Lead Counsel, Data Privacy

Airwallex (UK) Limited

Job Overview

Location

US - Seattle

Job Type

Full-time

Full Job Description

📋 Description

• Airwallex is seeking a highly skilled and experienced Lead Counsel, Data Privacy to join our dynamic Legal, Risk & Compliance (LRC) team. This pivotal role will be instrumental in shaping and executing Airwallex’s data and privacy strategy across the US and the broader Americas region. As a key partner to senior stakeholders, you will provide expert legal guidance on a wide range of critical topics including data protection, artificial intelligence (AI), cybersecurity, cross-border data access, and complex US financial privacy regulations. Your work will directly contribute to safeguarding Airwallex’s operations, fostering a culture of compliance and ethical conduct, and ensuring we navigate the global financial landscape with integrity, all while supporting a global financial platform that handles vast amounts of sensitive customer and end-user data.
• In this role, you will be the primary legal advisor for data and privacy matters within the US and Americas. This involves offering risk-based, business-oriented counsel on data protection, AI, and cybersecurity issues, encompassing cross-border data access and national-security-adjacent topics. Your guidance will be grounded in a deep understanding of global data protection regulations and frameworks. A significant aspect of your responsibility will be to spearhead the development and global implementation of AI governance. You will provide expert advice on relevant global and US AI frameworks, and establish a fit-for-purpose AI governance approach at Airwallex. This includes creating and implementing AI policies, procedures, privacy-related AI mitigations, and robust accountability frameworks. Furthermore, you will develop and help execute comprehensive privacy and data protection compliance programs for the Americas. This will focus specifically on adherence to US federal and state consumer financial privacy frameworks such as GLBA, FCRA, CalFIPA, Executive Order 14117, and other comprehensive state privacy laws. You will work collaboratively with Product, Engineering, Information Security, Regulatory Legal, Regulatory Compliance, Commercial Legal, and Risk teams to embed privacy and security-by-design principles into every stage of product development, technical architecture, user experience, and go-to-market strategies. This includes leading Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs), Privacy Impact Assessments (PIAs), AI risk assessments, and other critical privacy impact assessments.
• You will also be responsible for drafting, reviewing, and negotiating intricate data protection and data-sharing agreements. This includes Data Processing Agreements (DPAs), cross-border transfer terms, and AI-related clauses with a diverse range of partners such as customers, vendors, financial institutions, and other third parties. You will serve as the escalation point for high-risk and complex legal matters in this domain. Coordinating and overseeing international data flows that involve the Americas will be another key duty, ensuring that appropriate transfer mechanisms and governance structures, such as Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) or equivalent, are in place. You will also support strategic initiatives related to data localization, storage, and access controls. In the event of security or data incidents impacting the Americas, you will co-lead the privacy and data-protection workstream alongside Information Security and other stakeholders. This involves managing the entire incident lifecycle, from triage and investigation to regulatory and customer notifications, remediation, and post-incident analysis to capture lessons learned. You will advise on high-risk or novel data processing activities, including new AI use cases, advanced analytics, and innovative platform and embedded-finance data models, helping to structure appropriate safeguards, governance, and documentation to mitigate risks.
• This role also involves supporting interactions with US and Americas regulators and policymakers on privacy, cybersecurity, data access, and related issues, working in close coordination with the Regulatory Legal and Regulatory Compliance teams. You will play a crucial role in building and refining the tools and processes that underpin our privacy workflows. This includes streamlining intake processes, assessment procedures, DPIA/PIA/AI DPIA processes, Records of Processing Activities (ROPAs), and Data Subject Requests (DSRs). You will leverage specialist tooling, metrics, and dashboards to effectively track and demonstrate compliance. Additionally, you will contribute significantly to training and enablement programs for our Product, Engineering, Sales, Operations, and other teams. Through playbooks, guidance documents, and dedicated office hours, you will empower these teams to understand and implement privacy, data, AI, and cybersecurity best practices, making it easy for them to "do the right thing by default."
• The Legal, Risk & Compliance (LRC) team at Airwallex is a collaborative and forward-thinking group of legal, compliance, and risk management professionals. We are united by a shared passion for protecting Airwallex’s global operations, cultivating a strong culture of compliance and ethical conduct, and ensuring that we navigate the complex and ever-evolving global financial landscape with the utmost integrity. We pride ourselves on providing expert, proactive guidance and support to all facets of the business, diligently identifying, mitigating, and managing legal and financial risks before they escalate. Within LRC, the Data & Privacy team operates as a specialized unit, offering expert guidance on data protection, data privacy, data governance, and AI. We work in close partnership with other LRC teams, as well as with Product, Engineering, Information Security, Operations, and various business units across all global regions. Our work is essential for supporting a global financial platform that processes substantial volumes of customer and end-user data, all while adhering to stringent financial services regulations and data protection laws worldwide. Consequently, robust data protection practices are not merely a legal requirement but are fundamental to maintaining regulatory compliance, earning and retaining customer trust, and upholding the integrity of our brand. By joining this team, you will be at the forefront of navigating these critical challenges, contributing to Airwallex’s continued success and growth in the global fintech arena.
• This position offers a unique opportunity to make a significant impact in a rapidly growing fintech company. You will have the chance to work on complex, high-visibility problems alongside exceptional teammates, contributing to the development of the future of global banking. Airwallex values builders with founder-like energy who seek real impact, accelerated learning, and genuine ownership. You will bring strong role-related expertise and sharp thinking, driven by our mission and operating principles. You will be encouraged to move fast with good judgment, dig deep with curiosity, and make decisions from first principles, always balancing speed with rigor. We foster a culture that is humble and collaborative, where zero-to-one ideas are transformed into tangible products, and where individuals are empowered to "get stuff done" end-to-end. We also embrace the use of AI to enhance efficiency and problem-solving capabilities. If you are ready to undertake the most ambitious work of your career and contribute to building what's next in global finance, we encourage you to join us.

🎯 Requirements

• U.S. legal qualification (or foreign equivalent) and active license to practice in at least one US jurisdiction.
• 8 years of experience in an in-house legal department and/or in private practice advising on technology, data and privacy issues related to technical platforms and products.
• Strong knowledge of US federal and state privacy and data-security laws (such as CCPA/CPRA and GLBA/Reg P) and how they intersect with payments and broader financial-services regulation, plus working knowledge of GDPR and Canadian/South American privacy requirements (such as LGPD).
• Demonstrated experience advising on emerging US and global AI legal requirements and AI-governance best practices, and experience advising on AI/ML tools, vendors, or products from a privacy and data-protection perspective.

🏖️ Benefits

• Competitive salary and equity package.
• Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance.
• Generous paid time off and holidays.
• Professional development opportunities and support for continuous learning.
• Opportunity to work in a fast-paced, high-growth fintech environment.

Skills & Technologies

Senior

Onsite

Degree Required

Ready to Apply?

Apply Externally

You will be redirected to an external site to apply.

Airwallex (UK) Limited

Visit Website

About Airwallex (UK) Limited

Airwallex is a global financial technology company providing cross-border payment and banking infrastructure for businesses. It offers multi-currency accounts, foreign exchange, card issuing, expense management, and embedded finance APIs. Founded in Melbourne in 2015, the company serves enterprises and SMEs across Asia-Pacific, Europe, and the Americas, operating under licenses in multiple jurisdictions and processing billions in annualized transaction volume.

View Company Profile

Get more remote jobs like this

Subscribe to the weekly newsletter for similar remote roles and curated hiring updates.

Weekly remote jobs and featured talent.

No spam. Only curated remote roles and product updates. You can unsubscribe anytime.