Lead Total Rewards Partner

Airwallex; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 145,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Airwallex, a global payments and financial platform, seeks a Total Rewards lead based in the Americas. You will own compensation, benefits, and equity programs across the US, Canada, Brazil, and Mexico, setting regional strategy and collaborating with the global rewards team.

You will rebuild and scale rewards programs, align pay ranges with market data, and partner with recruiters, People Partners, and leadership. This is a build role with potential to grow a team in the Americas.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience in total rewards, compensation, or benefits across the Americas.
• Experience building/ managing complete rewards programs at regional/global level.
• Experience managing end-to-end benefits processes with brokers/carriers.
• Strong compensation data analytics capability and annual market reviews.
• Proven ability to build models/projections for rewards programs.
• US stock administration knowledge (RSUs, vesting) explained plainly to non-specialists.
• Experience at late-stage private or pre-IPO, especially equity program changes.
• Experience leading cross-functional rewards projects with senior stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Own Americas compensation strategy and execution, including salary structures, pay differentials, market positioning, merit, and bonus cycles.
• Own the benefits lifecycle, renewals, broker and carrier negotiations.
• Partner with global rewards team on equity plan mechanics and governance.
• Lead Total Rewards initiatives end-to-end across Americas and globally.
• Lead Americas workstreams of IPO readiness in partnership with global team.
• Ensure governance and compliance including pay equity across US states and Canada, and regional obligations.
• Use market data to ground decisions and translate analysis into executive recommendations.
• Build rewards capability by coaching partners, recruiters, and managers.

Skills

Total Rewards

Compensation

Benefits

Equity

Data analytics

Cross-functional collaboration

Stakeholder management

Stock administration (US)

Tools familiarity

Tools

Carta

BambooHR

Workday

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 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.

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.

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 People & Talent team at Airwallex is dedicated to attracting and developing the brightest and most ambitious minds to drive our company forward. We are a global, vibrant, and dynamic team with a focus on creating a positive and inclusive work environment that fosters growth and innovation. Through innovative programs, strategic People & Talent initiatives, and a deep understanding of our organization’s needs, we cultivate a collaborative and engaging environment that fuels Airwallex's continued growth and success.

What You’ll Do

You’ll be the first Total Rewards lead based in the Americas, owning our Compensation, Benefits and Equity programs end to end across the US and Canada, Brazil and Mexico. You'll set the regional rewards agenda and lead its execution, while partnering with the global Total Rewards team to shape how our programs are designed and evolve worldwide.

Airwallex is actively rebuilding and scaling its rewards programs, so this is a build role. You'll own the Americas compensation and benefits programs and cycles, ensuring our pay ranges and benefits offerings remain market‑aligned, and serve as the senior Total Rewards voice for recruiters, managers, People Partners, and business leaders across the region. You'll work as part of a small, global team, partnering closely with colleagues in Singapore and China, with the opportunity to grow a team in the Americas as we scale.

This role is based in San Francisco.

Responsibilities

• Own Americas compensation strategy and execution: salary structures, pay differentials, market positioning, merit and bonus cycles, and offer decisions on our most senior and complex hires.
• Own the benefits lifecycle: plan design and strategy, partnering with the local People Ops team on annual renewals, broker and carrier negotiations.
• Partner with the global rewards team to manage company equity plan mechanics and plan governance.
• Lead Total Rewards initiatives end to end across the Americas and globally: scope the work, build the plan, align stakeholders, and communicate decisions clearly to leadership and employees.
• Lead the Americas workstreams of our IPO readiness program, in partnership with the global team.
• Own regional governance and compliance, including pay equity and pay transparency requirements across US states and Canada, and statutory rewards obligations in Brazil and Mexico.
• Use market data and benchmarking to ground decisions, influence senior stakeholders when decisions misalign with strategy, and translate complex analysis into clear recommendations for executives and employees.
• Build rewards capability across the region: coach People Partners, recruiters and managers to make confident pay decisions, and hire and develop team members as the region grows.
• Partner cross‑functionally with TA, People Partners, Payroll, Finance, Legal, and exec leadership on compensation, org design, systems, equity budgets, compliance, and strategy.

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

• 8+ years of experience in total rewards, compensation, or benefits, including significant experience supporting populations based in the Americas.
• Experience building or managing a complete rewards program (compensation, benefits, equity, etc) at a regional or global level
• Experience managing the benefits process end to end, including negotiating with brokers and insurance carriers to evaluate and renew plans.
• Strong compensation data analytics capability: own the annual market review cycle and influence company pay strategy and decisions at executive level.
• Proven ability to build your own models and projections.
• Working knowledge of US stock administration and equity compensation, including RSUs, vesting mechanics, and how to explain them plainly to a non‑specialist.
• Experience at a late‑stage private or pre‑IPO company, or through the transition to public markets, particularly through changes to an equity program.
• Experience leading cross‑functional projects with senior stakeholders, and mentoring or managing other rewards professionals.

Preferred Qualifications

• Multi‑region rewards experience, especially where the global framework is set outside your own time zone.
• Familiarity with compensation and equity tooling such as Carta, BambooHR or Workday, and survey sources such as Radford or Compensia.
• Experience standing up a rewards function or team in a new region.
• Comfort operating with high standards, at a fast pace and under pressure, with evolving priorities and a bias toward building the thing rather than waiting for the playbook.

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: $145K - $210K