Clara is the leading platform in Latin America for companies to execute and manage every payment operation. More than 50,000 leading and fast-growing businesses run on our corporate cards, bill pay, financing and B2B payments, and in 2025 the Financial Times named Clara the region’s fastest-growing company. We’re passionate about helping every company we work with become more effective—and, through that, raising the region’s competitiveness. We’re ~400 people, backed by Notable Capital, Coatue, Kaszek, monashees, DST Global, ICONIQ, General Catalyst and Goldman Sachs, among others.
We're looking for a Legal & Compliance Expert to strengthen Clara’s capabilities in Brazil. This is a high-impact, highly operational individual contributor role designed for professionals with solid experience in Corporate Legal, Regulatory Compliance, or both. Whether your expertise leans toward corporate law or compliance, you will own complex matters end-to-end, influence cross-functional stakeholders, and help build scalable processes supported by AI to enable Clara to grow responsibly.
Depending on your primary area of specialization, your responsibilities will include:
Lead key corporate legal, corporate governance, or regulatory compliance matters related to Clara’s operations in Brazil.
Manage corporate records, resolutions, powers of attorney, statutory filings, capital changes, and intercompany arrangements.
Draft, review, and negotiate strategic commercial, technology, vendor, confidentiality, and partnership agreements.
Monitor regulatory developments and translate applicable requirements into actionable policies, procedures, controls, and implementation plans.
Lead or execute AML/CFT, KYC/KYB, and enhanced due diligence activities related to complex corporate structures, Ultimate Beneficial Owners (UBOs), PEPs, sanctions, and adverse media.
Analyze higher-risk cases and present fully documented recommendations for approval, remediation, rejection, or escalation.
Support external audits, regulatory interactions, internal reviews, and remediation plans.
Lead or support privacy and data protection initiatives, including the practical application of LGPD across new products and operational processes.
Contribute to the ESG Compliance agenda, including governance, policies, risk assessments, regulatory obligations, and reporting controls.
Act as a strategic advisor to Product, Operations, Finance, People, Sales, Risk, Fraud, Engineering, and Data teams (communicating effectively via Slack and other channels), balancing business objectives with legal and regulatory risks.
Support new products, vendors, and strategic initiatives by proactively identifying requirements, risks, approvals, and implementation steps.
Coordinate complex initiatives with internal stakeholders and external counsel, ensuring clear ownership, deadlines, and execution.
Build and improve templates, playbooks, approval flows, and knowledge management systems (utilizing tools like Google Drive) to make the Legal and Compliance functions more consistent and scalable.
Use AI and workflow automation (such as N8N) to streamline legal research, document review, regulatory monitoring, case analysis, and reporting while preserving strict confidentiality, human review, and auditability.
Identify relevant legal and operational risks early, provide practical recommendations, and escalate critical matters when necessary.
We’re looking for someone who meets the minimum requirements to be considered for the role. The preferred qualifications are a bonus, not a requirement.
Must haves
5+ years of relevant experience in Corporate Legal, Regulatory Compliance, AML/CFT, privacy, or related areas, preferably with significant in-house experience.
Solid experience in at least one of the following areas:
Brazilian corporate law, corporate governance, entity management, and commercial agreements; OR
Regulatory Compliance, AML/CFT, KYC/KYB, audits, controls, and remediation.
Law degree and active registration with the Brazilian Bar Association (OAB) for candidates whose primary specialization is Corporate Legal. For Compliance-focused profiles, degrees in Law, Business Administration, Accounting, Economics, International Relations, or related fields will be considered.
Experience operating in regulated environments, with a proven ability to manage complex matters from analysis through implementation.
Practical knowledge of LGPD, privacy, and data protection requirements.
Ability to exert technical leadership and influence cross-functional stakeholders while remaining highly hands-on in operational execution.
A collaborative profile with a strong sense of ownership, sound business judgment, and excellent organizational skills.
Experience or strong interest in using AI tools to automate workflows and improve legal or compliance processes.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills to articulate complex legal/compliance risks into clear business requirements.
Adaptability to fast-changing environments and a strong bias for action.
Proven role-specific execution in a fast-paced or high-growth setting.
Nice to haves
In-house experience at a fintech, financial institution, payments company, or technology startup.
Direct experience with the Central Bank of Brazil (BCB), COAF, ANPD, or other relevant regulatory authorities.
Experience with ESG governance, assessments, policies, or reporting.
Experience managing external counsel and highly specialized legal matters.
