Compliance Senior Director & MLRO

About Airwallex

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 250,000 businesses worldwide – including Brex, Navan, Qantas, SHEIN and many more – 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 2,300 of the brightest and most innovative people in tech across 27 offices around the globe. Valued at US $11 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 you’re 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 you’re 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 zero‑to‑one ideas into real products, and you “get stuff done” end-to-end. You use AI to work smarter and solve problems faster. Here, you’ll tackle complex, high‑visibility problems with exceptional teammates and grow your career as we build the future of global banking. If that sounds like you, let’s build what’s next.

About the Team

The Financial Crime Compliance (FCC) team at Airwallex is a strategically vital function operating under a clear Three Lines of Defense model. As the independent second line, FCC owns the global AML/CTF program, sanctions framework, risk assessment methodology, and governance infrastructure across all global entities. As Airwallex scales into new markets and deepens its engagement with global regulatory bodies, we are building a world‑class compliance organization capable of managing complex financial crime risks s is an environment where you will tackle high-impact challenges, shape global fintech risk strategies, and help establish foundations for long‑term growth.

What you’ll do

As the Senior Compliance Director & MLRO, US, you will lead and scale the regional compliance architecture across the United States, Canada, and expanding Americas markets, ensuring absolute financial crime compliance while supporting regional business expansion. Leading a regional team of compliance specialists and localized MLROs, you will serve as the primary liaison for federal and state regulatory bodies, oversee regional compliance operations, and monitor shifting regulatory developments.

You will act as the definitive second‑line regional authority, providing compliance sign‑off on complex risk decisions, guiding new license applications (including US state money transmitter licenses), and advising on product and customer use cases. You will work closely with the global FCC leadership team, product executives, and regional business heads to ensure compliance is a strategic enabler of growth.

This role is based in New York.

Responsibilities

• Lead, mentor, and scale the AMER regional compliance team, ensuring robust regulatory coverage, local compliance sovereignty, and consistent application of global standards across all active jurisdictions and states.

• Act as the primary regulatory liaison for the AMER region, managing day‑to‑day relationships, complex regulatory inquiries, and high‑stakes examinations with federal and state…