Global Lead, Commercial Risk Strategy

US - San Francisco · Full-time · Hybrid · Posted Sep 23, 2026

At a glance

Airwallex is the only unified payments and financial platform for global businesses. Powered by our unique combination of proprietary infrastructure and software, we empower over 250,000 businesses worldwide – including Brex, Navan, Qantas, SHEIN and many more – with fully integrated solutions to manage everything from business accounts, payments, spend management and treasury, to embedded finance at a global scale.
Proudly founded in Melbourne, we have a team of over 2,300 of the brightest and most innovative people in tech across 27 offices around the globe. Valued at US$11 billion and backed by world-leading investors including T. Rowe Price, Visa, Mastercard, Robinhood Ventures, Sequoia, Salesforce Ventures, DST Global, and Lone Pine Capital, Airwallex is leading the charge in building the global payments and financial platform of the future. If you’re ready to do the most ambitious work of your career, join us.

Reporting directly to the Chief Revenue Officer, you will build and lead the first line commercial risk function for Airwallex.
You will define the commercial risk strategy, own the supportability frameworks that govern which customers and use cases we back, and be the primary interface between the commercial organisation, the CRO and second and third line risk teams.
This hybrid role is based in San Francisco.

Define and manage the 1st LoD commercial risk strategy and supportability frameworks, serving as the primary checkpoint and providing structured high quality guidance for complex or high-risk merchant use cases.
Translate complex 2nd line risk appetite and policies into clear, actionable commercial playbooks and embed risk ownership into daily operations.
Partner with enablement teams to design practical training and tools for front-office staff and act as the primary point of accountability for commercial conduct risk.
Design and execute a continuous portfolio monitoring framework alongside Data and Regional RevOps teams to track metrics like GP-to-risk ratios, customer risk tiers, fraud/loss rates, and revenue concentration.
Lead structured post-mortems on commercial-induced incidents, driving root-cause analysis and 1st LoD remediation while enforcing 2nd line decisions.
Represent the commercial risk perspective in internal governance forums, regulatory engagements, and audits.
Act as the strategic interface between GTM teams, the CRO, and 2nd/3rd line compliance functions.
Recruit and develop a high-impact team to scale coverage globally over time.

10–12 years of risk management experience within financial services, with significant time spent in 1st line or business-aligned roles directly interfacing with front-office or Sales teams.
Deep expertise in at least two of the following areas: credit and portfolio risk, payments or merchant risk, operational and conduct risk, or enterprise risk.
Proven track record of designing and implementing practical risk frameworks that materially influence commercial strategy within a Three Lines of Defense (3LoD) model.
Strong analytical data literacy with the ability to define KPIs, interrogate dashboards, and balance quantitative metrics with qualitative business judgment.
Exceptional communication skills, with a demonstrated ability to translate complex risk concepts into clear commercial language and navigate tough risk vs. revenue discussions with senior stakeholders.

Experience in high-growth, product-led fintech environments (e.g., payments, issuing, FX, or modern banking).
Familiarity with global regulatory and scheme frameworks relevant to B2B fintech, including KYC/AML, sanctions, card network rules, and data privacy.
Experience designing portfolio early-warning indicators, concentration limits, and stress testing.