Senior Director, AML & Sanctions, Governance & Policy

Airwallex; London (KY); On-site; USD 180,000 - 280,000; Full time

Job summary

Airwallex is seeking a Senior Director, AML & Sanctions, Governance & Policy to shape and scale our global financial crime program. You will set risk appetite, design risk assessment processes, and establish governance across the FCC in collaboration with the CCO and regional leaders.

Based in New York or London, you will lead a global second line team of compliance attorneys and risk modelers, translate complex data into executive-ready insights, and defend our platform before regulators and

Qualifications

• 12 to 15+ years of AML, sanctions, and financial crime compliance in financial services, fintech, or banking.
• At least 5+ years leading a global or multi-jurisdictional compliance policy, governance, or risk function.
• Experience designing enterprise-wide risk assessment frameworks and centralized policies.
• Proven experience defending during regulatory examinations and audits.
• Strong written communication and stakeholder management to influence executives and the board.

Responsibilities

• Lead the global FCC policy framework and risk-based program.
• Define governance and risk management across the FCC.
• Embed automated compliance controls with product, data science, and engineering.
• Translate compliance data into clear reporting for leadership and board.
• Oversee regulatory examination defense and disclosure governance.
• Build a high-performing global second-line team.

Skills

Leadership

Policy design

Stakeholder management

Written communication

Cross-functional collaboration

Regulatory examinations

Education

Bachelor's degree in Law/Finance/Business

CAMS certification

JD/LLM preferred

Tools

GRC systems

Transaction monitoring

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.

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 Financial Crime Compliance (FCC) team at Airwallex is a strategically vital function operating under a clear Three Lines of Defense model. As the independent second line, FCC owns the global AML/CTF program, sanctions framework, risk assessment methodology, and governance infrastructure across all global entities. As Airwallex scales into new markets and deepens its engagement with global regulatory bodies, we are building a world‑class compliance organization capable of managing complex financial crime risks at scale. This is an environment where you will tackle high‑impact challenges, shape global fintech risk strategies, and help establish foundations for long‑term growth.

What you’ll do

As Senior Director, AML & Sanctions, Governance & Policy, you will shape and scale Airwallex’s global financial crime policy and risk based program, establish risk appetite and design global risk assessment processes, and define governance frameworks, ensuring compliance is a strategic enabler of growth. You will establish the baseline core compliance standards while guiding regional adaptations, oversee definition of controls across the FCC control framework, strengthen executive risk reporting, oversee risk‑informed product engineering, and defend the integrity of the platform before global regulators and institutional partners. You will work closely with the Chief Regulatory and Compliance Officer, Global Head of FCC and senior leaders across the business to turn complex compliance trends into clear action, and shape strategic priorities and initiatives while scaling a high‑performing, multi‑disciplinary global team.

This role is based in New York or London.

Responsibilities:

• Lead the evolution and maintenance of Airwallex's Global Core FCC Policy Framework, ensuring the compliance baseline meets the expectations of global regulators while supporting business growth and regional scalability.
• Lead the definition and oversight of the FCC governance model and risk management framework, including establishment of risk appetite incorporating business strategy, establishing the risk management framework, including risk acceptance & governance structure, and overseeing design and execution of the enterprise risk assessment
• Define the methodology, thresholds, and data‑scoring models used to identify and mitigate financial crime risks globally, partnering with Product, Data Science, and Engineering executives to embed automated compliance controls into the proprietary platform.
• Translate complex compliance data, issues, and audit findings into clear, decision‑useful reporting for executive leadership and the Board’s Audit and Risk Committee, establishing clear protocols for material risk escalations.
• Oversee the strategy for regulatory examination defense and disclosure governance, ensuring the team delivers uniform, legally defensible evidence portfolios to global regulators and external clearing partners.
• Drive a unified, risk‑aware compliance culture across the organization by establishing the strategic vision for global financial crime training and capability building from engineering to sales teams.
• Support the Global Head of FCC and Chief Regulatory and Compliance Officer in setting and overseeing strategic FCC program priorities and continuous improvement initiatives
• Build and lead a high‑performing global second line team of compliance attorneys, quantitative risk modelers, policy writers, and governance managers, supporting Airwallex’s growth with technology‑enabled compliance oversight.

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:

• Bachelor’s degree in Law, Criminology, Public Policy, Finance, Business Administration, International Relations, or a related analytical field.
• CAMS certification or an equivalent globally recognized compliance credential (e.g., ICA International Diploma in AML).
• 12 to 15+ years of experience in AML, Sanctions, and Financial Crime Compliance within financial services, fintech, payments, or banking.
• At least 5+ years leading a global or multi‑jurisdictional compliance policy, governance, or risk methodology function at a senior level.
• Proven experience designing enterprise‑wide risk assessment frameworks and maintaining highly centralized global policies with localized regional addenda.
• Demonstrated experience preparing risk papers and leading the defense during high‑stakes regulatory examinations and internal or external audits.
• A high‑ownership, pragmatic approach, with excellent written communication and stakeholder management skills to influence cross‑functional executives and board audiences.

Preferred qualifications:

• Advanced degree such as a Juris Doctor (JD), Master of Laws (LLM), or a Master’s degree in Regulatory Compliance or Financial Crime.
• Advanced professional designations such as CAMS‑Audit, CGSS (Certified Global Sanctions Specialist), or CAMS‑RM (Risk Management).
• Deep fintech and payments experience, including a strong understanding of cross‑border payment mechanisms, virtual accounts, multi‑currency wallets, or multi‑entity regulated groups.
• Experience partnering directly with Product, Data Science, and Engineering teams to hardcode policy thresholds into automated transaction monitoring, screening, and onboarding workflows.
• Strong data literacy and a clear bias toward digital modernization, including the use of automated GRC systems, dashboards, and technology‑enabled tools to improve compliance office efficiency.

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.

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.