Senior Compliance Director & MLRO, US

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 250000 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 2300 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 youre ready to do the most ambitious work of your career join us.

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 youre 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.

Youre humble and collaborative; turn zerotoone ideas into real products and you get stuff done end-to-end. You use AI to work smarter and solve problems faster. Here youll tackle complex highvisibility problems with exceptional teammates and grow your career as we build the future of global banking. If that sounds like you lets build whats 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 youll do

As the Senior Compliance Director & MLRO US you will lead and scale the regional compliance architecture across the United States Canada and expanding Americas markets ensuring absolute financial crime compliance while supporting regional business expansion. Leading a regional team of compliance specialists and localized MLROs you will serve as the primary liaison for federal and state regulatory bodies oversee regional compliance operations and monitor shifting regulatory developments. You will act as the definitive second-line regional authority providing compliance sign-off on complex risk decisions guiding new license applications (including US state money transmitter licenses) and advising on product and customer use cases. You will work closely with the global FCC leadership team product executives and regional business heads to ensure compliance is a strategic enabler of growth.

This role is based in New York.

Responsibilities

• Lead mentor and scale the AMER regional compliance team ensuring robust regulatory coverage local compliance sovereignty and consistent application of global standards across all active jurisdictions and states.

• Act as the primary regulatory liaison for the AMER region managing day-to-day relationships complex regulatory inquiries and high-stakes examinations with federal and state authorities (including FinCEN NYDFS state banking departments and FINTRAC).

• Oversee and execute local financial crime operations and reporting workflows in instances where regional regulatory mandates strictly require second-line actions to be performed within the region or specific state jurisdictions.

• Monitor the AMER regulatory landscape for shifting BSA/AML USA PATRIOT Act sanctions and financial crime developments ensuring material updates are proactively analyzed and escalated to the Global Policy team for framework integration.

• Serve as the definitive regional second-line authority providing formal compliance sign-off on high-risk decisions and complex escalations elevated to the Governance and Risk Committee (GRC).

• Provide strategic regulatory guidance and compliance advisory on Product Requirement Documents (PRDs) Acceptable Use Policies (AUPs) novel customer use cases and new regional or state license applications to enable safe compliant market entry.

• Lead the deployment and calibration of specialized financial crime compliance training curricula for regional business units commercial teams and US/AMER staff to foster a risk-aware operational culture.

Who you are

Were looking for people who meet the minimum requirements for this role. The preferred qualifications are great to have but are not mandatory.

Minimum qualifications

• Bachelors degree in Law Criminology Public Policy Finance Business Administration or a related analytical field.

• CAMS certification or an equivalent globally recognized compliance credential.

• 12 to 15 years of experience in AML Sanctions and Financial Crime Compliance within financial services fintech payments or banking.

• At least 5 years of senior leadership experience managing multi-jurisdictional compliance teams or serving as a designated BSA/AML Officer or MLRO within the US or Canada.

• Proven track record of interacting directly with AMER regulators (such as FinCEN NYDFS state regulators or FINTRAC) and successfully managing complex regulatory examinations and state licensing audits.

• Experience providing compliance advisory on product rollouts US state money transmitter licensing strategies and complex corporate customer use cases within a matrixed environment.

• A high-ownership pragmatic approach with excellent communication and stakeholder management skills to influence cross-functional executives and external partners.

Preferred qualifications

• Advanced degree such as a Juris Doctor (JD) or a Masters degree in Regulatory Compliance Law 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 operational understanding of US money transmission Electronic Money Institutions (EMIs) virtual accounts multi-currency wallets and cross-border payment mechanisms.

• Experience partnering closely with Product Risk and Commercial teams to support high-velocity feature launches and complex corporate onboarding workflows.

• Strong data literacy and comfort utilizing operational metrics automated GRC systems and dashboards to track compliance metrics and detect regional risk drift.

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 @ email address. Please apply only through 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.

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 dont 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.

Required Experience:

Director