Director, Product Strategy, Spend

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Director, Product Strategy, Spend

Company: Airwallex

Location: San Francisco, California, United States

Job Type: FULL_TIME

Category: Product Strategy / Business Operations / GTM Strategy

Date Posted: 2026-05-27

Experience Level: 10+ Years

Remote Status: Hybrid (with potential for remote work within the US)

🚀 Role Summary

• Drive strategic growth and market leadership for Airwallex's global Spend offerings, encompassing cards, expense management, and related financial workflows.

• Own the Profit and Loss (P&L) for the Spend business unit, defining and executing global strategies to maximize revenue and market share.

• Lead end-to-end Go-To-Market (GTM) strategies, including pricing, packaging, segmentation, and competitive positioning to ensure effective commercialization of products.

• Act as a key liaison, fostering strong collaboration between Product, Engineering, Sales, Marketing, Partnerships, Finance, and Operations to align strategic initiatives and drive successful product launches.

• Shape the product roadmap and investment decisions by translating customer needs, market intelligence, and adoption data into actionable recommendations.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is a critical leadership position within Airwallex, blending strategic product vision with commercial execution. It requires a deep understanding of the fintech and B2B SaaS landscape, particularly in spend management and corporate payments. The "Spend" focus indicates a significant opportunity to impact revenue generation and customer acquisition within a high-potential area of the business. The emphasis on P&L ownership and GTM strategy suggests a role with substantial business impact and direct contribution to the company's financial performance.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Strategic Ownership: Define and evolve the global strategy for Airwallex Spend (cards, expense management, related workflows), focusing on growth, adoption, and long-term market positioning.

• P&L Management: Take full ownership of the P&L for the Spend business unit, driving initiatives to improve profitability and achieve financial targets.

• Go-To-Market Leadership: Lead the development and execution of comprehensive GTM strategies, including pricing models, packaging strategies, market segmentation, regional prioritization, and competitive differentiation.

• Customer & Market Insight: Serve as the primary advocate for customer needs and market dynamics, synthesizing pain points, adoption data, and competitive intelligence to inform product roadmap and strategic investments.

• Cross-Functional Alignment: Act as a central point of connection, ensuring seamless collaboration and alignment across Product, Engineering, Sales, Marketing, Partnerships, Finance, and Operations teams for effective launches and execution globally.

• Commercialization & Growth: Develop and implement scalable operating mechanisms and GTM playbooks to enhance conversion rates, customer adoption, expansion revenue, and optimize unit economics throughout the Spend customer lifecycle.

• Roadmap Influence: Partner closely with Product and Engineering leadership to balance short-term commercial opportunities with essential long-term platform and infrastructure investments.

• Market Expansion: Drive Airwallex's strategy to move further upmarket and deepen its footprint in key regions, strengthening its competitive stance against market alternatives.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a blend of strategic planning and operational execution. The emphasis on "owning the P&L" and "end-to-end GTM strategy" signifies a high degree of accountability for business outcomes. The need to "build scalable operating mechanisms" and "GTM playbooks" points towards a focus on repeatable processes that drive efficiency and growth. This role is not just about defining strategy but also about ensuring its effective implementation across a complex organization.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education:

Experience:

• Minimum of 10 years of progressive experience in high-impact roles within fintech, payments, spend management, financial infrastructure, or complex B2B SaaS environments.

• Demonstrated track record of success in driving significant growth and market impact through product strategy, GTM strategy, P&L ownership, revenue operations, business operations, or commercialization functions.

Required Skills:

• Fintech & Payments Expertise: Deep understanding of the financial technology landscape, particularly in payments, spend management, and corporate card solutions.

• Product Strategy: Proven ability to define and articulate compelling product strategies that align with business objectives and market opportunities.

• Go-To-Market (GTM) Strategy: Expertise in developing and executing comprehensive GTM plans, including market entry, segmentation, pricing, and channel strategies.

• P&L Ownership: Demonstrated experience managing a P&L, with a strong focus on revenue growth, cost optimization, and profitability.

• Commercial Acumen: Strong commercial judgment in areas such as pricing, packaging, segmentation, market positioning, and launch strategy.

