Airwallex Limited

Engineering Director, Payments Platform

Airwallex Limited$175K — $210K *
Finance & Insurance
8 - 10 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 10+ years of experience in software engineering, including 5+ years in leadership roles.
  • Proven experience managing Engineering Managers or Leads with a focus on high-performing teams.
  • Strong product thinking and collaboration skills with Product Management.
  • Deep knowledge of software architecture and system design, especially in complex distributed systems.
  • Experience thriving in fast-paced, high-growth environments with a focus on improvement and execution.
  • Relevant experience in fintech or regulated industries with a focus on data integrity.

Responsibilities

  • Define and execute the end-to-end strategy and architecture for the Payments Platform.
  • Lead and develop a high-performing engineering organization through coaching and management.
  • Provide architectural direction for mission-critical payment systems focusing on reliability and performance.
  • Oversee timely execution of multiple initiatives, balancing short-term outcomes with long-term goals.
  • Collaborate with cross-functional teams to align technology with business needs and growth objectives.

Benefits

  • Opportunities for career growth within a global organization.
  • Access to advanced engineering tools and practices.
  • Collaborative and innovative team culture focused on continuous improvement.
  • Flexibility to work from multiple global locations including Singapore, the UK, or the US.
Full Job Description
About the Team

Payments Platform at Airwallex is where global payment complexity is turned into infrastructure that helps businesses accept and move money more simply.

We build the platform behind how payments are accepted and processed across markets, helping businesses embed payments into their workflows, improve conversion, and operate with less friction. The work supports a core growth lever for Airwallex: payment experiences that are reliable, scalable, and easy to use.

What makes this team distinct is the challenge at the heart of it: balancing performance, reliability, local complexity, and commercial outcomes in the same system. Small improvements can materially affect customer experience and conversion, while failures are immediately visible.

You'll do well here if you enjoy product infrastructure with clear business impact. This team suits engineers who are thoughtful, pragmatic, and motivated by making complex problems feel simple to customers.

If you want to build the platform that makes payments work seamlessly for businesses around the world, this is the team at the center of that mission.

What you'll do

As an Engineering Director, you will the teams that are responsible for building and operating critical components of the Payments Platform. This role combines people leadership, technical direction, and delivery ownership.

This role can be based in Singapore, United Kingdom and San Francisco, United States.

Responsibilities:
  • Define and execute the Payments Platform vision: Own the end-to-end strategy, architecture, and roadmap for Airwallex's Payments Platform - covering payment processing, routing, settlement, reconciliation, and partner integrations - ensuring it scales reliably across global markets.
  • Lead and grow a world-class engineering organization: Manage, coach, and develop Engineering Managers and senior technical talent across multiple squads, building a culture of ownership, technical excellence, and continuous improvement while driving sustainable hiring and team growth.
  • Drive technical architecture and platform excellence: Provide architectural direction for high-volume, mission-critical payment systems, setting high standards for reliability, observability, security, scalability, and developer productivity across the platform.
  • Deliver with speed and operational rigor: Set clear OKRs, manage execution across multiple concurrent initiatives, and hold teams accountable for high-quality outcomes - balancing short-term delivery with long-term platform investments and operational health.
  • Collaborate cross-functionally to align technology with business outcomes: Partner closely with Product, Commercial, Risk, Compliance, and regional engineering leaders to ensure platform capabilities directly support Airwallex's growth, customer experience, and regulatory requirements.


Who you are

We are looking for engineering leaders with deep technical expertise and a strong track record of impact.

Minimum qualifications:
  • 10+ years of experience in software engineering, with 5+ years in engineering leadership roles.
  • Demonstrated experience in people management, including managing Engineering Managers or Engineering Leads, with a track record of building and scaling high-performing teams.
  • Strong product thinking and the ability to partner closely with Product Management to define roadmaps, prioritize delivery, and drive business outcomes.
  • Deep technical fluency in software architecture and system design, with experience guiding architectural decisions for large-scale, complex distributed systems.
  • Proven ability to operate in fast-paced, high-growth environments where incremental improvement, ownership, and speed of execution are valued.
  • Experience in fintech, financial services, payments, or a similarly regulated industry where correctness and data integrity are critical.


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.

About Airwallex Limited

Airwallex is a financial technology company that provides cross-border payment solutions for businesses. The company was founded in 2015 by a group of entrepreneurs from Australia and China. Airwallex's platform allows businesses to make and receive payments in multiple currencies at competitive exchange rates. The company has raised over $400 million in funding to date and has offices in several countries, including Australia, China, the United States, and the United Kingdom.
Learn more about Airwallex Limited
Size
800 employees
Industry
Founded
2015

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