Experience leading or supporting audits, regulatory inspections, and remediation plans.
Independent analytical skills using spreadsheets, SQL, or Python to monitor compliance metrics or evaluate workflows.
Basic proficiency in Spanish, or a strong desire to learn it.
A good sense of humor.
Where we work
This is a hybrid role: you'll split your time between the office, customers and home. We don't set a minimum number of office days for most roles — you'll spend time in the office naturally, and most days during your ramp-up or when your leader asks.
- A high talent-density team driven to make an impact in Latin America — low ego, high ownership.
- Competitive salary and stock options (ESOP) from day one.
- An annual learning budget and accelerated development paths.
- English is our working language, with Spanish and Portuguese every day.
- Clarity — Open and direct communication: we say what we mean and give context where it matters.
- Simplicity — If it can be simpler, it should be.
- Ownership — We own everything we do, end to end. When something needs to happen, we don't wait.
- Pride — We hold ourselves to a high standard, and it shows in what we deliver.
- ABC (Always Be Changing) — We adapt fast, embrace change, and keep learning.
- Inclusivity — Diverse ideas, stories and perspectives build a better Clara.
If you meet the must-haves, apply — the nice-to-haves are a bonus, not a requirement.
Skills Required
- 5+ years of relevant experience in Corporate Legal, Regulatory Compliance, AML/CFT, privacy, or related areas, preferably with significant in-house experience
- Experience in Brazilian corporate law, corporate governance, entity management, and commercial agreements, or Regulatory Compliance, AML/CFT, KYC/KYB, audits, controls, and remediation
- Law degree and active Brazilian Bar Association registration for Corporate Legal specialization; compliance profiles may have degrees in Law, Business Administration, Accounting, Economics, International Relations, or related fields
- Experience operating in regulated environments and managing complex matters from analysis through implementation
- Practical knowledge of LGPD, privacy, and data protection requirements
- Ability to provide technical leadership, influence cross-functional stakeholders, and execute operational work hands-on
- Collaborative profile with ownership, sound business judgment, and excellent organizational skills
- Experience or strong interest in using AI tools to automate legal or compliance workflows
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills for translating complex risks into clear business requirements
- Adaptability, bias for action, and proven execution in a fast-paced or high-growth setting
- In-house experience at a fintech, financial institution, payments company, or technology startup
- Direct experience with the Central Bank of Brazil, COAF, ANPD, or other relevant regulatory authorities
- Experience with ESG governance, assessments, policies, or reporting
- Experience managing external counsel and specialized legal matters
- Experience leading or supporting audits, regulatory inspections, and remediation plans
- Analytical skills using spreadsheets, SQL, or Python to monitor compliance metrics or evaluate workflows
- Basic Spanish proficiency or strong desire to learn Spanish
- Good sense of humor
Clara Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Clara and has not been reviewed or approved by Clara.
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Equity Value & Accessibility — Equity grants are emphasized across several descriptions, with stock options commonly included and in some instances available from day one. Feedback suggests this ownership component is a meaningful part of total rewards.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Time off offerings are portrayed as flexible, including references to flexible vacation and flexible time off policies. Feedback suggests this supports work–life balance for many roles.
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Wellbeing & Lifestyle Benefits — Wellness support is cited through mental‑health platforms, coaching and meditation programs, and monthly wellness reimbursements in some contexts. Feedback suggests these offerings complement core benefits where available.
Clara Insights
What We Do
Clara is the leading payment platform for companies in Latin America. Our end-to-end solution includes our locally-issued corporate cards, Bill Pay, crossborder payments, and our highly-rated software platform used by thousands of the most successful companies across the region. Clara is backed by top global and regional investors such as Coatue, DST Global, General Catalyst, monashees, Kaszek, Canary, A*, BoxGroup, SV Angel, GFC, Picus Capital, Avid Ventures, ICONIQ Growth, Goldman Sachs, and prominent angel investors. Driven by our six core values (Ownership, Pride, ABC, Simplicity, Clarity and Inclusivity) we’ve reached a unicorn valuation in record time, have been recognized as a Great Place to Work and as one of the most promising startups according to Linkedin’s ranking “Top Startups 2021”. We’re looking for the best talent worldwide to join our team and be part of this journey, so you can't afford to miss this chance! We are: * Shaping business finances in Latin America * Driven by our 6 core values * Proud of our inclusive and caring culture * Certified as a Great Place to Work and a Top LinkedIn Startup
