Global Sanctions Manager

Airwallex; United States; Remote; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Airwallex is seeking a Global Sanctions Manager to drive high-impact sanctions initiatives and strengthen our global compliance program as the business scales. You will serve as a sanctions SME, lead cross-functional efforts with Risk, Product and Legal, deliver training, manage escalation processes, and engage with regulators and banking partners to ensure robust controls across the enterprise.

You will translate regulatory changes into scalable controls and dashboards and bring 7+ years of

Qualifications

• 7+ years of sanctions experience in fintech, payments, or large financial institutions.
• Strong understanding of US sanctions and global regimes.
• Experience operationalizing sanctions controls with tech teams and list management.
• Excellent project management and multitasking in a fast-paced environment.
• Ability to assess complex transactions and products with sound judgment.
• Self-starter who can coordinate across a global program.

Responsibilities

• Act as a Sanctions SME and escalation point for complex matches and investigations.
• Own and maintain Global Sanctions procedures and provide second-line oversight of controls.
• Develop dashboards to track sanctions program health and effectiveness.
• Support tooling and list management for sanctions screening and case management.
• Collaborate with Risk Product teams to design sanctions controls for products.
• Monitor regulatory developments and translate changes into practical controls.
• Deliver sanctions training and regulator-facing updates across teams.
• Lead responses to banking partners and due diligence inquiries.

Skills

7+ years sanctions experience

US sanctions knowledge

Cross-functional collaboration

PM skills

Education

Juris Doctor / CGSS / CAMS certifications

Job description

About Airwallex

Airwallex is the AI-native financial operating system for a real-time, intelligent economy. More than 675,000 businesses, including McLaren Racing, Qantas, SHEIN, and TikTok, use us, directly or through our platform partners, to run their financial operations or build and monetize financial products of their own.

We started in Melbourne in 2015 to build the infrastructure global commerce runs on. We're the regulated backbone behind global payments: not by accident, but by design. A decade plus, 85+ licenses, and a financial infrastructure spanning North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific.

We're co-headquartered in San Francisco and Singapore, with more than 2,300 people across 27 offices. We hire builders with founder-level energy, people who move fast with good judgment, dig in with real curiosity, and make calls from first principles rather than waiting to be told what to do. Read our operating principles to see it in full.

About the team

The Regulatory & Compliance Team at Airwallex is a global, collaborative function comprised of experts in their respective subject matters. We provide trusted guidance across the business, strengthen our regulatory and compliance framework, and promote a culture of compliance, sound risk management, and ethical conduct across Airwallex.

The Financial Crime Compliance (FCC) team is a strategically important second-line function, responsible for Airwallex’s Global AML/CTF and Sanctions frameworks. As Airwallex expands into new markets and deepens its engagement with regulators and financial institution partners, the FCC team helps manage complex financial crime risks across a growing global business.

What you'll do

As a Global Sanctions Manager, you will have the unique opportunity to drive high-impact global initiatives to ensure Airwallex successfully navigates the world of economic sanctions as the business and compliance function continue to scale. As a truly global company building cross-border financial infrastructure, sanctions compliance is a critical component to our long term success. Come join a team where you will see the immediate impact of your work.

Responsibilities:

• Act as a Sanctions Subject Matter Expert (SME) and serve as the ultimate second-line escalation point for highly complex, ambiguous sanctions matches, special investigations, and potential block-and-reject reporting.
• Own and maintain Global Sanctions procedures and provide effective second-line oversight of sanctions controls implemented by first-line teams.
• Compile management information and develop comprehensive dashboards to track the health and effectiveness of the sanctions compliance program.
• Assist in the maintenance, tuning, and optimization of sanctions screening technologies, list management systems, and case management platforms to ensure alerts are accurate and efficient.
• Partner with Risk Product teams to design, evaluate, and implement product-specific sanctions controls that align with global regulatory requirements.
• Monitor global sanctions and export-control developments, translating complex regulatory changes into practical, scalable control enhancements and delivering targeted training across the business.
• Deliver tailored sanctions training and written regulatory updates to Global Airwallex teams, covering alert adjudication, escalation procedures, and critical policy changes.
• Lead responses to banking partners and other external stakeholders on sanctions-related inquiries and due diligence reviews.

Who you are

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:

• 7+ years of relevant experience, preferably at a fintech, payments company, or large financial institution specializing in sanctions.
• Demonstrated understanding of US sanctions and industry best practices pertaining to economic sanctions; knowledge of global regimes other than the US is a plus.
• Experience operationalizing sanctions controls in collaboration with technological teams, including experience managing lists.
• Strong project management skills and ability to multitask in a fast paced environment.
• Ability to understand and assess a wide variety of complex commercial transactions and products.
• Highly motivated self-starter, able to work independently while collaborating and coordinating as part of a global program.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to provide viable recommendations and solutions to audiences across different geographies.

Preferred qualifications:

• Juris Doctor, relevant Master's degree, and/or advanced specialized industry certifications (e.g., CGSS, CAMS)
• Experience assessing current sanctions frameworks and recommending enhancements to strengthen the program, including designing and scaling sanctions programs
• A history of interacting with external stakeholders such as regulators or financial institution partners on sanctions matters

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.