Sanctions Compliance Specialist III

12-month contract with possibility of extension, based in Cupertino SCV or Austin TX.

About the role

The Global Exports and Sanctions Compliance (GESC) team is a high-impact group responsible for sanctions screening across Apple. This is a high-volume, high-impact role requiring sound judgment, comfort with ambiguity, and the ability to work independently. While most daily work is handled individually, teamwork is critical for onboarding, staying current with standards, and maintaining team culture.

Responsibilities

• Review, clear, and escalate sanctions screening alerts in real time per established SLAs.
• Investigate customers, business partners, and transactions using internal systems, commercial databases, public records, and third-party tools.
• Analyze potential matches generated by automated screening systems; differentiate true matches from false positives across sanctions and EAR restricted-party lists (including BIS Entity List and Denied Parties List).
• Escalate findings potentially related to sanctioned parties, terrorist financing, law enforcement matters, or other criminal activity.
• Gather and document evidence from internal systems, databases, and business/compliance contacts to support GESC compliance determinations.
• Maintain thorough, organized records of all screening analysis and investigative work.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams on sanctions trends, emerging risks, and program enhancements.
• Support special projects and critical casework as needed.

Requirements

• Required experience in reviewing, investigating, and resolution of sanctions, money laundering, or terrorist financing issues.
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving techniques.
• Ability to apply sound ethical, independent judgment in high-volume, time-sensitive environments.
• Ability to spot false positives of sanctioned or EAR restricted party list matches based on reasonable due diligence and in-depth research using publicly available information.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Expertise and experience in OFAC laws and regulations.
• Must be a self-starter, flexible, innovative, and adaptive.
• Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to work collaboratively with company personnel.
• Ability to meet aggressive timelines in a compliance-focused environment.
• Proficiency in Apple applications (Numbers, Pages, and Keynote) and MS Office applications (Excel and Word).
• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience.

Qualifications

• Experience using SAP GTS screening system and Accuity’s Compliance Link (preferred).
• Familiarity with EU and UN sanctions frameworks and EAR restricted-party lists (preferred).
• Experience in a global compliance environment or financial services/technology sector (preferred).
• Understanding of trade compliance concepts (export controls, denied-party screening, embargo programs) (preferred).
• ACAMS Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS) or Certified Global Sanctions Specialist (CGSS) (preferred).