Director of Design

About Airwallex
Airwallex is the only unified payments and financial platform for global businesses. Powered by our unique combination of proprietary infrastructure and software, we empower over 200,000 businesses worldwide - including Brex, Rippling, Navan, Qantas, SHEIN and many more - with fully integrated solutions to manage everything from business accounts, payments, spend management and treasury, to embedded finance at a global scale.
Proudly founded in Melbourne, we have a team of over 2,000 of the brightest and most innovative people in tech across 26 offices around the globe. Valued at US$8 billion and backed by world-leading investors including T. Rowe Price, Visa, Mastercard, Robinhood Ventures, Sequoia, Salesforce Ventures, DST Global, and Lone Pine Capital, Airwallex is leading the charge in building the global payments and financial platform of the future. If you're ready to do the most ambitious work of your career, join us.
Attributes We Value
We hire successful builders with founder-like energy who want real impact, accelerated learning, and true ownership. You bring strong role-related expertise and sharp thinking, and you're motivated by our mission and operating principles. You move fast with good judgment, dig deep with curiosity, and make decisions from first principles, balancing speed and rigor.
You're humble and collaborative; turn zero-to-one ideas into real products, and you "get stuff done" end-to-end. You use AI to work smarter and solve problems faster. Here, you'll tackle complex, high-visibility problems with exceptional teammates and grow your career as we build the future of global banking. If that sounds like you, let's build what's next.
Role Summary:
We are seeking an exceptional Director of Design to lead and empower the design team responsible for a critical division of the company. This role will involve strategic oversight of design initiatives, ensuring alignment with business objectives and fostering a culture of innovation and excellence within the team.
Primary Responsibilities:
Strategic Leadership

• Collaborate with senior product leaders to define and scope design requirements for upcoming projects, ensuring alignment with overall business strategy.
• Develop comprehensive design project plans that identify challenges, estimate effort, and allocate resources effectively to ensure high-quality design work, including research, brainstorming, and user testing.
• Oversee project timelines and performance metrics to ensure timely and high-quality deliverables, conducting retrospectives to continuously optimize team performance.
• Work closely with engineering leadership to ensure critical moments of the design process are effectively managed and that there is a seamless handoff between design and engineering teams.

Design Excellence

• Advocate for user needs throughout all stages of product development, ensuring that user experience is at the forefront of design decisions.
• Partner with cross-functional teams (product management, engineering, design systems) to explore and deliver innovative design solutions that meet user and business needs.
• Lead end-to-end user experience design across desktop, mobile web, and applications, ensuring consistency and quality across all platforms.
• Mentor and collaborate with design team members, contributing expertise in UX methodologies to enhance the quality of their work.

Team Development

• Lead and inspire a team of product designers, providing mentorship and guidance to foster their professional growth and skill development.
• Deliver actionable feedback to team members, helping them navigate stakeholder feedback and achieve the highest quality results.
• Support the growth of the design team through coaching and professional development opportunities.

Role Requirements:

• Experience: Minimum 12 years in UX/Product design with a strong portfolio demonstrating expertise in complex systems, multi-channel user journeys, and intricate object relationships.
• Leadership: Proven success in managing and mentoring design teams (5+ years), with a track record of fostering a collaborative and innovative team culture.
• Skills: Proficiency in advanced UX methods (generative research, information architecture, interaction design, user testing) and system-level thinking.
• Communication: Exceptional communicator capable of articulating design rationale to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Project Management: Demonstrated ability to manage multiple projects and deliver results in fast-paced environments.
• Adaptability: Thrives in dynamic environments with evolving project scopes and priorities.

Nice to Haves:

• Experience in the financial industry.
• Degree in Design, HCI, or a related field.

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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