Global Sanctions Manager

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 150,000 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 1,800 of the brightest and most innovative people in tech across 26 offices around the globe. Valued at US$6.2 billion and backed by world-leading investors including Visa, Airtree, Blackbird, Sequoia, DST Global, Greenoaks, Salesforce Ventures, Lone Pine, and Square Peg, 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.

This role offers an opportunity to join a high impact team working to ensure Airwallex successfully navigates the world of economic sanctions. As a truly global company building financial infrastructure, sanctions compliance is a critical component to our long term success. Come join a team where you will see the immediate impact of your work.

This role is based in San Francisco or New York.

• Responsible for ensuring the Global Sanctions Policy is effectively implemented across the first and second lines of defense.

• Proactively develop, recommend, and implement risk-based processes and controls to ensure compliance with economic sanctions, especially emerging regimes, and programs

• Stay up-to-date on latest global AML/CFT and sanctions regulatory developments and ensure controls are updated to remain in compliance with any changes in laws and regulations.

• Review and investigate escalated customers and transactions identified for potential matches to sanctions lists within Service Level Agreement deadlines

• Address sanctions related queries from first line product, commercial, and operations teams

• Draft, maintain and implement economic sanctions policies and procedures

• Develop and deliver specialized training to relevant internal audiences concerning economic sanctions for first line business partners

• Coordinate with the Risk Assessment team on the economic sanctions Risk Assessment

• Conduct ad hoc due diligence projects arising from the administration of the economic sanctions program

• Assist with responding to regulatory exams and inquiries and internal audits, including overseeing document productions

• Identify, report, and explain metrics and other management information regarding sanctions compliance-related events

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

• 5+ years of relevant experience, preferably at a fintech, payments company, or large/complex financial institution

• Demonstrated understanding of laws, rules, regulations, and industry best practices pertaining to economic sanctions

• Experience configuring customer and transactional screening technologies and managing alert disposition processes

• Strong project management skills

• Ability to understand and assess a wide variety of complex commercial transactions

• Highly motivated self-starter, able to work independently while collaborating and coordinating as part of a global program

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to provide viable recommendations and solutions

  
  

Preferred qualifications:

• Experience interacting with external stakeholders such as regulators or financial institution partners on sanctions matters

• Experience assessing current sanctions frameworks and recommending enhancements to strengthen the program

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.

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. If you are approached by someone claiming to represent Airwallex, please verify with our team.