APAC Merchant Risk Ops Leader - Automation & AI

Airwallex; Dublin; On-site; EUR 108,000 - 167,000; Full time

Job summary

Airwallex is seeking a seasoned Risk Operations leader to own APAC merchant risk operations. You will manage end-to-end performance, partner with global teams, and shape risk tooling with AI/ML capabilities. The role requires 8+ years in payments/fintech with 3+ years in people management, plus a BA/equivalent degree.

You will influence strategy, scale teams, and drive operational excellence while maintaining strong risk controls across multiple locations.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience in payments / fintech / acquiring with at least 3+ years people management experiences.
• Deep expertise in one or more of Merchant Risk: credit and fraud risk; brand risk (AUP and compliance)
• Proven track record managing senior ICs in multi-location teams
• Able to operate fast in ambiguity, set priorities, and drive outcomes in a fast-moving, high-growth environment
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent practical experience

Responsibilities

• Lead APAC Merchant Risk Operations team for Payments
• Own end-to-end operational performance for APAC merchant risk operations, including SLAs, quality, loss metrics, and customer impact
• Oversee design and execution of merchant monitoring, investigation and escalation workflows across APAC region
• Partner with global legal, risk and compliance team to implement new policies and control changes efficiently into operations
• Work with Product and Engineering to evolve risk tooling (rules engines, case management, AI/LLM-based workflows, analytics surfaces) for higher accuracy and efficiency
• Champion automation and AI to reduce manual work, speed up decisions, and improve reviewer effectiveness while maintaining strong control standards
• Drive the key performance metrics (fraud ratio, chargeback ratio, etc) in MRM team to meet the company OKR
• Proactive stakeholder management including risk, compliance, commercial, product etc.
• Always challenge the status quo and continuously strive for operational excellence

Skills

Merchant risk management

People management

Payments/fintech expertise

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Tools

SQL

Job description

Airwallex is seeking a seasoned Risk Operations leader to own APAC merchant risk operations. You will manage end-to-end performance, partner with global teams, and shape risk tooling with AI/ML capabilities. The role requires 8+ years in payments/fintech with 3+ years in people management, plus a BA/equivalent degree.

You will influence strategy, scale teams, and drive operational excellence while maintaining strong risk controls across multiple locations.