Sanctions Compliance Lead

About the role

Anthropic's Integrity & Compliance (I&C) function is building the systems that let us scale responsibly as our products reach more people, more enterprises, and more regulated industries. Our global compliance program is bespoke, reflecting our unique mission and position as one of the leading AI labs operating on the frontier.

Our Regulatory Programs pillar is a key pillar of our overall Integrity & Compliance function and covers a range of compliance domain areas including economic sanctions, US export controls, and regulatory compliance programs stemming from global content and AI regulation.

As Sanctions Compliance Lead, you will take day-to-day leadership of Anthropic's sanctions compliance program and support oversight of our export controls program, supporting the Regulatory Programs lead as a senior leader within the function. This is a leadership seat in a domain where the rules governing AI models and compute are still being written, and where sanctions exposure runs through globally accessible APIs, downstream and embedded-partner channels, and rapid geographic expansion.

You will own the sanctions program end to end: setting strategy and risk appetite with leadership, continuously assessing risk and driving remediation and program enhancements, governing our screening and enforcement controls, directing regulator-facing matters, and reporting on program health to I&C leadership and the Audit Committee. You will partner closely with our in-house Trade Compliance Counsel on interpretation of applicable law, represent the function with senior stakeholders, and lead and develop trade compliance professionals as the team grows. This is a builder's role at a company that takes integrity seriously and moves fast. You will exercise independent judgment on issues without clear precedent and build durable programs that let Anthropic move quickly while honoring its obligations to regulators, customers, and the public.

Key responsibilities

• Lead Anthropic's sanctions compliance program, including strategy, risk appetite, policy frameworks, and the program roadmap, and keep them current as regulations and the business evolve

• Represent the sanctions and export controls function with senior leadership and cross-functional partners, and step in for the Regulatory Programs lead across the function as needed

• Continuously assess sanctions risk across products, channels, and markets, and own the remediation of identified issues and the delivery of program enhancements, in partnership with Legal, Internal Audit, Finance, and first-line teams

• Direct regulator-facing matters, including voluntary self-disclosures, blocking and reject reports, licensing questions, and responses to regulator or third-party inquiries, in partnership with Trade Compliance Counsel and National Security Legal

• Govern Anthropic's restricted-party screening and enforcement controls, including list configuration, thresholds, escalation criteria, vendor management, and exception review, in partnership with Regulatory Operations and Safeguards

• Serve as the senior escalation point for complex sanctions matters surfaced by Safeguards, Threat Intelligence, Go-to-Market, and Finance, and set the standards by which first-line teams disposition and escalate cases

• Advise business and product teams on sanctions and trade controls implications of commercial and geographic expansion, new products and channels, partnerships, and acquisitions, and translate findings into clear control requirements

• Support oversight of the export controls program, partnering with the Sanctions & Export Controls Compliance Officer and Trade Compliance Counsel on program priorities, controls, and reporting

• Prepare and deliver program reporting on health, key risks, and emerging issues for I&C and Legal leadership, the Audit Committee, and other governance forums

• Monitor sanctions regulatory developments and enforcement actions, assess impact on Anthropic, and drive required program changes

• Lead, mentor, and develop compliance team members, and help shape the structure of the function as it grows

• Of course, this is just a sample of the kinds of work this role will require! You should assume that your role will encompass other tasks, too, and that your job duties and responsibilities may change from time to time at Anthropic's discretion, or otherwise applicable with local law

Minimum qualifications

• Substantive, hands-on experience leading an economic sanctions compliance program (OFAC, EU, UK, and other applicable regimes) in a commercial environment, including program design, policy ownership, and risk governance

• Experience managing voluntary self-disclosures, blocking or reject reports, and other regulator filings end to end, including coordinating counsel, internal stakeholders, and remediation

• Experience assessing sanctions risk on an ongoing basis and owning the remediation of identified issues and delivery of program enhancements through to closure

• Experience governing a restricted-party screening program, including list scope, match thresholds, escalation criteria, and screening vendor management

• A track record of reporting on program health and risk to senior leadership, an audit committee, or a board, and of driving decisions on risk appetite with executives

• Working knowledge of US export controls (EAR and BIS rules) sufficient to oversee an export controls program and partner effectively with technical subject-matter experts

• Experience partnering with in-house and outside counsel to interpret trade controls requirements and translating them into practical guidance for product, engineering, operations, and commercial teams

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including drafting policy and preparing materials for senior leadership

Preferred qualifications

• 10+ years of relevant experience in economic sanctions compliance, including several years leading a program or team

• Experience managing and developing compliance professionals

• Experience conducting sanctions diligence for acquisitions, vendors, and third parties, including state-ownership and 50 percent rule analysis

• Experience partnering with trust and safety, enforcement, or threat intelligence teams on account actions and sanctions escalations

• Exposure to sanctions compliance in software, cloud, fintech, or AI contexts, including globally accessible platforms and downstream access risk

• Prior experience in a Big 4 or other compliance consulting or advisory professional services firm, or at OFAC or another trade regulator

• Experience in a hyper-scaling tech company or other fast-paced environment

• Sound judgment and the ability to make risk-based decisions and move work forward with imperfect information

• A leadership style characterized by integrity, humility, strategic thinking, and solution-orientation

Role-specific policy: For this role, we expect staff to be able to work from either our Washington, DC, San Francisco, or New York City office at least 3 days a week, though we encourage you to apply even if you might need some flexibility for an interim period of time.