Senior Compliance Manager & MLRO

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 2,000 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 Legal, Risk & Compliance (LRC) team at Airwallex is a collaborative group of legal minds and risk management experts. We're passionate about safeguarding Airwallex's operations, fostering a culture of compliance and ethical conduct, and ensuring we navigate the global financial landscape with integrity. We provide expert guidance and support to all areas of the business, proactively identifying, mitigating, and managing legal and financial risks.
What you'll do
As Senior Compliance Manager & MLRO, you will be Airwallex's key FCC lead for New Zealand, responsible for owning and uplifting our AML/CFT and broader Financial Crime Compliance framework in line with New Zealand regulation and Airwallex's global standards. You will act as the primary liaison with New Zealand regulators (in particular the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA)) and other key external stakeholders, while leading day-to-day financial crime advisory, investigations and reporting activities. You'll partner closely with Product, Commercial, Operations, Legal and global FCC teams to ensure our controls are robust, scalable and enable sustainable growth. This role is based in Auckland.
Responsibilities:

• Program leadership: Own and continuously develop the Financial Crime Compliance (FCC) framework for Airwallex's New Zealand business, aligning it with the Airwallex global compliance framework and the requirements of the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009 (AML/CFT Act) and related regulations.
• Regulatory liaison: Lead day-to-day management and execution of Airwallex's AML/CFT regulatory interactions, examinations and ad-hoc requests in New Zealand, including managing relationships with the DIA and any other relevant local authorities and industry bodies.
• STR/PTR oversight and BAU casework: Oversee and, where required, execute BAU financial crime activities, including enhanced due diligence (EDD) reviews, transaction monitoring escalations, name-screening alert escalations, and the investigation and filing of Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs) and Prescribed Transaction Reports (PTRs) in accordance with New Zealand requirements.
• Stakeholder management: Represent Airwallex with critical external stakeholders, including regulators, banking and payment partners, and other counterparties, ensuring consistent, transparent and well-governed engagement on FCC matters.
• Advisory to the business: Provide clear, pragmatic FCC and AML/CFT advice to Commercial, Product, Operations, Legal and other teams on customers, products, features and go-to-market initiatives, helping to balance growth and risk in line with our global and local risk appetite.
• Reporting and governance: Develop and maintain regular FCC reporting to senior management and relevant governance bodies (e.g. local leadership, audit/risk committees and the Board as appropriate), including key risk indicators, incident updates, remediation status and thematic insights.
• Audit, reviews and remediation: Coordinate responses to internal audits, independent reviews, regulatory inspections and self-assessments related to AML/CFT and sanctions, ensuring issues are clearly owned, tracked and remediated within agreed timeframes.
• Internal controls and procedures: Lead the design, implementation and ongoing monitoring of internal FCC controls, including policies, standards, procedures and quality assurance over FCC Operations and Hub teams supporting New Zealand activity.
• Governance and oversight of operations: Provide robust oversight and challenge over the FCC Hub and Operations teams that support New Zealand (e.g. KYC, screening, transaction monitoring), ensuring procedures are fit-for-purpose for the New Zealand risk profile and regulatory obligations.
• Training and culture: Champion a strong compliance and conduct culture in New Zealand by driving targeted AML/CFT training, coaching and awareness initiatives for relevant teams, and by embedding FCC considerations into key business processes and decisions.

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, Finance, Business or a related field.
• 8+ years of financial crime compliance experience in a financial institution or payment services / fintech environment.
• Demonstrated auditing or assurance background and prior experience interacting with regulators, ideally including the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) or another New Zealand AML/CFT supervisor.
• In-depth familiarity with New Zealand laws and regulations, particularly the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009 and associated regulations and guidance.
• Hands-on experience with STR and PTR investigation and filing, and with managing transaction monitoring and name-screening escalations end-to-end.
• Strong stakeholder management skills, with the ability to credibly engage and challenge senior internal stakeholders and external partners while role-modelling Airwallex values and behaviours.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English, including the ability to draft clear regulatory submissions, board-level materials and investigation narratives.

Preferred qualifications:

• Previous experience acting as MLRO, Deputy MLRO or equivalent accountable individual under AML/CFT legislation.
• Experience working in the payments, fintech or e-commerce sectors, ideally supporting cross-border or digital products and platforms.
• Recognised professional certification in a compliance or financial crime discipline (e.g. CAMS, ICA, ACAMS, AICD governance training).
• Experience operating in a global or regional FCC function, partnering across multiple jurisdictions and time zones.

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. Please apply only through careers.airwallex.com 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.
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.