Interviewing at TRM: How We Hire and What Success Looks Like

Every hire at TRM is a bet on our future — and every TRMer has the power to change our trajectory. We’re a lean, high-impact team tackling some of the world’s most critical challenges, from human trafficking and financial fraud to terrorist financing. Let’s just say… we don’t pick the simple problems.

Our mission: build a safer financial system for billions of people. The problems we solve have real-world stakes — measured in lives and livelihoods. Writing code can help dismantle a criminal network. Designing a product can stop illicit funds from reaching dangerous actors. At TRM, we take decisions seriously — setting ambitious goals, testing fast, and letting results, not ego, steer our next move.

We operate from first principles, set a sky-high bar for ourselves, and back it up with action. You’ll join a culture of coaching and continuous improvement, where feedback is immediate and applied on the spot. And we move fast — where something that might take months elsewhere could ship here in days. We don’t just do the work. We run toward hard problems, and get better every day in service of our customers and mission.

Who thrives here

Our leadership principles are the north star for how we win at TRM. They’re not posters on a wall — they’re the standards for how we operate, treat each other, and hold ourselves accountable. The people who thrive here don’t just believe in these values — they embody them in every aspect of their work. If the following sounds like you, you might just be in the right place.

🛠 Master craftsperson

You’re not here to be good — you’re here to be great.

• You ship work you’re proud of, balancing speed with quality.
• You move fast — breaking big problems into bite-sized milestones and asking, “What could this look like by the end of the week?”
• You never stay stuck. You unblock yourself and own outcomes.
• You invest in your growth like it’s your edge — experimenting with tools and leveraging AI to accelerate business outcomes.

🚀 Impact-oriented trailblazer

You don’t just dream big — you adapt even faster.

• You treat every plan like a hypothesis — shipping, measuring, iterating rapidly.
• You know progress beats perfection and scope ruthlessly to move faster and learn more.
• You challenge your assumptions and seek out opposing viewpoints.
• You create clarity in chaos with simple frameworks, timelines, and outcomes.

✨ Inspiring colleague

You make the people around you better.

• You add energy, not noise — bringing optimism, ownership, and solutions when things get hard.
• You coach it forward, giving and receiving feedback with humility.
• You play for the front of the jersey — sharing knowledge and optimizing for what’s best for TRM.

Our hiring process

We design our interviews to uncover real signal — how you think, solve problems, and raise the bar — with a focus on outcomes and impact. You’ll walk us through what you’ve built, the decisions you made, and the trade-offs you navigated.

Most processes include:

• Recruiter screen: alignment, interest, and logistics
• Hiring manager interview: skills alignment, past impact
• 3-4 skill-based interviews: technical, strategic, or case-based
• 2-3 behavioral interviews: collaboration, decision-making, velocity

We’ll send you detailed guidance on how to prepare, but the goal is to learn how you think and work — not trick you with puzzles.

How to stand out

We don’t expect perfection — but we do look for clarity, curiosity, and rigor.

• Show how you delivered outcomes and impact, not just what you did
• Walk us through your decision framework, showcasing trade-offs and alternatives to reveal your thinking
• Have a clear point of view on why TRM fits your personal mission and goals
• Know what excites you — and what doesn’t

At TRM, success isn’t about being the loudest or looking the busiest. It’s about delivering results, challenging the status quo, and raising the bar — for yourself and everyone around you.

Who this isn’t for

TRM isn’t the right fit for everyone. And that’s a feature, not a bug.

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But if you’re energized by ambiguity, driven to solve hard problems quickly, and thrive where excellence is the norm — you may have found your calling here.

Before jumping in, take a moment to ask yourself:

• What genuinely energizes me — and what drains me?
• Am I ready to grow through hard challenges, pressure, and occasional discomfort?
• Do I get more satisfaction from shipping something in hours or polishing it for months?
• Can I make confident decisions quickly, even if I'm missing complete context?
• Am I actively doing everything I can to be at the top of my game?
• Do I value — and act on — constructive feedback and regular coaching from peers?
• Is this the kind of challenge I want right now?

Final thought

We’re not trying to be everything to everyone. We wrote this post to help the right people lean in — and help others opt out with confidence. Both outcomes are wins. If you’re thinking “TRM may not be right for me,” that’s okay! We genuinely respect the self-awareness. Above all, we’re committed to being transparent about what we value — so you can make the right call for what matters most to you.

On the other hand, if you’re already saying to yourself, “This sounds like me!” — we’d love to meet you. The work at TRM is demanding — sometimes even intense — but also incredibly rewarding. If you’re energized so far, that’s a great sign and we invite you to apply — you may just thrive here.

We’re hiring and growing quickly. See trmlabs.com/careers — and imagine what we could build together.