about AI and a clear point of view on how you'd apply it to compliance work
• While this job is remote, you must live in the NYC area and be able to commute to our NYC office, as needed, to coordinate in-person regulatory exams and audits

Bonus Experience

• Direct experience with NMLS system
• Presented at ACAMS or attended MTRA or NMLS conferences
• Acted as primary point of contact during state examinations (any program size)
• Used AI tools (Claude, GPT, etc.) to automate compliance workflows - call reports, investigations, regulator responses, policy drafting
• Operated inside a high-growth fintech or tech company expanding into regulated financial services