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Circle

Circle

Global payments platform using digital currencies

Vice President Global Head of Product Security and Risk

Full-TimeUpdated on 9/21/2026
$317.5k - $365k/yr
Expert
Master's
Boston, MA, USA+14 more

More locations: Seattle, WA, USA | Houston, TX, USA | Washington, DC, USA | San Francisco, CA, USA | Austin, TX, USA | Los Angeles, CA, USA | Tampa, FL, USA | Miami, FL, USA | Dallas, TX, USA | Chicago, IL, USA | New York, NY, USA | Phoenix, AZ, USA | Portland, OR, USA | Atlanta, GA, USA

Remote

About the job

Requirements
  • 12–15+ years of experience in crypto, fintech, financial services, or financial infrastructure.
  • Deep technical and strategic knowledge of blockchain, distributed ledger technologies, decentralized finance, digital identity, and emerging Web3 ecosystems.
  • Proven experience designing and scaling product risk, compliance, and security programs in highly regulated environments.
  • 10+ years of experience leading high-performing global teams.
  • Experience securing and operating cloud-native applications and services across AWS, GCP, or similar platforms.
  • Demonstrated success partnering with Product and Engineering leaders to deliver secure, compliant, customer-centric products.
  • Executive presence and experience interfacing with regulators, auditors, and senior external stakeholders.
  • Ability to lead through ambiguity, manage multiple fast-moving priorities, and build durable, scalable foundations.
  • Exceptional written and verbal communication skills.
Responsibilities
  • Own and evolve Circle’s global product security and risk strategy, ensuring APIs, blockchain solutions, and financial products are secure, compliant, and launch-ready across jurisdictions.
  • Embed security, compliance, and risk requirements directly into product design, roadmaps, and engineering delivery processes.
  • Enable rapid customer adoption by reducing friction through automation, scalable control frameworks, and clear governance models.
  • Evaluate emerging blockchain technologies, payment models, and decentralized architectures, defining risk-based approaches aligned with global regulatory expectations.
  • Build and lead high-performing teams across product security, compliance operations, and risk management.
  • Serve as a primary executive interface with regulators, auditors, partners, and strategic customers on product-related security and compliance matters.
  • Monitor and interpret evolving anti-money laundering, payments, cybersecurity, and digital asset regulations, driving timely and pragmatic responses across the organization.
  • Oversee product risk assessments, control design, monitoring, testing, reporting, and remediation efforts.
  • Guide remediation of security and compliance findings through collaborative leadership with engineering and system owners.
Desired Qualifications
  • Experience with regulatory and security frameworks such as ISO 27001/27002, NIST Cybersecurity Framework, or similar standards.
  • Advanced degree in computer science, cybersecurity, engineering, or a related field, or equivalent experience.
  • Industry certifications such as CISSP, CCSP, CEH, CCSK, or similar.

About the company

Circle is a global fintech company that helps businesses use digital currencies and public blockchains for payments, commerce, and financial applications. It provides a platform for digital payments and related financial services built on blockchain technology, charging transaction fees and service charges for its activities. How it works: Circle offers digital currency and blockchain-based payment capabilities that enable fast, secure transfers and cross-border transactions for businesses of all sizes; revenue comes from fees on these services. How it differs from competitors: Circle targets a broad range of business customers and focuses on integrating digital currencies and public blockchains into everyday commercial and financial processes, emphasizing security and efficiency. Circle's goal is to become a leading provider of enterprise-grade digital finance tools, helping many organizations adopt and use digital currencies and blockchain-based payments globally.

Company Size

1,001-5,000

Company Stage

IPO

Headquarters

New York City, New York

Founded

2013

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Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • Q2 2026 reserve income hit $668 million on $76.5 billion USDC circulation.
  • September 2026 Arc launch gives Circle a new platform for tokenized assets.
  • SBI joined Arc despite Ripple ties, signaling institutional willingness to diversify onto Circle rails.

What critics are saying

  • GENIUS Act bans issuer-paid interest from January 2027, pressuring Circle's reward economics.
  • Stripe Tempo, bank consortium stablecoins, and Ripple RLUSD intensify settlement and issuance competition.
  • If USDC loses trust or reserve yield drops sharply, Circle's core revenue collapses.

What makes Circle unique

  • September 16, 2026 Arc launched with BlackRock, Visa, DTCC, and Mastercard validators.
  • Circle owns USDC distribution, payments rails, and Arc infrastructure, unlike pure stablecoin rivals.
  • Arc uses USDC for gas, reducing volatility and improving treasury predictability for institutions.

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Benefits

Paid time off - We offer flexible paid time off — take what you need as long as it works with you and your team, and all Circle employees get mobile phone and home office reimbursements.

Health coverage - No matter where you live, we offer a market competitive suite of benefits. Enroll in health, dental, vision, disability, and life insurances, and Circle covers some or all of the premiums.

