Corporate Legal Counsel, France

About Airwallex Airwallex is the AI-native financial operating system for a real-time, intelligent economy. More than 675,000 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 2,700 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 our operating principles to see it in full. About the team The Legal, Risk & Compliance (LRC) team at Airwallex is a collaborative group of legal professionals and risk management experts. We’re passionate about safeguarding Airwallex’s operations, fostering a culture of compliance and integrity, and ensuring we navigate the global financial landscape responsibly. The team provides expert guidance and proactive support across all areas of the business—identifying, mitigating, and managing legal and financial risks to enable sustainable growth. What you’ll do As Corporate Legal Counsel, you’ll play a key role in supporting Airwallex’s ambitious growth across France, Europe, and beyond. You’ll provide practical, business-focused legal advice to enable expansion, support fundraising activities, and ensure compliance with complex financial regulations. Working closely with cross-functional teams—including corporate development, compliance, risk, partnerships, and marketing—you’ll help Airwallex achieve its mission while managing legal risk in a fast-paced, high-growth environment. This role is based in Paris. How you'll make impact You’ll support Airwallex’s growth across France, Europe and beyond by providing practical, business-focused legal advice. Support fundraising rounds by partnering with Corporate Development on due diligence, structuring and execution. Draft, review and negotiate commercial agreements, including referral agreements, NDAs, partnership agreements and marketing agreements. Advise on marketing, advertising, promotions and data protection, while monitoring legal and regulatory developments across fintech. Partner with Product, Compliance, Risk, Partnerships and Marketing to manage legal risk around regulated products, market expansion and new initiatives. Manage external counsel where needed, ensuring high-quality and cost-effective legal support. Identify and mitigate legal risks linked to fintech products and services, particularly data protection and cybersecurity. You’ll work from our Paris office three days a week. What we're looking for Essentials 5+ years’ experience in financial services or corporate law, ideally within a fast-growing technology company or top-tier law firm. Bachelor of Laws (LLB) from a reputable university. Qualification as a lawyer in good standing. Strong interest in financial services regulation and the fintech industry. Deep understanding of the legal and business environment in EMEA, with experience working in France. Excellent negotiation, communication and stakeholder management skills. Proven ability to collaborate effectively across functions. Experience managing and directing external counsel. Strong analytical and problem-solving skills. Preferred Admission to a French bar (Barreau), preferably Paris. Experience supporting fundraising, M&A or international expansion in a regulated financial services or fintech environment. Knowledge of data protection, cybersecurity and technology risk management. Fluency in English and French. Additional European languages. You'll thrive here if You own the outcome and you don't wait for permission to fix what's broken. You're comfortable making decisions with incomplete information and moving quickly anyway. You've operated in a compliance-heavy environment and know how to move fast without cutting the corners that matter. You say what you mean. You're direct, but you lead with respect. You connect dots across functions and hold the big picture without losing grip on the details. Learn more about your team Legal sits at the heart of the decisions that shape how Airwallex grows. This team backs the builders transforming us into a generational financial company, working alongside product, sales, and business partners every step of the way. You'll help shape a global licensing footprint most fintechs wish they had, while keeping our brand and data architecture best-in-class for customers entering the agentic economy and its regulatory demands. The hard part is helping the business move fast on product, revenue, and new-market expansion without compromising the discipline that protects the moat. It's a team for lawyers, strategists, and licensing specialists with commercial instincts, sharp judgment, and an obsession with customer-first outcomes. If you want to guide executive decisions and help build the licensing, structure, and judgment behind what comes next, this is where legal has real leverage. Applicant Safety Policy: Fraud and Third-Party Recruiters To protect you from recruitment scams, please be aware that Airwallex will not ask for bank details, sensitive ID numbers (i.e. passport), or any form of payment during the application or interview process. All official communication will come from an @ airwallex.com email address. Please apply only through careers.airwallex.com or our official LinkedIn page. Airwallex does not accept unsolicited resumes from search firms/recruiters. Airwallex will not pay any fees to search firms/recruiters if a candidate is submitted by a search firm/recruiter unless an agreement has been entered into with respect to specific open position(s). Search firms/recruiters submitting resumes to Airwallex on an unsolicited basis shall be deemed to accept this condition, regardless of any other provision to the contrary. Equal opportunity Airwallex is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We value diversity and anyone seeking employment at Airwallex is considered based on merit, qualifications, competence and talent. We don’t regard color, religion, race, national origin, sexual orientation, ancestry, citizenship, sex, marital or family status, disability, gender, or any other legally protected status when making our hiring decisions. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please let us know.