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