Invested in your future - All U.S. full-time and part-time employees enjoy 401(k) and pensions (with 4% company match if you contribute 5% or more), and share Circle’s success via company equity awards.

Learning & development - Your individual growth and development is important to us and we provide the resources to help you grow your career while at Circle.

Growth & Insights and Company News

Headcount

6 month growth

0%

1 year growth

1%

2 year growth

-5%
Yahoo Finance
Sep 18th, 2026
Circle's $76.5B reserve income funds quarter of Coinbase revenue as CLARITY Act fails

Circle's USDC stablecoin generated $668 million in reserve income during Q2 2026 from its $76.5 billion circulation, with Coinbase earning $292 million from stablecoins — approximately a quarter of its total revenue. Stablecoin rewards function like savings account interest, paid to holders of dollar-pegged tokens. The income derives from reserves held in US Treasury bills and repurchase agreements, which yield close to the Federal Reserve's benchmark rates. The CLARITY Act, which sought to limit these payments, failed in the Senate on 15 September 2026. Neither Coinbase nor Circle saw stock gains following the bill's defeat. CRCL fell 6% whilst COIN barely gained. The GENIUS Act would ban issuer-paid interest from January 2027. Bank lobbyists continue pressing regulators to close exchange pass-through loopholes that currently allow these reward structures to operate.

Yahoo Finance
Sep 18th, 2026
SBI validates Circle's Arc blockchain despite $4B Ripple stake, highlighting dual-rail strategy

SBI Group, Ripple's largest external shareholder with a roughly 9% stake valued near $4 billion, has become a founding validator for Circle's Arc blockchain. The move creates an apparent contradiction: SBI simultaneously backs Ripple's XRP and RLUSD infrastructure whilst securing a rival chain designed to make USDC the default institutional settlement currency. Arc launched on 16 September 2026 as an EVM-compatible Layer 1 blockchain using USDC as its native gas asset, eliminating volatile token pricing. Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire said Arc aims to provide "a blockchain network [the financial system] can trust", with sub-second settlement and integrated foreign-exchange capabilities. SBI's dual positioning extends beyond equity. SBI Ripple Asia operates Japan's only live XRP remittance corridor and became Asia's first regulated RLUSD distributor in March 2026. The parallel commitments suggest institutional hedging as settlement infrastructure competition remains unresolved.

The Cryptonomist
Sep 17th, 2026
Circle's Arc blockchain launches as $222M presale fuels airdrop speculation

Circle's Arc Network mainnet launched on 16 September 2026 as an EVM-compatible Layer-1 blockchain designed for stablecoin transactions and tokenisation. The company raised $222 million in a private ARC token presale at a $3 billion valuation. No airdrop has been confirmed, and no token distribution date exists. However, users are positioning themselves through testnet participation and Arc House, a points programme, based on patterns from similar Layer-1 launches. To participate, users can add Arc testnet to wallets like MetaMask, claim daily testnet USDC from Circle's faucet, make on-chain transactions, and complete tasks through Arc House. Activities include swapping stablecoins on Tower Exchange, deploying contracts, and minting NFTs. Circle warns users to exercise caution with phishing attempts and emphasises that testnet tokens hold no monetary value.

American Banker
Sep 16th, 2026
Circle publicly releases Arc blockchain to institutions.

Circle publicly releases Arc blockchain to institutions. Published September 16, 2026, 3:20 p.m. EDT Updated September 16, 2026, 3:54 p.m. EDT * Key insight: Circle has launched Arc, its blockchain network for the USDC stablecoin, to the public so firms like banks and payments companies can transact on it. * Expert quote: Coin Bureau's Nic Puckrin said that the validators behind Arc, like BlackRock, DTCC, Visa and Mastercard, "are what give it credibility." * Forward look: The opt-in privacy feature for sensitive transactions that financial institutions may want to conduct on Arc is still in development. Circle Internet Group has publicly launched its open blockchain network for institutions. Amid growing regulatory clarity, the giants of finance press ahead with adoption of tokenized securities, commodities and deposits at scale. Ask follow-ups with AI answers pro. Tech Reporter Melinda Lucy (formerly Huspen) covers the intersection of banking and financial technology for American Banker and is based in New York, NY... Read full bio

Yahoo Finance
Sep 16th, 2026
Circle launches Arc blockchain with BlackRock and Visa as Senate blocks CLARITY Act

Circle launched its Arc mainnet on Wednesday, a blockchain described as "the single most significant launch in Circle's history since USD Coin itself". Founding validators include BlackRock, DTCC, Intercontinental Exchange, Visa, and Mastercard, with no crypto-native firms among them. More than 100 institutional and ecosystem builders went live on the network on day one. Global banks with access include BNY, HSBC, Société Générale, and State Street, whilst asset managers building tokenised products include Bitwise, BlackRock, and Janus Henderson. Circle completed the genesis mint of its ARC token this week, creating an initial supply of 10 billion tokens. The launch came a day after the Senate blocked the CLARITY Act, the crypto industry's central legislative push.