• Technical Fluency: Ability to engage effectively with engineering teams on technical concepts, including APIs, SDKs, payment gateways, card acquiring, local payment methods, and broader fintech infrastructure.

• Structured Problem-Solving: Exceptional analytical and problem-solving skills, with a data-driven approach to diagnosing bottlenecks, evaluating unit economics, and identifying growth opportunities.

• Stakeholder Management: Excellent communication, negotiation, and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to influence senior leaders across diverse functions.

• Data-Driven Decision Making: Proficiency in leveraging data and analytics to inform strategic decisions and measure performance.

Preferred Skills:

• Global Business Management: Experience owning or shaping a global or multi-region business line, encompassing product strategy, commercial strategy, and GTM execution.

• Spend Management & Corporate Cards: Specific experience in spend management platforms, corporate cards, expense software, or related financial workflows and infrastructure.

• Enterprise Go-To-Market: Experience in successfully moving businesses upmarket into enterprise segments or expanding into new geographies and customer segments.

• Competitive Landscape Awareness: Familiarity with key players and competitive dynamics in the fintech space (e.g., Ramp, Brex, Stripe, Adyen, Checkout, Revolut).

• Entrepreneurial Mindset: A founder-like mentality with high ownership, a sense of urgency, comfort with ambiguity, and a bias for action in fast-paced environments.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "10+ years" experience requirement, coupled with the Director title and P&L ownership, signifies a senior leadership role. The emphasis on both "product strategy" and "GTM strategy" indicates a need for a well-rounded individual who can bridge the gap between product development and market realization. Technical fluency is highlighted as crucial, suggesting that a strong understanding of payment infrastructure and APIs is essential, not just a conceptual grasp. The preferred qualifications underscore the value Airwallex places on individuals with direct experience in the spend management or corporate card space, as well as those with a proven ability to drive growth in enterprise markets.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Strategic Frameworks: Showcase examples of strategic frameworks developed to analyze markets, identify growth opportunities, and define product direction for complex financial products.

• GTM Playbooks: Include case studies or examples of GTM playbooks created for new product launches or market expansions, detailing segmentation, pricing, and channel strategies.

• P&L Impact Cases: Present examples where you have directly influenced or owned a P&L, demonstrating how strategic decisions led to quantifiable improvements in revenue, profitability, or unit economics.

• Cross-Functional Alignment Models: Illustrate how you have established operating mechanisms or processes to ensure alignment and effective collaboration across diverse teams (Product, Engineering, Sales, Marketing, Ops).

• Market Analysis & Competitive Strategy: Provide examples of market analysis, competitive intelligence gathering, and how this information was translated into strategic recommendations that shaped product roadmaps or commercial strategies.

Process Documentation:

• Strategic Planning Process: Document your approach to annual and quarterly strategic planning, including market assessment, objective setting, and resource allocation for product lines.

• GTM Execution Process: Outline the process for developing and executing product launches, from initial planning and cross-functional alignment through to post-launch analysis and iteration.

• Performance Monitoring & Optimization: Detail the mechanisms and processes used to track key performance indicators (KPIs) for product lines, analyze performance against goals, and implement optimization strategies.

• Customer Feedback Integration: Describe the process for gathering, synthesizing, and acting upon customer feedback and market intelligence to inform product strategy and roadmap prioritization.

📝 Enhancement Note: For a role at this level, a portfolio should demonstrate strategic thinking, commercial execution, and the ability to drive measurable business impact. Examples should highlight leadership in defining and executing complex strategies, managing financial outcomes (P&L), and fostering cross-functional collaboration. The emphasis should be on showing how strategic decisions were made, how GTM plans were executed, and the results achieved, ideally with quantifiable metrics.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: $250,000 - $350,000 USD per year.

Benefits:

• Comprehensive Health Coverage: Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance.

• Retirement Savings: 401(k) Plan.

• Income Protection: Short-term Disability, Long-term Disability, and Basic Life Insurance.

• Wellness Support: Well-being Benefits to support employee health and work-life balance.

