Director of Regulatory Compliance

About the Role

The Director of Regulatory Compliance serves as the regulatory authority for Kipu and its product portfolio. This role is pivotal for subject matter experts, product teams, and customers, providing definitive answers on behavioral health regulations and their implementation. Behavioral health providers face a unique and complex regulatory landscape, including federal confidentiality rules, conflicting state licensure regimes, and differing accreditation standards. This position ensures Kipu meets these challenges accurately and effectively.

The Director manages a team of regulatory subject-matter experts and collaborates closely with product teams, customer-facing teams, and company leadership. Authority in this role is derived from expertise and communication skills, requiring both deep regulatory knowledge and the ability to convey it clearly.

Responsibilities

• Regulatory Expertise & Oversight
  • Serve as the final regulatory authority for Kipu Compliance, resolving interpretive conflicts.
  • Maintain deep working knowledge of federal behavioral health regulations, including 42 CFR Part 2, HIPAA Privacy and Security, 42 CFR Part 8, SAMHSA opioid treatment program certification, and DEA requirements for medications for opioid use disorder.
  • Command expertise in The Joint Commission Behavioral Health Care standards and/or CARF standards.
  • Oversee state regulatory coverage across residential, PHP, IOP, outpatient, withdrawal management, opioid treatment, and recovery residence levels of care, including Medicaid provider requirements.
  • Track proposed rules, standards revisions, and accreditation updates to anticipate regulatory changes and determine their impact.
  • Ensure Kipu Compliance reflects current regulatory requirements and guidance.
• Interpretation & Guidance
  • Communicate complex regulatory requirements in actionable language for both internal teams and end users.
  • Translate regulatory precision into clear, practical guidance without sacrificing accuracy.
  • Serve as the escalation point for ambiguous or conflicting regulatory questions, making definitive calls and documenting reasoning.
  • Identify systemic issues from individual findings (e.g., recurring documentation gaps indicating process problems).
• Team Leadership & Development
  • Lead and manage a team of regulatory subject-matter experts, including hiring, coaching, and performance management.
  • Set and uphold quality standards for the team’s work, providing training to meet them.
  • Direct regulatory workflows, including methodology, sequencing, and review processes.
  • Build quality review practices to preempt customer-facing issues.
  • Create growth paths for specialists seeking to deepen expertise beyond management.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration
  • Partner with product managers and engineering to integrate regulatory requirements early in the design process.
  • Support Customer Success and Sales by equipping them to handle routine regulatory questions and providing clear escalation paths.
• Customer Engagement & Thought Leadership
  • Champion Kipu Compliance with customers, clarifying what the product supports and where additional processes may be required.
  • Engage with compliance officers, clinical directors, and quality leaders to understand their workflows and translate insights into actionable feedback for internal teams.
  • Represent Kipu at user groups, webinars, customer advisory boards, industry conferences, and company events.
  • Track industry trends and emerging regulatory themes to inform the future direction of the compliance product.

Qualifications

• Required
  • Advanced degree in a relevant field (clinical, medical, public health, health administration, or law).
  • Eight or more years in behavioral health compliance, quality, or regulatory affairs, with hands-on experience in at least two distinct settings (e.g., residential treatment, withdrawal management, PHP/IOP, opioid treatment, crisis stabilization, or outpatient).
  • At least three years of management experience, with direct responsibility for developing and deepening team expertise.
  • Deep command of state licensure, federal frameworks, and authority-level knowledge of The Joint Commission Behavioral Health Care standards, CARF standards, or both.
  • Direct experience with survey processes, including preparation, on-site management, and remediation.
  • Proven ability to drive work across organizational lines without direct authority.
  • Demonstrated ability to explain complex regulations clearly to non-experts, both in writing and conversation.
• Preferred
  • Compliance or quality certification (e.g., CHC, CHPC, CCEP, or CPHQ).
  • Experience as a state, Joint Commission, or CARF surveyor.
• A Plus
  • Hands-on experience with behavioral health EMR systems, including configuration, documentation workflows, and software enforcement of requirements.
  • Technical fluency, including advanced spreadsheet skills, structured data reasoning, and experience with AI tools.
  • Multi-state or multi-site program experience.
  • Experience serving as the compliance voice within an organization.

Key Attributes for Success

• Deep expertise paired with humility to acknowledge gaps in knowledge.
• Clear communication skills, bridging regulatory and practitioner languages without losing precision.
• A collaborative leadership style that builds capability in others.
• Comfort raising problems early with clarity and kindness.
• Understanding of the human impact behind regulatory standards.
• Steadiness in a high-growth SaaS and healthcare technology environment with shifting priorities.

Benefits

• Highly competitive salary based on local market data.
• Flexible paid time off.
• 11 paid holidays.
• Comprehensive health, dental, vision, disability, and life insurance.
• Parental leave.
• Employee Career Path Program.
• 401(k) with company match.