---
title: 'Licensing and Audit Manager at Lightspark'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/licensing-and-audit-manager-lightspark-los-angeles-bs5sr7tm0tmf'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-10-16'
---

# Licensing and Audit Manager at Lightspark

- **Company:** Lightspark
- **Location:** Los Angeles, CA
- **Compensation:** $179k–$210k
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Posted:** 2026-10-12
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-10-16
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/lightspark/26efda6f-5654-45e5-91cd-058814fb4d6a

## Job description

Lightspark is creating the Money Grid, modern, open financial infrastructure that makes payments accessible, affordable, and instant for businesses and users worldwide. We're challenging the status quo, updating the current system, and empowering our partners to build better solutions. Together, we're building the most advanced financial infrastructure, open, instant, and global, inspiring a future where anyone, anywhere can access the full potential of digital money. Lightspark Payments is building regulated services on the Lightning Network and holds Money Transmission Licenses in the United States. This role will lead and manage the licensing and audit function for our regulated payments business, including obtaining and maintaining state licenses, managing regulatory examinations and audits, and driving remediation of any resulting gaps. You will report to our Chief Compliance Officer and will work closely with the Compliance, Legal, Finance, Product, Engineering, and Operations teams as Lightspark Payments scales. This role will appeal to experienced licensing and examination professionals who combine rigorous attention to detail with a drive to build better, more scalable processes. On-site attendance in our Los Angeles office is preferred. We will also consider candidates working remotely, in which case regular travel to our Los Angeles office is required to collaborate with your team and cross functional stakeholders.

## WHAT YOU'LL BE DOING

- Own the end-to-end license lifecycle for Lightspark Payments’ money transmission business: prepare, file, and track new state license applications and change-of-control, key-individual, and other amendment filings in NMLS, and manage renewals and ongoing license maintenance across all states.
- Serve as the primary point of contact for state regulators and, where applicable, federal regulators during licensing cycles, responding to deficiency requests, supplemental information requests, and follow-up inquiries in a timely and complete manner.
- Maintain a licensing calendar and inventory of license conditions, surety bonds, net worth and permissible investment requirements, registered agents, and renewal deadlines; partner with Finance and Legal to gather the supporting information and documentation.
- Prepare, review, and submit regulatory reports, including the NMLS MSB Call Report and other periodic state and federal filings, ensuring accuracy, consistency with source data, and on-time submission.
- Manage regulatory examinations from notification through close-out: coordinate request lists, organize and review document production, prepare management and subject matter experts for interviews, and serve as the day-to-day contact for examiners.
- Manage the audit program, including bank and partner audits, the annual independent Title 31 BSA/AML audit, and the Compliance Management System (CMS) audit, coordinating with independent auditors and internal stakeholders on scope, timing, evidence, and findings.
- Lead audit and examination remediation: log findings and gaps, assign owners, define corrective action plans with realistic timelines, track progress to completion, validate that fixes are effective, and report status to the CCO and leadership.
- Establish and run a quality assurance and monitoring approach for licensing and audit activities, including a central repository of examination responses, audit evidence, and regulatory correspondence that supports consistent and efficient responses over time.
- Monitor changes in state and federal money transmission laws and regulations (including licensing, surety, reporting, and examination requirements), assess the impact to Lightspark Payments, and work with the CCO and Legal to update policies, procedures, and processes accordingly.
- Continuously improve licensing and audit processes: identify manual steps and recurring pain points, and design templates, trackers, workflows, and automation that make the function more scalable and audit-ready as Lightspark Payments grows into new states, products, and partners.
- Partner with Product, Engineering, Operations, Finance, and Legal to ensure new products, markets, and business changes are evaluated for licensing impact and regulatory notification requirements before launch.
- Support the CCO and the Compliance Program Manager with the Controls Inventory, risk assessments, policies and procedures, and other compliance program documentation as it relates to licensing and audit findings.
- Provide direction and work prioritization for the Compliance Analyst supporting licensing and examination activities, and support the CCO as needed.

## WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR

- 5+ years of hands-on experience working in NMLS, actively applying for and maintaining state money transmission licenses for a licensed money transmitter or similarly regulated fintech.
- Demonstrated experience interacting directly with state and federal regulators (for example, state banking departments, FinCEN, and the IRS) during both the licensing cycle and examinations, including responding to findings and deficiency requests.
- Experience preparing and filing the NMLS MSB Call Report and other periodic regulatory reports.
- Working knowledge of state money transmission laws and the Bank Secrecy Act as applicable to MSBs, and of consumer protection requirements such as Reg E, with familiarity with digital asset or cross-border payments a plus.
- Proven experience managing examinations and audits (regulatory, bank partner, and independent audits such as Title 31 or CMS) and leading remediation of findings through to closure.
- Exceptional attention to detail and organization, with the ability to manage many concurrent filings, deadlines, and requests without compromising accuracy.
- A process-improvement mindset: comfortable building or redesigning processes, trackers, and workflows, and using tools or automation to make licensing and audit work more efficient and repeatable.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the credibility to work with regulators, auditors, executives, and cross-functional teams.
- Sound judgment and the ability to escalate appropriately to the CCO, balancing regulatory requirements with business needs.
- Prior experience in a start-up or high-growth environment, or building programs from scratch, is preferred.
- Bachelor’s degree preferred; relevant certifications (such as CAMS or CRCM) are a plus.
- Intense professional curiosity and a growth mindset.

