Compliance Manager & MLRO, Malaysia

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.

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.

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.

Airwallex’s MLRO, Malaysia is a key member of our global compliance team, responsible for driving and embedding Airwallex’s compliance program in the region. This role partners with internal teams to design, develop, implement and monitor screening and monitoring rules, and supports regulatory obligations for the Malaysian market.

Reporting to the Director of FCC for Asia, this role is based in Kuala Lumpur and is responsible for the development, launch, and management of key compliance programs for Airwallex (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd.

• Program Leadership: Own and develop the Financial Crime Compliance (FCC) framework for Airwallex in Malaysia, building on the Airwallex global compliance framework

• Regulatory Liaison: Provide day-to-day management and execution of Airwallex’s AML regulatory interactions, examinations, and ad-hoc requests, specifically managing relationships with Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) and other relevant local bodies

• STR Filing: Manage day-to-day BAU tasks including enhanced due diligence (EDD) approvals, transaction monitoring alerts, name screening alert escalations, and filing Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs) as necessary

• Stakeholder Management: Represent Airwallex with critical external stakeholders, including regulators and financial/banking partners

• Advisory: Provide advice and support to the Commercial, Product, and Operations teams on various compliance matters to align on goals for the company

• Reporting: Develop and manage a regular monitoring and reporting process to inform senior management, the audit committee, and the board as necessary

• Audit & Controls: Coordinate with various stakeholders to address issues raised in internal audit reports, self-assessments, compliance reviews, or regulatory examinations

• Internal Controls: Drive internal controls design and monitoring to support Compliance Operational policy and procedures

• Governance & Oversight: Provide governance and oversight over FCC Hub and Operations Team

• Founder-like: You are an entrepreneurial builder who wants real impact and true ownership

• Decisive: You move fast with good judgment, dig deep with curiosity, and make decisions from first principles

• Collaborative: You are humble and work well with others to turn zero-to-one ideas into real products

• Tech-Forward: You utilize data and AI to work smarter, identify risks, and solve problems faster

• Communicator: You have exceptional communication skills, translating complex concepts into clear steps for technical and non-technical partners

Minimum qualifications:

• Bachelor’s Degree in Law, Finance, Business, or a related field

• A minimum of 7-8 years of financial crimes compliance experience in a financial institution or Payment Services Provider licensed by Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM)

• In-depth familiarity with Malaysian laws and regulations, particularly the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001 (AMLA)

• Credible stakeholder engagement and management skills to align with our organizational values and behaviors

• Written and verbal fluency in English (Bahasa Malaysia is a strong plus)

Preferred qualifications:

• Previous experience holding the MLRO or deputy MLRO designation

• Understanding and knowledge of the payment industry, FinTech, or eCommerce sectors

• Professional certification in a compliance-related area (e.g., CAMS, ICA)

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.

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.