Engineering Lead / Manager, KYC (Relocation to Singapore)

Airwallex; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 35,947 - 57,516; Full time

Job summary

A global financial platform is seeking an experienced Engineering Lead to optimize user onboarding and enhance risk detection through automation. The ideal candidate will have over 5 years in software engineering, strong skills in Kotlin or Java, and a collaborative spirit. This role offers a chance to drive impactful solutions and mentor others in a dynamic team environment. Join us in building the future of global banking in San Francisco.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of software engineering experience.
• Experience in backend or frontend development.
• Self-driven and proactive in identifying problems.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and maintain scalable automation tools.
• Develop and implement AI-driven solutions.
• Collaborate with stakeholders to define requirements.

Skills

Software engineering

Backend development

Frontend development

AI and machine learning

Collaboration

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or related fields

Tools

Kotlin

Java

React

TypeScript

AWS

GCP

Job description

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 200,000 businesses worldwide – including Brex, Rippling, 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 2,000 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 you’re ready to do the most ambitious work of your career, join us.

Attributes We Value

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 KYC team focuses on driving operational excellence by automating and optimizing processes for Airwallex’s internal ops teams. We build tools and systems to streamline user onboarding and registration approval, predict and mitigate user risk (including blocking malicious users), and leverage AI and automation to enhance the efficiency of our internal operations.

What You’ll Do

As an Engineering Lead in the KYC team, you will play a key role in developing and optimizing critical systems and tools to improve user onboarding, automate manual operations, and enhance risk detection. You will work closely with product, operations, and engineering peers to deliver impactful technical solutions at scale. We are looking for someone with the potential to mentor and guide others as the team grows.

This role is based in “Singapore”.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and maintain scalable automation tools and systems that improve internal operational efficiency and customer onboarding experience.
• Develop and implement AI and data‑driven solutions to predict user risks and prevent fraudulent/malicious activities.
• Collaborate with stakeholders (product managers, operations, compliance, and other engineering teams) to define requirements and deliver impactful solutions.
• Participate in architectural discussions and code reviews, contributing to high‑quality engineering standards.
• Continuously improve system reliability, performance, and scalability.
• Serve as a technical role model for junior team members and support their technical growth when needed.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or related fields.
• At least 5+ years of software engineering experience.
• Strong ability to quickly understand complex business processes and propose effective technical solutions.
• Excellent organizational and communication skills, with proven ability to collaborate across different teams and stakeholders.
• Solid software engineering skills, with experience in backend or frontend development using Kotlin/Java/React/TypeScript.
• Hands‑on experience in building scalable, robust automation or workflow systems.
• Self‑driven and proactive in identifying problems and driving improvements.

Preferred Qualifications

• At least 1+ year of experience leading or mentoring engineers, ideally as a team lead or project lead.
• Experience applying AI or machine learning techniques to solve real‑world problems, especially in automation or risk detection scenarios.
• Familiarity with commonly used automation and workflow tools in cloud environments (e.g., AWS, GCP, Kubernetes, CI/CD pipelines).
• Experience mentoring or guiding junior engineers in a technical capacity.
• Previous experience working in fintech, payments, or a fast‑paced startup environment.
• Familiarity with compliance, risk control, or onboarding related business domains is a plus.

Applicant Safety Policy: Fraud and Third‑Party Recruiters

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.

Equal opportunity

Airwallex is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We value diversity and anyone seeking employment at Airwallex is considered based on merit, qualifications, competence and talent. We don’t regard color, religion, race, national origin, sexual orientation, ancestry, citizenship, sex, marital or family status, disability, gender, or any other legally protected status when making our hiring decisions. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please let us know.

Compensation Range: SGD 250 - SGD 400