Director, Legal (Commercial - Banking and Payments)

Wealthsimple; Canada; On-site; CAD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading fintech company in Canada is seeking a Director, Legal (Commercial - Banking and Payments) to manage legal aspects of banking and payments agreements. The ideal candidate has over 8 years of experience in financial services law, strong communication skills, and a proven track record in negotiating complex agreements. This position offers a competitive salary and comprehensive benefits, including a remote-first work environment.

Benefits

Competitive salary with health benefits

Retirement savings matching plan

20 vacation days plus unlimited sick days

$1,500 per year towards wellness and professional development

90 days away program for remote work in eligible countries

Qualifications

• 8+ years of legal experience focusing on financial services.
• Experience drafting and negotiating complex legal agreements.
• Familiarity with Canadian payments infrastructure.

Responsibilities

• Draft, review, and negotiate commercial agreements.
• Support resolution of legal issues related to agreements.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to mitigate legal risks.

Skills

Legal experience in financial services

Drafting legal agreements

Communication skills

Collaborative mindset

Understanding of Canadian payments infrastructure

Education

Juris Doctor (JD) or equivalent

Job description

Your career is an investment that grows over time!

Wealthsimple is on a mission to help everyone achieve financial freedom by reimagining what it means to manage your money. Using smart technology, we take financial services that are often confusing, opaque and expensive and make them transparent and low-cost for everyone. We’re the largest fintech company in Canada, with over 4 million users who trust us with more than $70 billion in assets.

Our teams ship often and make an impact with groundbreaking ideas. We're looking for talented people who keep it simple and value collaboration and humility as we continue to create inclusive and high-performing teams where people can be inspired to do their best work.

About the role

Wealthsimple is looking for a Director, Legal (Commercial - Banking and Payments) to join our Legal team. Reporting to the Senior Director, Legal, you will lead legal support for the negotiation, implementation and ongoing management of commercial agreements supporting Wealthsimple’s banking and payments infrastructure. You’ll partner with cross-functional teams to identify and mitigate legal risks, with a focus on executing complex commercial agreements and supporting operational delivery. Wealthsimple is building a new and novel neobank in Canada, with no existing blueprint to follow. We’re looking for an innovative thinker with strong commercial legal skills and an understanding of the payments and banking regulatory regimes, who can dream and then execute within Canada’s complex and overlapping banking, payments and securities law frameworks.

In this role, the candidate will have the opportunity to:

• Draft, review, and negotiate complex banking, payments, and commercial agreements, including with banks, processors, card networks, and infrastructure partners.
• Own contract drafting and risk allocation for a broad range of commercial relationships critical to Wealthsimple’s banking and payments infrastructure.
• Support resolution of legal issues related to commercial agreements, including disputes, renewals and compliance with contractual obligations.
• Partner with Regulatory and Product Counsel to ensure agreements align with Wealthsimple’s legal and regulatory obligations.
• Provide clear, actionable legal advice that balances commercial priorities with principled risk management.
• Resolve legal and contractual issues in existing commercial relationships, often with cross-border and multi-party considerations.
• Collaborate with Product, Compliance, Risk, and Finance to assess legal risks and develop strategies that enable growth and innovation.
• Use AI and other tools to streamline legal workflows, improve contract processes and build scalable systems.
• Contribute to the development of commercial templates, playbooks and best practices.

What you'll bring:

• 8+ years of legal experience in financial services, including a focus on technology contracts, gained at a major Canadian law firm or an in-house corporate legal department
• Experience with drafting and negotiating complex legal agreements used in banking and payments
• Familiarity with Canadian payments infrastructure, intermediaries and vendors
• Strong communication skills and ability to distill complex legal topics into clear, actionable advice for diverse audiences
• Collaborative and proactive mindset with a willingness to roll up your sleeves
• Comfortable navigating ambiguity and evolving regulatory frameworks
• A strategic thinker with a builder mentality who thrives in a fast-moving, mission-driven environment.

Why Wealthsimple?

Competitive salary with top-tier health benefits and life insurance

Retirement savings matching plan using Wealthsimple for Business

20 vacation days per year and unlimited sick and mental health days

Up to $1,500 per year towards wellness and professional development budgets respectively

90 days away program: Employees can work internationally in eligible countries for up to 90 days per calendar year

A wide variety of peer and company-led Employee Resource Groups (ie. Rainbow, Women of Wealthsimple, Black @ WS)

Company-wide wellness days off scheduled throughout the year

We’re a remote-first team, with over 1,000 employees coast to coast in North America. Be a part of our Canadian success story and help shape the financial future of millions — join us!

Read our Culture Manual and learn more about how we work.

Technology & Innovation at Wealthsimple

We believe the future belongs to those who innovate boldly. At Wealthsimple, every team member is expected to lean into new technologies, including AI, and tooling to rethink how we work, solve problems faster, and create even greater value. We're looking for people who are not just comfortable with change but energized by it. Our commitment is to build a company that evolves at the pace of the world around us, and we want you to help lead that future.

DEI Statement

At Wealthsimple, we are building products for a diverse world and we need a diverse team to do that successfully. We strongly encourage applications from everyone regardless of race, religion, colour, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, or disability status.

Accessibility Statement

Wealthsimple provides an accessible candidate experience. If you need any accommodations or adjustments throughout the interview process and beyond, please let us know, and we will work with you to provide the necessary support and make reasonable accommodations to facilitate your participation. We are continuously working to improve our accessibility practices and welcome any feedback or suggestions on how we can better accommodate candidates with accessibility needs.