Build a Safer World.
TRM Labs provides AI-powered intelligence solutions that help public and private sector agencies investigate and disrupt crime. TRM's platforms enable investigators to trace illicit activity, build cases, and construct operating pictures of threat networks. Leading agencies and businesses worldwide rely on TRM to make the world safer and more secure.
The Scam Investigations team is TRM’s tip of the spear against pig butchering syndicates, romance fraud networks, and investment scam operations that steal billions from victims each year. The team operates an integrated workflow — from AI-supported complaint triage to time-sensitive investigation, escalation, and recovery support for victims.
As Investigations Manager, you will lead the operational core of a high-volume scam-investigation workflow: managing investigators across triage and recovery support, maintaining work-product quality, and partnering closely with engineering, legal, and cross-functional teams. This is a player-coach role for someone who has done investigative work, can credibly review it, and can run the people-management cadence that allows a high-pressure team to sustain quality and throughput over time.
The impact you will have:
- Run the team. 1:1s, career-pathing, performance pulses, and growth feedback at TRM Manager standard. You convert priorities from department leadership into investigator workload, and escalate cleanly when something exceeds team-level scope. The reason your investigators stay and grow is you.
- Hire and develop. Source actively alongside the recruiter, run thoughtful interview loops, and own end-to-end onboarding. When the team needs to grow — or when automation shifts the analyst-to-volume ratio — you write the headcount case. Talent density is yours to defend and raise.
- Servant-leader by default. Every TRM manager is a doer. When the team needs you in the trenches, you’re there.
What we’re looking for:
- 12+ months of people management with 3–8 direct reports — documented continuous-feedback practice, real career-pathing conversations, and at least one documented underperformance management cycle. Has hired, developed, and (when needed) managed people out.
- Operational / investigative experience — you have personally executed or supervised the kind of investigative work product this team produces (cryptocurrency tracing, financial-crime investigations, legal-process drafting). You are not currently a daily practitioner, but you are a credible QC layer on the team’s output.
- AI fluency (required) — you use AI tools in your management workflow and you can articulate where AI accelerates your team’s output and where it doesn’t. AI fluency is evaluated during the interview process.
- Legal-process fluency — working-level familiarity with subpoenas, warrants, preservation requests, and other formal investigative process. You do not need to be a lawyer; you need to understand how high-quality investigative documentation supports downstream action.
- US Citizenship required
- Washington, D.C. / MD / VA based (hybrid; periodic on-site collaboration and travel may be required)
- Ability to obtain Public Trust clearance
About the team:
- Distributed, async-first via Slack and Notion, with structured syncs for alignment. Primary time-zone overlap: US Eastern / Central.
- High autonomy, high standards, low bureaucracy — work directly with engineering, analysts, legal counterparts, and partners who depend on the team’s output.
Team operating rhythms:
- Weekly 1:1s with direct reports
- Weekly team sync covering active work, throughput, and escalations
- 6-week performance pulse cycle across the team
- Quarterly career-pathing conversations and Areas of Responsibility audits
- Surge availability expected during time-sensitive disruption windows
Life at TRM
We are building a safer world. That promise shows up in how we work every day.
TRM moves quickly. We are a high velocity, high ownership team that expects clarity, follow-through, and impact. People who thrive here are energized by hard problems, experimentation, and continuous feedback. If something takes months elsewhere, it will ship here in days.
Our work sits at the intersection of AI, national security, and fighting crime. The problems are complex, the stakes are real, and the environment evolves quickly. The pace and intensity of the work reflect the importance of the mission. As a result, the way we operate requires a high level of ownership, adaptability, collaboration, and creative problem-solving.
At TRM, you should expect:
- Priorities and targets to change quickly as we experiment and iterate
- Work that often requires operating with a high degree of ambiguity
- A high level of personal ownership and accountability
- Close collaboration across teams and functions
- Frequent, high-touch communication
- Creative problem solving and out-of-the-box thinking
- A pace that rewards urgency, adaptability, and outcomes
This environment is energizing for people who enjoy building, solving hard problems, and making progress in situations that are not always fully defined. It also requires comfort navigating ambiguity, adjusting course as new information emerges, and maintaining focus and positivity in a fast-moving and intense environment.
We also recognize that this style of operating is not for everyone. If you are primarily optimizing for predictability or a consistently balanced workload, we encourage you to use the interview process to pressure test whether this environment is truly the right fit. We want teammates who thrive here, not just survive here.
At the same time, many people find this work deeply rewarding. If you are excited by meaningful problems, motivated by ambitious goals, and energized by working alongside mission-driven colleagues, there is a good chance you will find TRM to be an exceptional place to grow and contribute. Learn more: Interviewing at TRM: How We Hire and What Success Looks Like
AI Fluency at TRM
AI fluency is a baseline expectation at TRM.
We believe AI meaningfully changes how top performers operate. We expect every team member to use AI to accelerate and reimagine their craft, not just automate surface tasks.
At TRM, AI fluency means you are among the top 10 percent of operators in your function in how you apply AI to:
- Accelerate repeatable workflows
- Structure and solve problems
- Improve output quality
- Increase speed and leverage
You will be evaluated on applied AI fluency during the interview process.
Leadership Principles
We hire and grow against three leadership principles. They’re the standards for how we operate, treat each other, and make decisions.
- Impact-Oriented Trailblazer: We put customers first and move with speed, focus, and adaptability. We treat every plan like an experiment – test, ship, measure, and iterate quickly.
- Master Craftsperson: We care deeply about our craft. We balance speed with high standards, own outcomes end‑to‑end, and invest in getting better everyday.
- Inspiring Colleague: We add clarity and energy, not noise. We bring humility, candor, and a one‑team mindset — giving and receiving feedback to make the team stronger.
Join our Mission
At TRM we care deeply about our craft. We are looking for individuals who want their work to matter, who experiment with speed and rigor, and who take pride in building a safer world for billions of people. If you’re excited by TRM’s mission but don’t check every box, we encourage you to apply — we hire for slope, judgment, and the will to learn fast.
TRM is a Series C company with $220M in total funding, backed by Blockchain Capital, Goldman Sachs, Bessemer, Y Combinator, Thoma Bravo, and others. Headquartered in San Francisco, TRM operates as a distributed-first company with hubs in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Washington D.C., London, and Singapore.
Privacy Policy and Additional Information
By submitting your application, you are agreeing to allow TRM to process your personal information in accordance with the TRM Privacy Policy.
Our typical hiring cycles for specialized roles span 24 to 36 months. Accordingly, we retain your personal information for up to 36 months to evaluate your application and to consider you for current and future employment opportunities, unless you request earlier deletion or a different retention period is required or permitted by law.
To notify TRM Labs that you believe this job posting is non-compliant, please submit a report through this form. No response will be provided to inquiries unrelated to job posting compliance.
The use of AI tools of any kind (including but not limited to notetakers, interview assistants, and real-time coaching tools such as Otter.ai, Fireflies, Fathom, Cluey, or similar) during TRM interviews is not permitted without prior approval from TRM. TRM uses its own internal tools for note-taking to ensure a consistent and confidential experience for all candidates.
We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities, and requests can be made via this form.
Recruitment agencies
TRM Labs does not accept unsolicited agency resumes. Please do not forward resumes to TRM employees. TRM Labs is not responsible for any fees related to unsolicited resumes and will not pay fees to any third-party agency or company without a signed agreement.
