Senior Manager - Internal Audit

About Airwallex

Airwallex is the AI-native financial operating system for a real-time, intelligent economy. More than 675,000 businesses, including McLaren Racing, Qantas, SHEIN, and TikTok, use us, directly or through our platform partners, to run their financial operations or build and monetize financial products of their own.

We started in Melbourne in 2015 to build the infrastructure global commerce runs on. We're the regulated backbone behind global payments: not by accident, but by design. A decade plus, 85+ licenses, and a financial infrastructure spanning North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific.

We're co-headquartered in San Francisco and Singapore, with more than 2,700 people across 27 offices. We hire builders with founder-level energy, people who move fast with good judgment, dig in with real curiosity, and make calls from first principles rather than waiting to be told what to do. Read our operating principles to see it in full.

How you'll make impact

You'll establish and lead the internal audit function for Airwallex's UAE entity, meeting local regulatory expectations while supporting the entity's growth. You'll work across the UAE, EMEA and Airwallex's international footprint to strengthen assurance, controls and regulatory readiness.

• Establish and lead the internal audit function for Airwallex's UAE entity, meeting local regulatory expectations and supporting the entity's growth.

• Serve as the designated Chief Internal Auditor / Head of Internal Audit and Key Function Holder for the UAE entity, partnering with the local Board and relevant regulators.

• Design and execute risk-based audit plans, charters and testing procedures tailored to the UAE regulatory environment and Airwallex's local risk profile.

• Lead regulatory compliance audits across the EMEA region and contribute to global compliance audits across Airwallex's international footprint.

• Assess the design and operating effectiveness of controls across financial crime, AML/CFT, sanctions screening, payment systems, card schemes, customer money safeguarding and enterprise risk management.

• Use data analytics and technology to improve audit efficiency, support continuous monitoring and identify emerging risks or anomalies.

• Communicate complex compliance issues clearly to senior management, business leaders, risk teams, Boards and regulators.

• Track management action plans and follow up to ensure audit findings are remediated in a timely and sustainable way.

• Stay close to regulatory developments across the UAE and broader EMEA region, embedding relevant changes and best practices into Airwallex's audit approach.

You'll work from our Dubai or Abu Dhabi office three days a week.

What we're looking for

Essentials

• 8+ years of audit experience, with proven capability to step into a regulatory Key Function Holder role.

• Deep knowledge of regulatory compliance requirements in the UAE, including relevant CBUAE, DFSA or FSRA frameworks.

• Experience auditing financial crime, AML/CFT, sanctions screening, payment systems, card schemes, customer money safeguarding or enterprise risk management.

• Experience developing and executing risk-based audit plans and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of controls.

• Experience communicating complex risks and audit findings clearly to senior stakeholders, Boards and regulators.

• Strong written and spoken English, with the ability to influence stakeholders across functions and levels.

• A bachelor's degree or above in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration or a related field.

• Current UAE residency with valid work authorisation, or eligibility for UAE employment visa sponsorship and willingness to relocate to meet applicable regulatory presence requirements.

Preferred

• Fluency in Arabic.

• Professional audit qualifications such as CIA, CPA, CAMS, CISA or FRM.

• Hands-on experience with data analysis tools such as Python, Databricks, Looker or SQL.

• Experience using AI-driven audit methodologies or building automated monitoring routines.

• Experience working in a high-growth, international fintech or other highly regulated business.

You'll thrive here if

• You're comfortable owning the roadmap yourself.

• You hold yourself to a high standard even when no one is watching. Quality and accountability aren't external expectations, they're internal ones.

• You're comfortable with ambiguity. Give you a problem, not a prescription, and you'll run with it.

• You've operated in a compliance-heavy environment and know how to move fast without cutting the corners that matter.

• You enjoy working closely with people across multiple countries and time zones as part of one connected, global team, including flexing your hours occasionally to make that connection work.

• You connect dots across functions and hold the big picture without losing grip on the details.

• You say what you mean. You're direct, but you lead with respect.

Learn more about your team

Internal Audit reviews how our business operates end to end, identifying risks, surfacing gaps, and uncovering opportunities to build stronger controls. It's a function for people with the highest standards and sharp judgment who want their work to have real influence, not just flagging issues, but helping shape a more resilient business as Airwallex grows. If you want to do rigorous work with high visibility and help raise the bar on how global fintech scales, this is the place to do it.

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.