Associate Director, FCC & MLRO, Americas

Airwallex • San Francisco, CA

8d

About The Position

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.
As the Associate Director of Financial Crime Compliance (FCC) for the Americas, you will act as the lead for one of our fastest-growing regions, currently comprised of the US, Canada, Brazil, and Mexico. You will be responsible for managing the Americas FCC team, ensuring our program is robust, scalable, and compliant with diverse local regulations while aligning with Airwallex’s global standards.
This is a dual-focus role: you will enhance and operationalize our program in existing markets while providing critical support as we launch into new jurisdictions and roll out new products. Beyond regional leadership, you will serve as a key member of the global FCC leadership team, helping to drive forward strategic global initiatives such as the Enterprise Wide Risk Assessment (EWRA), defining strategic OKRs, and strengthening the global compliance framework.

Requirements

• Experience: 10+ years of financial crime compliance experience, with significant time spent in a leadership or people management role
• Regulatory Knowledge: Deep expertise in Americas financial crime regulations (e.g., US BSA/AML, Canadian PCMLTFA) and familiarity with regulatory frameworks in LATAM (Brazil, Mexico)
• Leadership: Proven track record of managing and developing high-performing compliance teams in a fast-paced environment
• Stakeholder Skills: Strong ability to engage and challenge senior internal stakeholders and external partners, with a "compliance as a service" mindset
• Communication: Excellent written and verbal communication skills, capable of drafting board-level materials and complex regulatory submissions

Nice To Haves

• Audit/Consulting Background: Previous experience in a Big 4 audit or consulting firm is highly desirable
• Industry Experience: Background in Fintech, payments, or e-commerce, ideally supporting cross-border products
• International Reach: Experience dealing with regulators outside of the US (specifically in Canada or LATAM)
• Language Skills: Fluency in Spanish or Portuguese is a strong bonus
• Certification: Recognized professional certification (e.g., CAMS, ICA)

Responsibilities

• Regional Program Leadership: Own the execution and enhancement of the Financial Crime Compliance framework across the Americas. You will partner closely with local Money Laundering Reporting Officers (MLROs) and country leads to ensure compliance with local laws—including the US Bank Secrecy Act, Canada's PCMLTFA, and regulations in Brazil and Mexico—while maintaining alignment with global policy
• Team Management: Lead, mentor, and develop the Financial Crime Compliance team across the Americas region, fostering a high-performance culture and ensuring the team is equipped to handle rapid scale
• Regulatory Liaison: Manage relationships with key regulators across the region. This includes interfacing with US state and federal regulators, the Bank of Canada/FINTRAC, the Central Bank of Brazil (BCB), and the Bank of Mexico (Banxico). You will coordinate responses to regulatory examinations, independent reviews, and audits
• Global Strategy & Governance: Partner with the Global Head of FCC to execute against our strategic OKRs and drive forward global initiatives. You will play a key role in strengthening the global program through projects such as enhancing our Management Information (MI) reporting, conducting product/risk coverage assessments, and monitoring performance against our risk appetite
• New Market & Product Advisory: Partner closely with Product, Strategy, and Commercial teams to support the launch of new products and market entries in the Americas, providing pragmatic advice that balances growth with risk appetite
• Operational Oversight: Oversee BAU financial crime activities in the region, including high-risk due diligence, transaction monitoring escalations, and the filing of regulatory reports (e.g., SARs) where required
• Audit & Remediation: Lead the coordination of internal and external audits for the region; ensure findings are owned, tracked, and remediated effectively
• Stakeholder Management: Represent Airwallex with critical external stakeholders, including banking and payment partners, ensuring transparent and well-governed engagement on FCC matters

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager
• Education Level: No Education Listed