• Paid Time Off: Generous Paid Vacation and Paid Company Holidays.

• Equity & Performance: Stock Options/Equity grants and potential for a Bonus, reflecting performance-based incentives.

Working Hours:

• Typically 40 hours per week, standard for a full-time position. However, given the Director level and strategic nature of the role, flexibility and availability beyond standard hours may be expected to meet business needs and deadlines.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary range provided is at the higher end for Director-level roles in San Francisco, reflecting the seniority, strategic importance, and specialized nature of this product strategy position within the competitive fintech industry. The inclusion of equity and bonus compensation indicates a performance-driven culture and an opportunity for significant financial upside tied to company and individual success. The benefits package is comprehensive, covering essential health, financial, and time-off needs.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Fintech / Financial Services / Global Payments / B2B SaaS. Airwallex operates at the forefront of global payments and financial infrastructure, providing a unified platform for businesses to manage accounts, payments, spend, and treasury. This industry is characterized by rapid innovation, intense competition, and a strong focus on technology and customer experience.

Company Size: Over 2,200 employees globally. This indicates a well-established, scaling organization with the resources to invest in significant product initiatives and strategic growth, but still retaining an agile and entrepreneurial spirit.

Founded: Founded in Melbourne, Australia. Airwallex has grown rapidly from its origins to a global presence, demonstrating a strong trajectory and ambition. This founding history can contribute to a culture that values innovation and founder-like energy.

Team Structure:

• The Product team is described as passionate builders and problem-solvers focused on customer-centric solutions.

• This role will operate within the Product organization but will have significant cross-functional interaction with Engineering, Sales, Marketing, Partnerships, Finance, and Operations.

Methodology:

• Customer-Centricity: The Product team emphasizes deep understanding of customer needs.

• Data-Driven: Decisions are informed by data, including customer pain points and adoption metrics.

• Agile & Iterative: The team values moving fast, iterating constantly, and solving hard problems collaboratively.

• Innovation: A focus on turning "zero-to-one" ideas into real products.

• AI Integration: Encourages the use of AI to work smarter and solve problems faster.

Company Website: https://www.airwallex.com

📝 Enhancement Note: Airwallex's culture appears to be a blend of high-growth startup energy and the operational rigor of a global financial institution. The emphasis on "founder-like energy," "real impact," "accelerated learning," and "true ownership" suggests an environment where ambitious individuals can thrive. The "operating principles" mentioned are likely key to understanding how decisions are made and how teams collaborate. The "Spend" product area is a significant focus, indicating that this role will be central to a key growth initiative for the company.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This is a Director-level position, signifying a senior leadership role with significant strategic responsibility and potential for direct impact on business outcomes. It sits at the intersection of product strategy, commercialization, and business operations within the critical "Spend" vertical.

Reporting Structure: The role will likely report to a senior leader within Product Management or GTM Strategy (e.g., VP of Product, Head of Commercial Strategy). Close collaboration with Engineering leaders, Sales leadership, and other functional heads is essential.

Operations Impact: This role has a direct impact on Airwallex's revenue generation and market competitiveness. By owning the P&L and driving the GTM strategy for Spend, the Director will be instrumental in acquiring new customers, expanding existing relationships, and solidifying Airwallex's position in a highly competitive market. Success will be measured by key business metrics such as revenue growth, adoption rates, customer retention, and profitability within the Spend portfolio.

Growth Opportunities:

• Leadership Expansion: Potential to build and lead a team of product managers or strategists focused on the Spend domain, growing into a VP-level role overseeing a broader product portfolio.

• Strategic Influence: Opportunity to shape the future direction of Airwallex's product offerings in a high-growth fintech segment, influencing company-wide strategy.

• Domain Expertise: Deepen expertise in global payments, corporate cards, expense management, and B2B SaaS commercialization within a rapidly evolving industry.

• Cross-Functional Leadership: Develop a broad understanding of all aspects of a global fintech business through extensive collaboration with various departments.

• Entrepreneurial Experience: Gain experience in scaling a significant business line within a dynamic, venture-backed company.

