Engineering Lead, Growth

Engineering Manager · Lead · Full Time

US - SeattleUSD 147k – 280k1w ago
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Role

What you'll do.

Airwallex is seeking an Engineering Lead to spearhead Growth platform development, leading a high-performing engineering team to design, build, and scale AI-native systems powering customer acquisition, activation, conversion, retention, and expansion across the global fintech infrastructure. This role combines hands-on technical leadership with strategic team development, requiring 8+ years of software engineering expertise and proven ability to lead complex technical initiatives while partnering across product, data science, sales, and marketing functions to drive measurable business outcomes in a fast-moving, regulated environment.

Responsibilities

  • Lead Engineering Execution and Delivery: Own the end-to-end delivery of complex Growth engineering initiatives from technical planning, architecture design, and implementation through launch, monitoring, and continuous improvement. Ensure on-time delivery of high-quality solutions that meet business objectives and performance targets.
  • Drive Technical Architecture and Direction: Guide the design of scalable backend services, frontend applications, event-driven systems, and AI-native platform capabilities. Establish technical standards for system design, code quality, performance, reliability, security, observability, and operational excellence across the Growth engineering organization.
  • Build and Mentor High-Performing Engineering Team: Recruit, hire, and develop talented engineers within your team. Provide technical mentorship, career coaching, clear performance expectations, and foster a culture of ownership, collaboration, accountability, and continuous learning.
  • Cross-Functional Partnership and Alignment: Collaborate closely with Product, Design, Data Science, Marketing, Sales, and Revenue Operations teams to translate ambiguous business problems into actionable technical roadmaps. Navigate organizational complexity and influence stakeholders to drive alignment on priorities and strategies.
  • Drive Measurable Business Outcomes: Leverage experimentation frameworks, customer insights, and data-driven decision-making to prioritize high-impact growth opportunities. Accelerate iteration cycles and improve growth performance metrics through engineering optimization and innovation.
  • Establish Engineering Processes and Scalability: Implement robust engineering practices for code review, system monitoring, incident response, and performance optimization. Improve delivery predictability, reduce technical debt, and scale team execution and productivity in a fast-moving fintech environment.

Qualifications

What we look for.

Technical

  • Scalable Production Systems Design and Operation

    Demonstrated expertise designing, building, and operating scalable production systems in backend, frontend, or full-stack environments. Proficiency with technologies such as Python, Java, Kotlin, React, or TypeScript in production systems handling significant scale and complexity.

  • Distributed Systems and Event-Driven Architectures

    Solid understanding of distributed systems principles, event-driven architecture patterns, microservices design, and cloud infrastructure platforms such as AWS or GCP. Experience implementing reliable, observable systems across multiple services and deployment environments.

  • System Design and Architectural Decision-Making

    Proven ability to make sound architectural decisions, evaluate technical tradeoffs, optimize for performance and scalability, and implement solutions that balance engineering quality with business velocity. Experience with systems supporting millions of transactions or high-volume event processing.

  • Growth Platform and Experimentation Frameworks

    Technical expertise in building growth platforms, A/B testing and experimentation frameworks, customer segmentation engines, or product-led growth features. Understanding of how to instrument systems for experimentation, measure conversion metrics, and optimize growth funnels.

Education

  • Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or Related Field

    Formal education in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a closely related discipline. Alternatively, equivalent professional experience demonstrating strong fundamental computer science and engineering principles.

Experience

  • 8+ Years Professional Software Engineering

    Minimum eight years of professional software engineering experience, including hands-on development, system design, and production operations. Track record of shipping production systems and solving complex engineering challenges.

  • Technical Leadership and Team Leadership

    Proven experience leading engineering teams, managing technical initiatives, and establishing technical direction. Demonstrated ability to mentor engineers, delegate effectively, and create clarity within ambiguous situations. Experience improving team delivery predictability and execution in fast-moving environments.

  • Complex Technical Project Management

    Track record of leading complex, multi-team engineering projects from conception through production deployment. Experience navigating organizational dependencies, managing stakeholder expectations, and delivering high-quality solutions on ambitious timelines.

  • High-Growth or Fintech Environment Experience

    Background in high-growth technology companies, fintech, payments, or regulated industries. Understanding of compliance requirements, operational risk, and the unique challenges of building financial infrastructure at scale.

Skills

Required

  • Technical Leadership and Architecture

    Ability to provide technical direction, guide architectural decisions, establish engineering standards, and mentor engineers on complex technical problems. Comfort staying hands-on while scaling leadership responsibilities.

  • Product and Business Acumen

    Strong product judgment with ability to translate business objectives into engineering outcomes. Understanding of growth metrics, customer lifecycle, and how engineering decisions impact business performance.

  • Ownership and Accountability

    High agency and proactive identification of high-impact opportunities. Takes accountability for team outcomes and empowers engineers to deliver with clear ownership models.

  • Cross-Functional Collaboration

    Ability to work effectively with Product, Design, Data Science, Marketing, and Sales teams. Strong communication skills, stakeholder management, and ability to influence without direct authority.

  • Pragmatism and Execution

    Balances engineering quality, delivery speed, and business impact. Makes sound decisions with incomplete information and focuses on outcomes that move the needle for the business.

  • Backend or Full-Stack Development

    Proficiency in backend languages such as Python or Java/Kotlin, or full-stack capabilities with strong backend understanding. Ability to make architectural decisions and review code across production systems.

Preferred

  • AI and LLM Integration Experience

    Nice to have

    Experience developing AI-powered applications, integrating large language models, building agentic workflows, orchestrating tools, and implementing production observability for AI systems. Understanding of evaluation frameworks for AI outputs.

  • Growth Platform Development

    Nice to have

    Hands-on experience building growth platforms, experimentation systems, customer segmentation engines, marketing automation infrastructure, or product-led growth features.

  • React or TypeScript Frontend Skills

    Nice to have

    Production experience with React or TypeScript on customer-facing applications, particularly those with complex state management or real-time data synchronization requirements.

  • Data Pipeline and Analytics Infrastructure

    Nice to have

    Experience building data pipelines, analytics infrastructure, or event-driven data systems. Understanding of how engineering systems integrate with analytics and measurement platforms.

  • Fintech or Payments Domain Knowledge

    Nice to have

    Background working on fintech platforms, payments infrastructure, cross-border transactions, or financial services. Understanding of regulatory compliance, KYC/AML, and operational risk in financial systems.

  • Global Distributed Team Leadership

    Nice to have

    Experience leading and collaborating with geographically distributed engineering teams across multiple time zones and regions, particularly in APAC, EMEA, and North America.

  • Process Improvement and Team Scaling

    Nice to have

    Track record of establishing engineering processes, improving delivery predictability, and scaling team execution and productivity in fast-moving high-growth environments.

Tech stack

Languages

PythonJava/KotlinTypeScript

Frameworks

ReactEvent-Driven FrameworksLLM and AI Orchestration Frameworks

Databases

PostgreSQLReal-Time Streaming Databases

Tools

AWS or GCPExperimentation and A/B Testing PlatformsObservability and Monitoring ToolsCI/CD Deployment Pipeline

Other

Distributed Systems Design PatternsData-Driven Decision Making and MetricsRegulatory Compliance and Financial Infrastructure

Compensation

Pay and benefits.

Base·USD 147,000 – 280,000

Equity·Stock options

Benefits

  • Equity and Stock Options

    Participate in Airwallex's growth as a private fintech company through equity grants and stock options, aligning your financial success with company performance and mission.

  • Global Health and Wellness Coverage

    Comprehensive health insurance coverage spanning medical, dental, and vision benefits across all regions. Access to mental health support, wellness programs, and fitness benefits.

  • Flexible Work Arrangements

    In the US, work from the Seattle office three days per week with flexibility for remote collaboration. Airwallex supports global, distributed team collaboration across APAC, EMEA, and North America.

  • Professional Development and Learning

    Investment in continuous learning through training budget, conference attendance, technical certification support, and mentorship opportunities with senior technical leaders across the organization.

  • Generous Time Off

    Competitive paid time off policy, parental leave, and flexible time off to maintain work-life balance while delivering on ambitious growth goals.

  • Collaborative Global Culture

    Access to Airwallex's 2,300+ talented professionals across 27 offices worldwide. Regular team offsites, collaborative tools, and a builder culture that values ownership and innovation.

  • Performance-Based Bonus

    Annual performance bonus opportunity tied to individual contribution, team delivery, and company-wide growth objectives.

Process

Interview steps.

  1. 01

    Initial Screening and Application Review

    Airwallex recruiting team reviews your background, technical experience, and leadership track record against the role requirements. Successful candidates are selected for a recruiter conversation to discuss role expectations, team dynamics, and career growth opportunities.

  2. 02

    Technical Leadership Conversation

    Discussion with the hiring manager and engineering leadership covering your experience leading teams, technical decision-making approach, handling complex architectural problems, and vision for building scalable Growth systems. Expect questions on specific projects you've led and technical tradeoffs you've navigated.

  3. 03

    System Design and Technical Deep Dive

    Collaborative session exploring your approach to designing scalable Growth platform components such as experimentation frameworks, customer segmentation engines, or event-driven systems. You'll discuss trade-offs, handle real constraints from Airwallex's environment, and demonstrate architectural thinking.

  4. 04

    Cross-Functional Stakeholder Interviews

    Conversations with Product, Data Science, and other engineering leaders to assess collaboration style, product judgment, and ability to navigate ambiguity in cross-functional environments. These discussions validate your ability to influence without direct authority and translate business needs into engineering solutions.

  5. 05

    Team Leadership and Culture Assessment

    Discussion focusing on your approach to hiring, developing engineers, fostering ownership culture, and scaling team execution. Airwallex will assess your mentorship philosophy, conflict resolution approach, and ability to build high-performing, inclusive teams.

  6. 06

    Executive or Peer Alignment Round

    Conversation with senior engineering leadership to discuss long-term vision, company scaling challenges, and your strategic thinking on Growth's role in Airwallex's broader mission. Final validation of cultural fit and commitment to Airwallex's builder ethos.

