Regulatory Counsel, Middle East

About this role

ABOUT AIRWALLEX

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 200,000 businesses worldwide – including Brex, Rippling, 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 2,200 of the brightest and most innovative people in tech across 26 offices around the globe. Valued at US$8 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.

ATTRIBUTES WE VALUE

We hire successful builders with founder-like energy who want real impact, accelerated learning, and true ownership. You bring strong role-related expertise and sharp thinking, and you’re motivated by our mission and operating principles https://www.airwallex.com/us/operating-principles. You move fast with good judgment, dig deep with curiosity, and make decisions from first principles, balancing speed and rigor.

You're humble and collaborative; turn zero‑to‑one ideas into real products, and you “get stuff done” end-to-end. You use AI to work smarter and solve problems faster. Here, you’ll tackle complex, high‑visibility problems with exceptional teammates and grow your career as we build the future of global banking. If that sounds like you, let’s build what’s next.

ABOUT THE TEAM

Airwallex’s Regulatory Legal team is a high‑impact, collaborative group that plays a central role in enabling our expansion and success across the regions we’re present in. We support Airwallex’s continued growth by providing expert legal guidance on regulatory matters, partnering closely with Product Legal, Regulatory Compliance, Financial Crime Compliance, and other teams to deliver innovative financial products compliantly and at scale.

This is a fast-paced, growth-oriented environment where you’ll work alongside committed colleagues, engage in strategic projects with global reach, and have direct influence on business-critical decisions. We value curiosity, ownership, and the ambition to drive outcomes in a complex, ever-evolving regulatory landscape.

WHAT YOU’LL DO

You will be based in either the United Arab Emirates or Israel, with responsibility for regulatory legal support across the Middle East. This role will focus on advising on complex regulatory issues relating to payments and financial services in key Middle Eastern markets, supporting both local activities and cross‑border product offerings.

You will support the build‑out and maintenance of our licensing and registration portfolio in the region by helping to implement appropriate measures and controls and working closely with Regulatory Compliance and other control functions.

You will be a valuable member of the global legal and compliance team and will have the opportunity to support a rapidly growing business and the management team to navigate an increasingly complex regulatory landscape. This dynamic role is ideal for someone who enjoys wearing multiple hats and solving complex issues and blockers for our clients, is detail‑oriented, willing to take on challenges and changes, obsessively curious and intellectually honest, thrives on taking actions and delivering impactful results, and aims to inspire and be inspired.

RESPONSIBILITIES

- Be responsible for handling regulatory legal issues relating to our business in the Middle East, and for providing strategic advice to cross‑functional stakeholders relating to existing licences/registrations and potential future licence applications in key Middle Eastern markets.

- Monitor, report, and analyse trends and developments in payments and financial services regulation across the Middle East, actively identifying and anticipating changes that may impact business operations or strategic objectives.

- Partner closely with Product Legal, Regulatory Compliance, Risk and Financial Crime Compliance teams to ensure robust compliance with applicable laws and regulations in the region.

- Support local and global Product, Strategy, and Management teams and regional Commercial teams on new market entry and expansion of regulatory licence(s) in the Middle East, including regulatory mapping and licensing advice.

- Liaise with senior Airwallex stakeholders globally, providing timely, pragmatic regulatory legal advice and risk assessments on business initiatives impacting the Middle East.

- Manage external legal counsel and consultants in the region, ensuring high-quality, cost‑effective support aligned with Airwallex’s business drivers and risk appetite.

- Leverage AI and other tooling to enhance the scale, efficiency and effectiveness of the Regulatory Legal team.

- Provide legal advice on Airwallex’s regulatory compliance obligations with respect to ongoing regulatory compliance and submission of regulatory reports and filings in relevant Middle Eastern jurisdictions, partnering with the Regulatory Compliance team to support timely and accurate filings.

- Support government relations outreach to legislators and regulatory agencies in key Middle Eastern markets (e.g. central banks, financial services regulators and free‑zone regulators), helping to shape policy and regulatory approaches relevant to the business.

QUALIFICATIONS

- Qualified lawyer with around 6–8 years of relevant post‑qualification experience (P3 level).

- Strong regulatory experience gained in the fintech industry, reputable law firms and/or financial institutions, with a focus on payments, e‑money, FX, remittance and/or card issuing in Middle…