Employment Counsel, Americas

Airwallex • San Francisco, CA

8d • $130,000 - $200,000 • Hybrid

About The Position

As Employment Counsel for Airwallex in the Americas, you will be a hands-on partner to People & Talent on high-risk employment matters. You will help build the playbooks, policies, and processes needed to support a scaling employment function and provide clear, commercially practical advice across the business. The role owns US employment law advice and coordinates guidance across other jurisdictions with Airwallex’s external counsel panel, including matters involving contractor and employer-of-record classification, cross-border remote work, mobility exposure, and conduct and remuneration in regulated entities.

You will develop employment playbooks, templates, policies, and manager guidance; lead workplace investigations and employment disputes; and partner with teams across People & Talent, Total Rewards, Data & Privacy, Corporate Legal, regional People Partners, and business leadership. The role advises on the employee lifecycle, including hiring, contracts and variations, performance, accommodations, leave, wage and hour compliance, and terminations. The position works from the San Francisco, New York, or Seattle office on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays.

Requirements

• J.D. degree or foreign equivalent and active membership in at least one US state bar.
• At least 5 years of employment law experience at a leading law firm and/or in-house legal department, including employment counseling experience beyond litigation alone.
• Experience advising on and coordinating employment law matters across multiple jurisdictions.
• Experience leading workplace investigations and managing employment disputes, agency charges, or tribunal matters.
• Experience advising on the employee lifecycle, including hiring, contracts and variations, performance management, accommodations, leaves, wage and hour compliance, and terminations.
• Ability to translate complex legal and risk issues into clear, succinct, actionable guidance for non-legal audiences.
• Strong judgment and ability to give commercially practical advice under time pressure.
• Ability to operate independently and pivot quickly in a fast-moving, changing environment.
• Fluent English.

Nice To Haves

• Active bar membership in California, Washington, or New York.
• Additional language skills.
• Experience at a fintech, payments company, or other highly regulated business.
• Experience with contractor classification, employer-of-record populations, or cross-border remote work and permanent establishment risk.
• Experience with California Labor Code matters.
• Experience advising on immigration, restructuring, or RIF execution across multiple consultation regimes.
• Experience with works councils or statutory employee representation in support of EU entity coverage.
• Experience advising on compensation, benefits, and equity matters in a private-company context.

Responsibilities

• Own US employment law advice and coordinate advice across other jurisdictions with Airwallex’s external counsel panel.
• Advise on contractor and employer-of-record classification, cross-border remote work, mobility exposure, and conduct and remuneration matters in regulated entities.
• Build employment playbooks, templates, policies, and manager guidance to help the business handle employee matters consistently and pragmatically.
• Lead workplace investigations, employment disputes, agency charges, and litigation, including instructing and managing external counsel and associated legal spend.
• Partner with People & Talent, Total Rewards, Data & Privacy, Corporate Legal, regional People Partners, and business leaders on employee lifecycle, compensation, benefits, equity, entity, and contractor matters.
• Advise on hiring, contracts and variations, performance management, accommodations, leaves, wage and hour compliance, and terminations.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree