Employment Counsel, Americas

As Employment Counsel for Airwallex in the Americas, you'll be a hands-on partner to People & Talent on the employment matters that carry the most risk. You'll help build the playbooks, policies, and processes a scaling employment function needs to give clear, commercially practical advice across the business.

• Own US employment law advice and coordinate guidance across other jurisdictions with Airwallex's external counsel panel, including contractor and EOR classification, cross-border remote work, mobility exposure, and conduct and remuneration matters in regulated entities.

• Build employment playbooks, templates, policies, and manager guidance that help the business handle employee matters consistently and pragmatically.

• Lead workplace investigations, employment disputes, agency charges, and litigation, including instructing and managing external counsel and associated legal spend.

• Partner with People & Talent, Total Rewards, Data & Privacy, Corporate Legal, regional People Partners, and business leaders on employee lifecycle, compensation, benefits, equity, entity, and contractor matters.

• Advise on hiring, contracts and variations, performance management, accommodations, leaves, wage and hour compliance, and terminations.

You'll work from our San Francisco, New York, or Seattle office on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays.

• A J.D. degree or foreign equivalent and active membership in at least one US state bar; California, Washington, or New York preferred.

• 5+ years of employment law experience at a leading law firm and/or in-house legal department, with demonstrated employment counselling experience beyond litigation alone.

• Experience advising on and coordinating employment law matters across multiple jurisdictions.

• Experience leading workplace investigations and managing employment disputes, agency charges, or tribunal matters.

• Experience advising on the employee lifecycle, including hiring, contracts and variations, performance management, accommodations, leaves, wage and hour compliance, and terminations.

• The ability to translate complex legal and risk issues into clear, succinct, and actionable guidance for non-legal audiences.

• Strong judgment and the ability to give commercially practical advice under time pressure.

• The ability to operate independently and pivot quickly within a fast-moving, changing environment.

• Fluent English; additional languages are a bonus given Airwallex's global footprint.

• Experience at a fintech, payments company, or other highly regulated business.

• Experience with contractor classification, employer-of-record populations, or cross-border remote work and permanent establishment risk.

• Experience with California Labor Code matters.

• Experience advising on immigration, restructuring, or RIF execution across multiple consultation regimes.

• Experience with works councils or statutory employee representation in support of EU entity coverage.

• Experience advising on compensation, benefits, and equity matters in a private-company context.

• You have experience at a fintech, payments company, or other highly regulated business.

• You've operated in a compliance-heavy environment and know how to move fast without cutting the corners that matter.

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

• You say what you mean. You're direct, but you lead with respect.

• You come to the table with a point of view, not just a problem.