Head of Startups

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

As Head of Startups, ANZ, you’ll shape how Airwallex shows up across the Australian and New Zealand startup ecosystem and build the commercial engine behind it. You’ll connect ecosystem partnerships, founder programmes and segment sales into one high-performing motion that drives pipeline, activation, conversion, adoption and revenue contribution.

• Own the ANZ startup strategy and operating model across sales, partnerships, community, events and startup-focused programmes, including Latitude 37.

• Build repeatable acquisition and engagement motions across founder, portfolio and ecosystem channels, with effective lead-routing and handoff processes into the broader commercial organisation.

• Establish clear operating rhythms across sales, partnerships, marketing and community teams to improve coordination and execution.

• Expand and deepen relationships with leading VCs, accelerators, incubators and founder networks across ANZ, while representing Airwallex through events, partner engagement and founder-facing activity.

• Track segment performance, programme effectiveness and ROI, using data to refine the approach and report clearly to leadership.

You'll work from our Sydney or Melbourne office three days a week.

What we're looking for

Essentials

• Experience in venture capital, a venture platform team, startup partnerships, or a commercial leadership role focused on the startup ecosystem

• A track record of building and scaling programmes, functions or go-to-market motions with clear structure, process and performance metrics

• Experience working closely with sales teams and contributing to pipeline and revenue outcomes

• Strong understanding of the ANZ startup landscape, with an established network or the credibility to build one quickly

• Commercially minded and data-driven, with experience owning or influencing growth KPIs

• Strong cross-functional leadership skills, with the ability to align multiple stakeholders around a shared strategy and operating model

Preferred

• Experience in fintech, payments, SaaS infrastructure or developer platforms

• Experience as a founder, investor, or operator within a startup or accelerator environment

• A track record of scaling an existing ecosystem, programme or segment motion

• Comfort operating in both external and internal leadership settings, from founder engagement through to process and operating cadence design

• Experience supporting startups with international expansion

You'll thrive here if

• You're comfortable owning the roadmap yourself.

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

• You're comfortable making decisions with incomplete information and moving quickly anyway.

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

• You know when to align and when to just decide. Collaboration isn't a way to avoid accountability.

Learn more about your team

The Startups team at Airwallex partners with the most promising venture-backed companies in Asia as they build across borders from day one. Sitting at the intersection of fintech, venture networks, and founder communities, we help startups put the right financial infrastructure in place early, so they can scale with more clarity, control, and momentum.

The work is equal parts commercial and ecosystem. You’ll build deep relationships with founders, investors, accelerators, and partners across the region, while helping high-growth companies navigate the operational complexity that comes with scaling across markets. It is a team for people who think like builders: commercially sharp, deeply curious, and energised by the chance to back the next generation of companies early. If you want to work close to founders, build trust in the ecosystems that matter, and help ambitious companies grow with conviction, this is where you can make a mark.

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.