Full posting

Original listing.

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 2,300 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 our operating principles to see it in full.

 

How you'll make impact

Growth Engineering at Airwallex is building an AI-native platform that powers customer acquisition, activation, conversion, retention, and expansion. We're developing scalable infrastructure, intelligent decision systems, and automation capabilities that connect product, sales, and marketing to drive measurable business outcomes.

As an Engineering Lead, you'll lead a team of engineers to design, build, and scale the platforms and experiences that power Growth at Airwallex. You'll combine technical leadership, hands-on problem-solving, and strong execution to turn ambitious growth opportunities into reliable products and measurable business impact.

  • Lead engineering execution, owning the delivery of complex Growth initiatives from technical planning and architecture through implementation, launch, and continuous improvement.

  • Drive technical direction, guiding the design of scalable backend services, frontend applications, event-driven systems, and AI-native platform capabilities that enable experimentation, personalization, and growth automation.

  • Build and develop a high-performing engineering team, providing technical mentorship, coaching, clear expectations, and a culture of ownership, collaboration, and engineering excellence.

  • Partner across functions, working closely with Product, Design, Data Science, Marketing, Sales, and other engineering teams to translate ambiguous business problems into actionable roadmaps and technical solutions.

  • Drive measurable business outcomes, leveraging experimentation, customer insights, and data to prioritize high-impact opportunities, accelerate iteration, and improve growth performance.

  • Raise the engineering bar, establishing strong practices for system design, code quality, performance, reliability, security, observability, and operational excellence.

US: You'll work from our Seattle office three days a week.

What we're looking for

Essentials

  • 8+ years of professional software engineering experience, including experience leading engineering teams or complex technical initiatives, and a bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field.

  • Strong technical expertise in backend, frontend, or full-stack engineering, with experience designing, building, and operating scalable production systems using technologies such as Python, Java/Kotlin, React, or TypeScript.

  • Proven technical leadership and execution skills, with a track record of leading complex engineering projects, making sound architectural decisions, managing technical tradeoffs, and delivering high-quality solutions.

  • Demonstrated ability to lead and develop engineers, through mentorship, technical guidance, effective delegation, and fostering a culture of accountability and continuous improvement.

  • Strong ownership, product judgment, and cross-functional collaboration, with the ability to navigate ambiguity, influence stakeholders, prioritize effectively, and translate business objectives into measurable engineering outcomes.

Preferred

  • Experience building growth platforms, experimentation systems, customer segmentation engines, marketing automation, or product-led growth experiences.

  • Experience developing AI-powered applications or agentic workflows, including LLM integration, tool orchestration, evaluation, and production observability.

  • Experience with distributed systems, event-driven architectures, data pipelines, and cloud infrastructure such as AWS or GCP.

  • Experience leading cross-functional engineering initiatives involving Product, Design, Data Science, Marketing, Sales, or Revenue Operations.

  • Experience establishing engineering processes, improving delivery predictability, and scaling team execution in fast-moving environments.

  • Experience in high-growth technology companies, fintech, payments, or regulated environments.

You'll thrive here if

  • You have high agency and ownership. You proactively identify high-impact opportunities, take accountability for outcomes, and empower your team to deliver.

  • You're a technical leader who builds. You stay close to architecture and implementation, make sound technical decisions, and lead by example.

  • You're pragmatic and outcome-oriented. You balance engineering quality, delivery speed, and business impact, prioritizing what moves the needle.

  • You're comfortable leading through ambiguity. You bring structure to complex problems, set clear priorities, and make thoughtful decisions with incomplete information.

  • You grow people and teams. You coach engineers, delegate effectively, create clarity, and build a culture of ownership and continuous improvement.

  • You communicate proactively and influence effectively. You align stakeholders, surface risks early, navigate tradeoffs, and drive decisions across functions.

  • You thrive in a global environment. You're comfortable leading and collaborating across distributed teams in APAC, EMEA, and the US.

Learn more about your team

Growth at Airwallex is building a unified, AI-native growth system across product, sales, and marketing. Rather than applying AI to isolated tasks, we use customer context, machine learning, automation, and continuous learning to transform how Airwallex acquires, activates, converts, retains, and expands customers.

You’ll build high-traffic platforms, experimentation frameworks, and intelligent decision systems that turn signals—such as company profile, product usage, lifecycle stage, behavior, and intent—into personalized journeys, next-best actions, and measurable incremental value.

The work spans both human + AI and autonomous operating models: AI-native tools that increase the leverage of growth teams, alongside agentic workflows that can research opportunities, launch and optimize campaigns, orchestrate customer journeys, and measure outcomes within clear strategies and guardrails.

The challenge is to combine consumer-technology speed with the precision, trust, and regulatory complexity of global B2B finance. If you enjoy owning ambiguous problems end to end, prototyping quickly, measuring real business impact, and using every outcome to improve the next decision, you’ll help define how an AI-native global financial platform grows.

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.

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