Senior Internal Auditor, Technology

Payward, the parent company behind Kraken, NinjaTrader, Breakout, xStocks, Payward Services, and CF Benchmarks, has spent the last 15 years building one of the most modern and globally accessible financial infrastructure platforms in the industry, designed to advance an open, global financial system.

About the Team

Founded in 2011, Kraken is one of the world's longest-standing crypto platforms, trusted by over 10 million individuals and institutions globally. It offers spot trading, margin, futures, staking, and OTC services for both individual investors and institutional clients. Payward's Audit & Risk function operates as an Integrated Assurance organization, combining Internal Audit and Enterprise Risk Management under a unified risk oversight strategy. The function covers Internal Audit, SOX Compliance, and Enterprise Risk Management across multiple regulated entities and jurisdictions. Internal Audit partners with co-sourced providers, maintains direct reporting lines to Global and Local Audit Committees, and is building a technology-forward assurance capability at the forefront of crypto and financial innovation.

Responsibilities

• Plan and execute technology audits across a broad IT environment, including:
  • Cybersecurity, cloud, identity and access management
  • Software development lifecycle (SDLC) and change management
  • Security of core systems holding sensitive customer records and identity documentation (access controls, data protection, monitoring, regulatory and policy compliance)
  • Operational resilience (business continuity, disaster recovery, resilience testing), incident management, technology risk management, and third-party technology oversight
  • Data governance, privacy, and data-lake controls
  • AI governance, security, and privacy across the organization's use of AI and machine-learning systems
• Test the design and operating effectiveness of IT general controls and application controls against frameworks such as ISO 27001, NIST CSF, SOC 2, or COBIT; identify gaps, perform root cause analysis, and assess business and financial-reporting impact.
• Apply AI-enabled workflows (AI-assisted testing, anomaly detection, and analytics) to expand coverage and efficiency, with human ownership of conclusions.
• Lead multiple audit engagements concurrently, managing planning, fieldwork, and reporting end-to-end.
• Document audit findings, including control gaps and root cause, and draft clear, well-supported workpapers and reports.
• Track and validate remediation of identified issues, escalating delays or gaps to Internal Audit leadership.
• Contribute to the continuous improvement of audit methodologies and frameworks, ensuring conformance with the IIA Global Internal Audit Standards and the function's quality assurance requirements.
• Lead engagement teams, including staffing and coordinating co-sourced specialists, to ensure quality and timely delivery across audits.
• Serve as a trusted point of contact for control owners across Engineering, Infrastructure, and Security teams to communicate audit results and advise on control improvements while maintaining audit independence.
• Translate technical findings into clear, actionable conclusions for non-technical stakeholders and senior leadership.
• Partner with other Internal Audit team members and co-sourced resources to ensure coordinated coverage across the audit plan.

Requirements

• 5-8 years in IT audit, information security, or a related technology risk function, ideally within financial services, fintech, or crypto.
• Broad IT audit experience across several of the following: cybersecurity, identity and access management, ITGCs, cloud, SDLC and change management, data and privacy, operational resilience, and third-party technology risk.
• Strong grasp of control frameworks (ISO 27001, NIST CSF, SOC 2, or COBIT) and cloud environments (AWS, GCP, Azure).
• Working knowledge of data governance and privacy (e.g., GDPR), with exposure to AI governance, security, and privacy.
• Technically fluent with enterprise technology (systems, databases, deployment pipelines) and able to translate findings clearly for engineers and senior leaders alike.
• Applies generative AI responsibly, with human oversight, to improve testing coverage and efficiency.

Nice to Haves

• Relevant certifications: CISA, CISSP, CRISC, CIA, or equivalent.
• Familiarity with blockchain infrastructure, digital asset custody, or crypto-native technology environments.
• Experience with CI/CD pipelines, version control, and modern deployment practices.
• Exposure to operational resilience and ISO 27001 certification environments.

Pay

Compensation Range: $72,600 - $145,200