Director of FCC Operations

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 2,200 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 Financial Crime Compliance (FCC) team at Airwallex is a strategically vital function operating under a clear Three Lines of Defence model. As the independent second line, FCC owns the global AML/CTF programme, 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 Global Lead of FCC Operations, you will shape and scale Airwallex’s second-line operational advisory and escalation capability globally, ensuring compliance policies are translated into practical, consistent execution. Leading a team of embedded subject matter experts across core FCC control functions (KYC, TM, Sanctions)core compliance disciplines, you will serve as the final decision-maker for complex Level 3 escalations, ensure the consistent application of our global policy framework, and turn policies into localized standard operating procedures. You will work closely with the FCC Strategy team, frontline operations leaders, and regional MLROs to turn complex compliance requirements into clear operational action, while building a strong, risk-aware culture across our operational execution teams. This role is based in the US or EMEA. Responsibilities Lead and scale a global second-line team of embedded compliance subject matter experts across four core disciplines: Transaction Monitoring, KYC/KYB, Sanctions, and Suspicious Activity Reporting (SMR/STR/SAR). Serve as the final second-line decision-maker for complex Level 3 compliance escalations, providing independent adjudication on high-risk customer offboarding, account restrictions, and material transaction holds. Operationalize global FCC policies, frameworks, and methodologies into clear, localized Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), in consultation with Global Policy and Local MLROs, to ensure consistent compliance execution across all geographies within the Airwallex footprint. Overse