📝 Enhancement Note: The Director role is a significant step in a career path focused on product strategy and business leadership within the fintech sector. The opportunity to own a P&L and shape GTM for a core product offering provides substantial visibility and impact. Growth potential is high, both in terms of managing larger teams and expanding strategic influence within Airwallex.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: The role is based in San Francisco, with a Hybrid work arrangement. This suggests a modern office environment designed to foster collaboration, innovation, and team cohesion, while also allowing for the flexibility of remote work.

Office Location(s): San Francisco, California, United States. This location places Airwallex within a major tech and fintech hub, offering access to talent and networking opportunities.

Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Spaces: The office environment likely includes collaborative areas, meeting rooms, and potentially flexible workstations to support team-based projects and cross-functional discussions.

• Technology Infrastructure: Access to the necessary tools and technology to support product strategy, data analysis, communication, and project management.

• Team Interaction: Opportunities for regular in-person interaction with colleagues in Product, Engineering, Sales, and other departments, crucial for aligning on complex strategies and execution.

Work Schedule:

• While the standard is 40 hours per week, the hybrid nature and senior level of this role imply a need for adaptability. Days in the office will likely be focused on collaboration, strategic planning sessions, and team meetings, while remote days can be utilized for focused work, analysis, and individual tasks. Flexibility is key to managing global responsibilities and ensuring business continuity.

📝 Enhancement Note: The hybrid model in a major tech hub like San Francisco suggests a dynamic and modern work environment. The emphasis on collaboration and the need to connect with diverse teams indicates that the office space is designed to facilitate these interactions. Candidates should be comfortable with a blend of in-office and remote work, leveraging each setting for its strengths.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: A recruiter or hiring manager will review your application and resume, focusing on alignment with the minimum and preferred qualifications.

• Hiring Manager Interview: A deep dive into your experience, strategic thinking, P&L ownership, GTM expertise, and leadership style, often with scenario-based questions.

• Cross-Functional Interviews: Meetings with key stakeholders from Product, Engineering, Sales, and potentially Finance or Operations to assess collaboration skills, technical understanding, and strategic alignment.

• Case Study/Strategy Presentation: You may be asked to prepare and present a strategy for a specific aspect of the Spend product, or to analyze a business challenge, demonstrating your problem-solving and strategic communication skills.

• Executive Interview: A final interview with a senior leader (e.g., VP, C-level) to assess overall fit, strategic vision, and potential for long-term impact.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Quantify Impact: For each project or initiative, clearly articulate the business problem, your strategic approach, the actions taken, and the quantifiable results (e.g., revenue growth, market share increase, cost savings, adoption metrics).

• Showcase Strategic Frameworks: Include examples of how you've developed and applied frameworks for market analysis, competitive positioning, pricing, and segmentation.

• Demonstrate GTM Execution: Detail your role in bringing products to market, including challenges faced and how you overcame them to achieve commercial success.

• Highlight P&L Ownership: If possible, present case studies where you directly managed or significantly influenced a P&L, showing your financial acumen.

• Emphasize Collaboration: Use examples that illustrate your ability to influence and align diverse stakeholders across technical and business functions.

• Structure for Clarity: Organize your portfolio logically, perhaps by functional area (Strategy, GTM, P&L) or by impact (Growth, Efficiency, Market Entry).

Challenge Preparation:

• Business Case Development: Be prepared to outline the business case for a new product feature or market expansion, including market opportunity, competitive landscape, go-to-market strategy, and financial projections.

• Strategic Recommendation: Practice articulating strategic recommendations for complex business problems, supported by data and a clear rationale.

• GTM Plan Outline: Be ready to sketch out a high-level GTM plan for a hypothetical product launch, covering key elements like target audience, value proposition, pricing, and channels.

• Competitive Analysis: Prepare to discuss the competitive landscape for spend management and corporate cards, identifying key players and potential differentiation strategies.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process is designed to thoroughly assess strategic thinking, commercial acumen, leadership capabilities, and cross-functional effectiveness. A strong portfolio that clearly demonstrates quantifiable impact from strategic initiatives and GTM execution will be critical. Candidates should be prepared for case study-style challenges that test their ability to think on their feet and apply their experience to Airwallex's specific context.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• CRM: Salesforce (or similar enterprise CRM for managing customer relationships, pipeline, and sales operations).

