Airwallex is the only unified payments and financial platform for global businesses. Powered by our unique combination of proprietary infrastructure and software, we empower over 200,000 businesses worldwide â including Brex, Rippling, Navan, Qantas, SHEIN and many more â with fully integrated solutions to manage everything from business accounts, payments, spend management and treasury, to embedded finance at a global scale.
Proudly founded in Melbourne, we have a team of over 2,000 of the brightest and most innovative people in tech across 26 offices around the globe. Valued at US$8 billion and backed by world-leading investors including T. Rowe Price, Visa, Mastercard, Robinhood Ventures, Sequoia, Salesforce Ventures, DST Global, and Lone Pine Capital, Airwallex is leading the charge in building the global payments and financial platform of the future. If youâre ready to do the most ambitious work of your career, join us.
We hire successful builders with founder-like energy who want real impact, accelerated learning, and true ownership. You bring strong role-related expertise and sharp thinking, and youâre motivated by our mission and operating principles. You move fast with good judgment, dig deep with curiosity, and make decisions from first principles, balancing speed and rigor.
You're humble and collaborative; turn zeroâtoâone ideas into real products, and you âget stuff doneâ end-to-end. You use AI to work smarter and solve problems faster. Here, youâll tackle complex, highâvisibility problems with exceptional teammates and grow your career as we build the future of global banking. If that sounds like you, letâs build whatâs next.
The Legal, Risk & Compliance (LRC) team at Airwallex is a collaborative group of legal minds and risk management experts. Weâre passionate about safeguarding Airwallexâs operations, fostering a culture of compliance and ethical conduct, and ensuring we navigate the global financial landscape with integrity. We provide expert guidance and support to all areas of the business, proactively identifying, mitigating, and managing legal and financial risks.
As the Associate Director of Financial Crime Compliance (FCC) for the Americas, you will act as the lead for one of our fastest-growing regions, currently comprised of the US, Canada, Brazil, and Mexico. You will be responsible for managing the Americas FCC team, ensuring our program is robust, scalable, and compliant with diverse local regulations while aligning with Airwallexâs global standards.
This is a dual-focus role: you will enhance and operationalize our program in existing markets while providing critical support as we launch into new jurisdictions and roll out new products. Beyond regional leadership, you will serve as a key member of the global FCC leadership team, helping to drive forward strategic global initiatives such as the Enterprise Wide Risk Assessment (EWRA), defining strategic OKRs, and strengthening the global compliance framework.
Regional Program Leadership: Own the execution and enhancement of the Financial Crime Compliance framework across the Americas. You will partner closely with local Money Laundering Reporting Officers (MLROs) and country leads to ensure compliance with local lawsâincluding the US Bank Secrecy Act, Canada's PCMLTFA, and regulations in Brazil and Mexicoâwhile maintaining alignment with global policy
Team Management: Lead, mentor, and develop the Financial Crime Compliance team across the Americas region, fostering a high-performance culture and ensuring the team is equipped to handle rapid scale
Regulatory Liaison: Manage relationships with key regulators across the region. This includes interfacing with US state and federal regulators, the Bank of Canada/FINTRAC, the Central Bank of Brazil (BCB), and the Bank of Mexico (Banxico). You will coordinate responses to regulatory examinations, independent reviews, and audits
Global Strategy & Governance: Partner with the Global Head of FCC to execute against our strategic OKRs and drive forward global initiatives. You will play a key role in strengthening the global program through projects such as enhancing our Management Information (MI) reporting, conducting product/risk coverage assessments, and monitoring performance against our risk appetite
New Market & Product Advisory: Partner closely with Product, Strategy, and Commercial teams to support the launch of new products and market entries in the Americas, providing pragmatic advice that balances growth with risk appetite
Operational Oversight: Oversee BAU financial crime activities in the region, including high-risk due diligence, transaction monitoring escalations, and the filing of regulatory reports (e.g., SARs) where required
Audit & Remediation: Lead the coordination of internal and external audits for the region; ensure findings are owned, tracked, and remediated effectively
Stakeholder Management: Represent Airwallex with critical external stakeholders, including banking and payment partners, ensuring transparent and well-governed engagement on FCC matters
We're looking for people who meet the minimum requirements for this role. The preferred qualifications are great to have, but are not mandatory.
Minimum qualifications:
Experience: 10+ years of financial crime compliance experience, with significant time spent in a leadership or people management role
Regulatory Knowledge: Deep expertise in Americas financial crime regulations (e.g., US BSA/AML, Canadian PCMLTFA) and familiarity with regulatory frameworks in LATAM (Brazil, Mexico)
Leadership: Proven track record of managing and developing high-performing compliance teams in a fast-paced environment
Stakeholder Skills: Strong ability to engage and challenge senior internal stakeholders and external partners, with a "compliance as a service" mindset
Communication: Excellent written and verbal communication skills, capable of drafting board-level materials and complex regulatory submissions
Preferred qualifications:
Audit/Consulting Background: Previous experience in a Big 4 audit or consulting firm is highly desirable
Industry Experience: Background in Fintech, payments, or e-commerce, ideally supporting cross-border products
International Reach: Experience dealing with regulators outside of the US (specifically in Canada or LATAM)
Language Skills: Fluency in Spanish or Portuguese is a strong bonus
Certification: Recognized professional certification (e.g., CAMS, ICA)
To protect you from recruitment scams, please be aware that Airwallex will not ask for bank details, sensitive ID numbers (i.e. passport), or any form of payment during the application or interview process. All official communication will come from an @airwallex.com email address. Please apply only through careers.airwallex.com or our official LinkedIn page.
Airwallex does not accept unsolicited resumes from search firms/recruiters. Airwallex will not pay any fees to search firms/recruiters if a candidate is submitted by a search firm/recruiter unless an agreement has been entered into with respect to specific open position(s). Search firms/recruiters submitting resumes to Airwallex on an unsolicited basis shall be deemed to accept this condition, regardless of any other provision to the contrary.
Airwallex is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We value diversity and anyone seeking employment at Airwallex
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