Manager, Operations Strategy (Data and AI Governance)

The Operations team at Airwallex sits at the intersection of strategy, execution, and customer experience. The Operations Strategy function drives process optimization, strategic initiatives, and cross-functional program delivery across Airwallex’s global operations. We partner closely with Engineering, Product, Legal, Security, and Data teams to solve complex problems at scale, ensuring that our operational infrastructure keeps pace with Airwallex’s rapid growth. This is a team where you will have direct exposure to senior leadership, work on high-impact programs that shape how the company manages risk and data, and grow through ownership of ambiguous, cross-domain challenges. What you’ll do

This role sits within the Operations Strategy team and is focused on driving our Data and AI Governance Program, a critical cross-functional initiative.

You will work at the intersection of program management and operations strategy, facilitating working groups across IT, Security, Engineering, Legal, and Data teams to design and operationalize data and AI governance frameworks that reduce data access and use risks while supporting business operations. This work requires someone who can run sprints, align stakeholders across domains, apply critical thinking to access control models and data classification frameworks, and measure success for the workstream.

This role is based in San Francisco, CA. Responsibilities:

• Own end-to-end program management for cross-functional data and AI governance initiatives: run sprints, track progress, and report to the steering committee via weekly updates and monthly calls.
• Map dependencies across domains and align stakeholders on data and AI governance strategy, priorities, and sequencing.
• Set the strategy for which data and AI governance frameworks get implemented, and assess whether they are proportionate to the risk they address.
• Define and track success metrics for the data and AI governance programs.
• Translate data and AI governance requirements into operational processes that reduce data access risk without blocking the business, including spearheading access management, review, and technical hardening processes.
• Run technical deep dives on access control implementation across existing systems like Okta, Databricks, and back office tools, and set the standard new systems must meet.
• Drive requirements and design documents through development, review, and approval by technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Create a living AI model and use case inventory to enable us to track AI legal and governance risks.
• Partner with Legal to translate regulatory requirements into actionable policy and process.

• 5+ years of experience, preferably with a fast-growing tech startup, top-tier strategy/management consulting, or equivalent.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills are essential.
• Exceptional stakeholder management and influencing skills, especially with Engineering and Legal teams.
• Experience with data governance initiatives, including data tagging, classification, and ownership.
• Experience with access management: (1) coordinating cross-functional delivery of access management initiatives, and (2) reviewing access to sensitive data, identifying risks, and driving remediations.
• Demonstrated ability to run programs end-to-end: sprint facilitation, dependency mapping, progress reporting, and driving cross-functional alignment.
• Excellent written and verbal communication and presentation skills, with the ability to synthesize complex information and communicate it simply and effectively to both technical and executive audiences.
• Self-starter who can identify and prioritize opportunities to focus on.
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent.

Preferred qualifications:

• Experience interpreting and operationalizing requirements from regulators in a financial services or payments environment.
• Experience with AI governance best practices and frameworks.
• Experience operationalizing privacy and AI regulations into actionable requirements and associated certifications (e.g., CIPP/AIGP).
• Familiarity with identity and access management tools (e.g., Okta) and modern data platforms (e.g., Databricks).
• Technology, Financial Services, and/or experience in a high-growth environment is advantageous.
• Comfort operating in environments with high standards, fast iteration cycles, and evolving priorities.
• Curiosity to learn quickly, adapt fast, and grow through stretch opportunities., Access Control, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Artificial Intelligence (AI) Programming Languages, Business Operations, Business Support, Communication Skills, Computer Security, Cross-Functional, Customer Experience, Data Management, Data Modeling, Data Processing, Design Document, Establish Priorities, Financial Operations, Financial Services, Financial Systems, Functional Programming Languages, Identity Data Management, International Operations, Leadership, Legal, Management Consulting, Metrics, Operational Strategy, Operational Support, Operations Management, Operations Processes, Presentation/Verbal Skills, Problem Solving Skills, Process Improvement, Progress Reports, Project Tracking, Project/Program Management, Realtime Operating System, Regulations, Regulatory Requirements, Risk, Risk Analysis, Risk Management, Startup, Strategic Planning, Training Data Sets, Use Cases, Writing Skills

Airwallex is the AI-native financial operating system for a real-time, intelligent economy. More than 676,000 businesses, including McLaren Racing, Qantas, SHEIN, and TikTok, use us, directly or through our platform partners, to run their financial operations or build and monetize financial products of their own.

We started in Melbourne in 2015 to build the infrastructure global commerce runs on. We’re the regulated backbone behind global payments: not by accident, but by design. A decade plus, 85+ licenses, and a financial infrastructure spanning North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific.

We’re co-headquartered in San Francisco and Singapore, with more than 2,300 people across 27 offices. We hire builders with founder-level energy, people who move fast with good judgment, dig in with real curiosity, and make calls from first principles rather than waiting to be told what to do. Read ouroperating principles to see it in full. About the team