Legal Counsel - Data & Privacy

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

This is a pivotal role in Airwallex’s recently established global Data & Privacy department, reporting to the Director of Data & Privacy. You’ll act as a critical legal partner to Airwallex’s China business and operations, helping the company navigate China’s privacy and data security framework.

• Advise Product, Engineering, Commercial, Marketing, Information Security and Business leadership teams on China’s privacy and data security requirements, including the Personal Information Protection Law, Data Security Law and Cybersecurity Law.

• Develop and execute a comprehensive compliance program for China data rules.

• Provide privacy counselling to Product teams and support privacy by design, privacy impact assessments and contractual work with the Product and Legal Regulatory teams.

• Lead or support privacy counselling and contractual assistance for other APAC regions.

• Support the Director of Data & Privacy in shaping Airwallex’s data strategy for its China business and operations.

• Coordinate international data flows for the broader Airwallex business and contribute to strategic data initiatives across the EU, US and other regions.

This role is based in China and requires working in the office five days a week.

What we're looking for

Essentials

• 6–10 years of post-qualification legal experience, preferably gained in a dynamic, fast-growing digital, fintech or technology company.

• Qualification through bar admission or in a common law jurisdiction.

• At least three years of general privacy experience, with a solid understanding of Chinese data laws, including the Personal Information Protection Law, Data Security Law and Cybersecurity Law.

• Professional proficiency in both English and Mandarin.

• Experience providing product and privacy counsel in an agile environment.

• A highly commercial and practical mindset, with the initiative to identify and prioritise opportunities effectively.

• A global outlook combined with deep local knowledge.

• Strong written and verbal communication and presentation skills.

• A track record of working effectively across multiple functions and influencing a broad stakeholder group.

Preferred

• Familiarity with other major privacy regimes, including GDPR, CCPA, PDPA and PIPEDA.

• Experience in technology, financial services and/or a high-growth environment.

You'll thrive here if

• You own the outcome and you don't wait for permission to fix what's broken.

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

• You communicate clearly and directly across cultures, and you're thoughtful about how context shifts meaning across borders.

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

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

Learn more about your team

Legal sits at the heart of the decisions that shape how Airwallex grows. This team backs the builders transforming us into a generational financial company, working alongside product, sales, and business partners every step of the way. You'll help shape a global licensing footprint most fintechs wish they had, while keeping our brand and data architecture best-in-class for customers entering the agentic economy and its regulatory demands. The hard part is helping the business move fast on product, revenue, and new-market expansion without compromising the discipline that protects the moat.

It's a team for lawyers, strategists, and licensing specialists with commercial instincts, sharp judgment, and an obsession with customer-first outcomes. If you want to guide executive decisions and help build the licensing, structure, and judgment behind what comes next, this is where legal has real leverage.

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.