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 2,300 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.

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.

Responsibilities

• Support the corporate development team through fundraising rounds, including due diligence, structuring, and execution.

• Draft, review, and negotiate a broad range of commercial contracts — including referral agreements, NDAs, partnership agreements, and marketing materials — in collaboration with the partnerships and marketing teams.

• Advise on legal issues relating to marketing, advertising, promotions, and data protection.

• Monitor legal and regulatory developments in fintech, ensuring company practices remain compliant while supporting innovation and growth.

• Manage external counsel as required, ensuring cost-effective and high-quality legal support.

• Identify and mitigate legal risks associated with fintech products and services, particularly in areas such as data protection and cybersecurity.

• Work cross-functionally with product, compliance, and risk teams to advise on regulatory matters, market expansion, and new product initiatives, ensuring alignment with company policies and regulatory requirements.

Who you are

We’re looking for someone who meets the minimum requirements below. The preferred qualifications are desirable but not essential.

Minimum qualifications:

• 5+ years’ experience in financial services or corporate law, ideally within a fast-growing tech company or a top-tier law firm.
  

• Bachelor of Laws (LLB) from a reputable university.
  

• Qualified lawyer in good standing, admission to a French bar (Barreau), preferably Paris, is a plus.
  

• Strong interest in financial services regulation and the fintech industry.
  

• Deep understanding of the legal and business environment in EMEA, with work experience in France preferred.
  

• 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 qualifications:

• Experience supporting fundraising, M&A, or international expansion within a regulated financial services or fintech environment.
  

• Knowledge of data protection, cybersecurity, and technology risk management.
  

• Fluency in English and French (additional European languages a plus).

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.