How to hire a compliance investigator

How to hire a compliance investigator, step by step

Here's a step-by-step compliance investigator hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a compliance investigator job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new compliance investigator
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a compliance investigator do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   The compliance investigator hiring process starts by determining what type of worker you actually need. Certain roles might require a full-time employee, whereas part-time workers or contractors can do others.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   Hiring the perfect compliance investigator also involves considering the ideal background you'd like them to have. Depending on what industry or field they have experience in, they'll bring different skills to the job. It's also important to consider what levels of seniority and education the job requires and what kind of salary such a candidate would likely demand.

   This list shows salaries for various types of compliance investigators.

   Type of Compliance Investigator	Description	Hourly rate
   Compliance Investigator		$20-38
   Regulatory Compliance Officer	A regulatory compliance officer makes sure that a company operates or complies with the regulations, bylaws, policies, and other legal requirements. Regulatory compliance officers ensure that the organization has internal controls controlling and managing risks... Show more	$23-54
   Chief Compliance Officer	A CCO or Chief Compliance Officer's primary responsibility is to ensure all procedures or activities are compliant with the company's overall policy and adhering to legal protocols with state and federal laws. Thus, the CCO drafts, proposes and develops compliance programs for the company to implement... Show more	$31-76

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Federal Laws
   • Law Enforcement
   • Management System
   • Conduct Investigations
   • Ethics
   • Due Diligence
   • HR
   • Anti-Money Laundering
   • Medicaid
   • SAR
   • Investigation Reports
   • Secrecy
   • FinCEN
   • BSA/AML

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Participate in OCC exam preparation and review including research and presentation of documentation to achieve compliance with federal examiner requests.
   • Conduct BSA risk assessments on new products & services.
   • Prepare and conduct yearly bank wide BSA/AML training.
   • Research employee theft, fraud, Medicaid and Medicare contract compliance and computer security issues.
   • Investigate potential AML, KYC and OFAC violations in the Americas and draft reports of findings.
   • Investigate potential OFAC violations, money laundering, and fraudulent financial activity across client business lines.

   More compliance investigator duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your compliance investigator job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. A compliance investigator can vary based on:

   • Location. For example, compliance investigators' average salary in arkansas is 45% less than in delaware.
   • Seniority. Entry-level compliance investigators 48% less than senior-level compliance investigators.
   • Certifications. A compliance investigator with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in a compliance investigator's salary.

   Average compliance investigator salary

   $58,594yearly

   $28.17 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level compliance investigator salary

   $42,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 14, 2025

   Average compliance investigator salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$83,304	$40
   2	New York	$72,131	$35
   3	Massachusetts	$70,687	$34
   4	Washington	$70,177	$34
   5	Maryland	$69,212	$33
   6	Nevada	$64,470	$31
   7	Colorado	$61,099	$29
   8	Nebraska	$60,947	$29
   9	Texas	$60,755	$29
   10	Arizona	$59,287	$29
   11	Illinois	$54,452	$26
   12	Florida	$54,019	$26
   13	Utah	$53,795	$26
   14	Louisiana	$53,687	$26
   15	North Carolina	$53,271	$26
   16	West Virginia	$53,013	$25
   17	Iowa	$52,802	$25
   18	North Dakota	$52,198	$25
   19	Wyoming	$48,557	$23
   20	Idaho	$47,023	$23

   Average compliance investigator salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Meta	$117,089	$56.29	71
   2	PayPal	$109,906	$52.84
   3	Goldman Sachs	$78,160	$37.58	2
   4	Halliburton	$77,437	$37.23
   5	University of California-Berkeley	$77,160	$37.10
   6	Morgan Stanley	$74,695	$35.91	10
   7	AlixPartners	$74,484	$35.81	2
   8	Stanford University	$71,427	$34.34	4
   9	Lincoln Memorial University	$71,182	$34.22
   10	Sutton Bank	$70,051	$33.68	8
   11	Lenovo	$69,726	$33.52	1
   12	HCSC	$68,366	$32.87
   13	Risk Management Resources Inc	$67,991	$32.69
   14	ICU Medical	$67,882	$32.64
   15	Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc.	$63,276	$30.42	6
   16	Chicago Public Schools	$63,017	$30.30	1
   17	King County	$62,853	$30.22
   18	Parkland Hospital	$62,809	$30.20	1
   19	Novi Community School District	$62,367	$29.98
   20	Services for the UnderServed	$61,351	$29.50

4. Writing a compliance investigator job description

   A compliance investigator job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. Below, you can find an example of a compliance investigator job description:

   Compliance investigator job description example

   **Purpose of Job**
   
   We are currently seeking an Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Investigator Entry Level to participate in Hiring Our Heroes (HOH) Fellowship Cohort 23-1 with USAA. This is a Hybrid opportunity for our San Antonio, TX, Phoenix, AZ, Colorado Springs, CO, Tampa, FL Plano, TX and Charlotte, NC facility.
   