Lightspark is on a mission to build the future of open, instant, and global financial infrastructure making payments accessible and affordable for everyone, everywhere. We're committed to creating a more inclusive and diverse workplace to reflect the customers we serve. We welcome interest from individuals of all backgrounds and levels of experience who share our mission. We do not discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, disability status, or other applicable legally protected characteristics.

For US Applicants: We will consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with the requirements of the State of California Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring. For EU Applicants: In accordance with applicable EU and local regulations, including the Estonian Employment Contracts Act, Equal Treatment Act, and Gender Equality Act, Lightspark ensures equal treatment throughout the hiring process.

## About Lightspark

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Lightspark builds open, instant financial infrastructure by bridging the Lightning Network with legacy banking systems to enable real-time, low-cost global payments.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Seed stage)
- **Headquarters**: Los Angeles, United States
- **Founded**: 2022
- **Founders**: David Marcus, Tomer Barel, Christian Catalini (Catalini departed in Feb 2026)

## Core Business
- Primary industry: Financial Services / Payments Infrastructure
- Target customers: B2B — digital banks, global marketplaces, creator platforms, fintechs, and enterprises needing cross-border payment solutions
- Mission: Transform payments by creating the most accessible, reliable, enterprise-grade payment solution — making money move as seamlessly as information on the internet.

## Products & Services
- **Grid API**: One API/SDK to send, receive, and settle value globally across fiat, stablecoins, or bitcoin — always real-time, always low cost.
- **Grid Global Accounts**: A branded global dollar account that allows businesses to offer their own branded accounts and turn every payout into revenue.
- **Spark**: A Bitcoin Layer 2 solution enabling instant, near-zero cost movement of bitcoin and stablecoins on a neutral network.
- **Connect**: Tools and APIs for businesses to integrate with the Lightspark platform effortlessly.
- **Lightning Platform**: Reliable, scalable, and optimized Lightning Network node infrastructure and transaction processing.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not publicly disclosed
- **Key Metric**: Total Funding — $1.3M (Seed round, Aug 2024); previously raised a Series A (May 2022) led by Paradigm and a16z crypto with 9 investors.
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Paradigm, a16z crypto; acquired Striga to expand European presence. Connects 100M+ customers at Coinbase to Lightning.
- **Growth Signals**: Headcount grew +2.4% YoY to 79 employees; presence in Estonia, Israel, and Italy; 10 active job postings; acquired Striga for European expansion.

## Competitive Advantages
- Built on the only decentralized and neutral network (Bitcoin/Lightning), eliminating middlemen and gatekeepers.
- Enterprise-grade, compliance-ready infrastructure that bridges legacy banking with digital money.
- Backed by top-tier crypto/tech investors (Paradigm, a16z) and leadership with deep payments expertise (CEO David Marcus previously led Messenger at Meta and co-founded Novi).
- First-mover advantage in making Lightning Network accessible to mainstream businesses at scale.

## Strategic Focus
- Expanding global reach through acquisitions (Striga in Europe) and partnerships (Coinbase).
- Building agentic payments, embedded finance, stablecoin solutions, and cross-border payout infrastructure.
- Scaling the engineering team to tackle complex challenges in cryptography, distributed systems, and real-time payments.
- Growing Grid Global Accounts as a platform for businesses to offer branded financial services.

## Why Work Here
- **Culture**: Described as scrappy, customer-obsessed, and mission-driven — "dream big, innovate boldly, move fast." Team of bold thinkers and relentless builders.
- **Engineering Focus**: Engineers work on cryptography, communication protocols, distributed systems, and web/mobile UX. Tech stack includes modern tools optimized for scalability and security.
- **Benefits**: Competitive salary, stock options, annual bonuses, 20 days PTO + holidays, medical/dental/vision, 401(k) matching, FSA/DCA accounts, generous family leave, One Medical membership, flexible work schedule.
- **Remote/Hybrid**: Flexible work schedule; HQ in Los Angeles with distributed team across US, Estonia, Israel, and Italy.
- **Interviewing**: Transparent interview process with clear stages; emphasis on pragmatism and curiosity.

## Sources
1. [Lightspark.com](https://www.lightspark.com/)
2. [Lightspark Careers](https://www.lightspark.com/careers)
3. [Lightspark About](https://www.lightspark.com/about)
4. [Lightspark Engineering Careers](https://www.lightspark.com/careers/engineering)
5. [LinkedIn - Lightspark](https://www.linkedin.com/company/lightspark-group)

## Other roles at Lightspark

- [Risk Manager, EU](https://feeny.ai/job/risk-manager-eu-lightspark-estonia-6m51mjtvbbw0) — Estonia
- [AML Manager, EU](https://feeny.ai/job/aml-manager-eu-lightspark-estonia-h808fyz782rs) — Estonia
- [Regulatory Compliance Officer, EU](https://feeny.ai/job/regulatory-compliance-officer-eu-lightspark-estonia-entc33qpmbw0) — Estonia
- [Compliance Program Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/compliance-program-manager-lightspark-los-angeles-pztaem2v4wfe) — Los Angeles, CA
- [Institutional Due Diligence Specialist, EU](https://feeny.ai/job/institutional-due-diligence-specialist-eu-lightspark-estonia-db8fyh87d659) — Estonia
- [Senior Software Engineer, Data & AI](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-software-engineer-data-ai-lightspark-los-angeles-02tyta735r45) — Los Angeles, CA