Senior Onboarding Specialist (Private Markets)
Full-time
London, UK
About Steward
Steward is fundamentally changing the way that AML/KYC works in private markets. What was once a 3+ month process to close an investor onboarding can now be done in clicks. Steward’s AI-first product automates away the numerous email chains, manual document reviews and disconnected systems, into one contextualised operating system.
Steward was founded by Arik Oslerne and Moshe Lieberman and was recently backed with a $5M round led by Motive Partners and Outward VC, with participation from Cooley and prominent angels. Our clients include £100bn+ asset managers, global fund administrators, broker dealers and banks.
Why join
- Impact the product. The edge cases you find and the ideas you bring will shape what we build.
- Close to the founders. Work hand-in-hand with exceptional, exited founders.
- Inside the AI shift. Leverage AI to change compliance first-hand, not from the sidelines.
- Every case is unique: Trusts, family offices, feeder funds and offshore vehicles.
The role
Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to be the senior steward of our clients. You will own the quality of investor files end to end: setting the review standard, signing off complex and high-risk cases, and making sure outputs meet each client's acceptance criteria.
You will be a trusted adviser to leading fund managers, administrators and other clients, guiding them through complex onboardings, escalated risk decisions and the design of new onboarding workflows.
You will partner closely with Product and Engineering, translating regulatory requirements into product logic, defining test cases and helping decide what we build next.
This is a senior, hands-on role for someone who leads by example, enjoys developing others and likes getting things done!
What you'll do
- Own quality assurance of AI-assisted KYC and KYB analysis, setting the review standard across ownership, document requirements, screening and risk
- Lead on the most complex structures, including trusts, limited partnerships, foundations, family office vehicles, feeder funds and offshore SPVs, to identify beneficial owners and controllers
- Make and document final calls on PEP, sanctions and adverse media matches, challenging AI-reviewed recommendations where needed
- Lead EDD on higher-risk investors, including source of wealth and source of funds, and prepare clear escalations for client MLROs
- Spot recurring errors and edge cases, and work with Product and Engineering to define requirements, test cases and fixes
- Act as the go-to compliance contact for fund managers and administrators, explaining what a file needs and why
- Design and run periodic reviews, ongoing monitoring and remediation exercises
- Review and mentor the work of KYC Analysts, and build the playbooks, procedures and training that help the team scale
- Track global AML, sanctions and beneficial ownership developments and turn them into product and policy updates
What you bring
- 5+ years in KYC, AML or investor onboarding, ideally at a fund administrator, PE, Regtech or Private Bank, including time in a senior or team lead role
- Deep expertise in complex structures, no matter how many layers, and the confidence to defend your conclusions
- Extensive CDD and EDD experience, including UBO identification, screening review and risk rating sign-off
- Strong knowledge of UK and EU AML regulation (MLRs, JMLSG guidance, AMLDs) and FATF standards
- Sound risk judgement - you can make the call on grey-area cases and back it with evidence
- Excellent writing - your rationale would stand up to a client, an MLRO, an auditor or a regulator
- Experience reviewing, coaching or mentoring other analysts
- Curiosity about AI and how it can reshape compliance operations
- Comfortable building process in a startup where things are constantly changing
Nice to have
- Onboarding LPs into closed-ended funds, co-investments or fund launches
- Channel Islands, Luxembourg, Cayman or US experience
- ICA Diploma in AML, CAMS or an equivalent advanced qualification
- Leading remediation or look-back projects
- Writing or owning KYC policies and procedures, or working closely with an MLRO
- Startup or scale-up experience
What you get
- Influence: Work directly with the CEO & founding team and help shape how the compliance function scales (operator-led, high tempo, high ownership).
- Comp: Competitive base + equity (we want builders, not passengers).
- Office: 5 days in the office in Paddington, London. We believe the best companies are built in the room.
- Access to great tech (AI models) and equipment (Macs)
We welcome applications from everyone and will make reasonable adjustments at any stage. You must have the right to work in the UK.