   We're looking for those who share our values of honesty, integrity, loyalty, and service. By using the HOH Fellowship Programs our goal is to create a premier experience for transitioning service members, veterans, and military spouses that increases competitiveness and enhances opportunities to find relevant employment by providing development, skills, and exposure to corporate working environment and private sector business operations. The HOH Fellowship Programs are best-in-class workforce development programs that range from six to eleven weeks.
   
   Performs a variety of investigative duties to assist the Enterprise with compliance of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), USA PATRIOT Act, and other AML program requirements. Responsible for investigating transactional data to report potential money laundering, terrorist financing (ML/TF), and other illicit activities. May participate and support other AML projects.
   
   **Job Requirements**
   
   **Tasks:**
   
   + Applies an Anti-Money Laundering (AML) case management tool and other internal systems to monitor, research, analyze and investigate trends related to member transactional activity.
   
   + Applies knowledge of financial products, systems, and process in all lines of business to detect suspicious ML/TF activities.
   
   + Conducts AML investigations of suspected illicit or ML/TF activity and with guidance makes account closure recommendations as necessary.
   
   + Prepares regulatory reporting in compliance with FINCEN guidance and BSA/AML standards.
   
   + Conducts interviews of members to detect ML/TF patterns and trends in support of the investigative process.
   
   + Communicates with senior leadership, AML legal Counsel, external financial institutions and law enforcement agencies as part of the investigative process.
   
   + Present evidence to appropriate law enforcement agencies for possible prosecution as needed.
   
   **Minimum Qualifications: [education and min requirements are combined under this header]**
   
   + Bachelor's Degree or4 years experience in addition to the number of years experience required can be substituted in lieu of a degree (6 years)
   
   + 2 years of detection/investigations work experience or related financial institution or law enforcement data/evidence gathering, analysis, and decision making.
   
   + Demonstrated knowledge and application of Bank Secrecy Act, Anti-Money Laundering, OFAC, USA PATRIOT Act, OFAC or other AML regulatory policies.
   
   + Previous experience in investigations as it relates to money laundering and/or financial crimes.
   
   + Possess strong written and oral communication skills.
   
   **Preferred Qualifications:**
   
   + Current participant in the Cohort 23-1 Hiring Our Heroes Fellowship Programs
   
   + Experience authoring Suspicious Activity Reports and/or Case Narratives
   
   + Experience conducting transactional monitoring reviews
   
   + Ability to work in a fast-paced environment while maintaining quality standards
   
   + Ability to perform well under pressure and able to take on the responsibility of multiple tasks at once
   
   The above description reflects the details considered necessary to describe the principal functions of the job and should not be construed as a detailed description of all the work requirements that may be performed in the job.
   
   **Compensation**
   
   Hiring Our Heroes fellows are paid by the HOH program.
   
   If selected for a full-time role, USAA has an effective process for assessing market data and establishing ranges to ensure we remain competitive. You are paid within the salary range based on your experience and market data of the position. A geographic differential and/or shift premium may be applicable for this role, depending upon where and when this job is performed. The salary range for this position is: $51,700 - $93,200 **.**
   
   Employees may be eligible for pay incentives based on overall corporate and individual performance or at the discretion of the USAA Board of Directors.
   
   Relocation assistance is not available for this position.
   
   _USAA is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran._
   
   USAA is an EEO/AA Employer - applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, protected veteran status or other status protected by law.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find the right compliance investigator for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important sources of talent for any company is its existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and current employees and ask if they know or have worked with compliance investigators they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit compliance investigators who meet your education requirements.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter now have more than 3.5 billion users, and you can use social media to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your compliance investigator job on Zippia to find and recruit compliance investigator candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting compliance investigators requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match your ideal candidate profile. If you think a candidate is good enough for the next step, you can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new compliance investigator

   Once you've found the compliance investigator candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.

   It's equally important to follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   To prepare for the new employee's start date, you can create an onboarding schedule and complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9 forms, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Human Resources should also ensure that a new employee file is created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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How much does it cost to hire a compliance investigator?