• Product Analytics: Mixpanel, Amplitude, Pendo, or similar tools for understanding user behavior, product adoption, and feature usage.

• BI & Data Visualization: Tableau, Looker, Power BI, or similar for building dashboards, analyzing data, and reporting on key business metrics.

• Collaboration & Project Management: Jira, Confluence, Asana, Monday.com, or similar for managing product roadmaps, engineering tasks, and cross-functional projects.

• Financial & P&L Management Tools: Potentially ERP systems (e.g., NetSuite) or specialized financial planning & analysis (FP&A) tools for budget tracking and P&L management.

Analytics & Reporting:

• Data Warehousing/ETL: Experience with data warehousing concepts and tools (e.g., Snowflake, BigQuery) and ETL processes for data integration.

• SQL: Proficiency in SQL for data extraction and analysis from databases.

• Spreadsheet Software: Advanced Excel or Google Sheets for financial modeling, data manipulation, and reporting.

CRM & Automation:

• Marketing Automation: HubSpot, Marketo, or Pardot (for understanding how marketing campaigns integrate with sales and product adoption).

• Workflow Automation: Tools like Zapier or internal automation frameworks for streamlining processes between different systems.

📝 Enhancement Note: While specific tools aren't listed, the nature of the role implies a need for proficiency in enterprise-grade CRM systems, robust product analytics platforms, and business intelligence tools for data-driven decision-making. Experience with financial modeling and P&L management tools is also highly relevant. Familiarity with SQL and data warehousing concepts is beneficial for deep data analysis.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Founder-Like Energy & Ownership: A drive to take initiative, own outcomes, and contribute significantly to the company's growth, treating challenges as opportunities.

• Impact-Driven: Focus on achieving tangible results and making a real difference in the business, prioritizing work that moves the needle.

• Accelerated Learning: A commitment to continuous learning and professional development, embracing new challenges and growing rapidly within the role and company.

• Customer Obsession: A deep understanding and focus on customer needs, ensuring that product strategy and execution are centered around delivering value to businesses.

• Speed & Judgment: The ability to move quickly and make sound decisions, balancing the need for rapid progress with thoughtful consideration.

• Curiosity & First Principles: A mindset of digging deep, asking "why," and making decisions based on fundamental truths rather than assumptions.

Collaboration Style:

• Humble & Collaborative: Teams work together effectively, valuing input from all members and fostering a supportive environment.

• Cross-Functional Integration: Strong emphasis on breaking down silos and working seamlessly across Product, Engineering, Sales, Marketing, Partnerships, Finance, and Operations.

• Zero-to-One Innovation: A culture that encourages the development of novel ideas and the execution required to bring them to life.

• "Get Stuff Done" Mentality: A proactive approach to execution, ensuring that ideas are translated into tangible products and outcomes efficiently.

📝 Enhancement Note: Airwallex's stated values emphasize a high-performance, entrepreneurial culture. Candidates should demonstrate a proactive, results-oriented approach, a willingness to learn and adapt quickly, and a strong collaborative spirit. The emphasis on "founder-like energy" and "ownership" suggests an environment where individuals are empowered to take charge and drive initiatives forward.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Intense Market Competition: The fintech and spend management space is highly competitive, requiring continuous innovation and strategic differentiation to stay ahead of players like Ramp, Brex, Stripe, and others.

• Global Scalability: Ensuring that product strategies and GTM approaches are effective across diverse global markets, considering regulatory, cultural, and economic differences.

• Balancing Short-term vs. Long-term: Effectively prioritizing immediate commercial opportunities against the need for foundational platform and infrastructure investments to support future growth.

• Complex Stakeholder Alignment: Navigating and aligning the priorities of numerous internal departments (Product, Engineering, Sales, Marketing, Finance, Ops) and external partners.

• Rapid Technological Evolution: Staying abreast of and integrating emerging technologies, including AI, to maintain a competitive edge in product offerings and operational efficiency.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Strategic Leadership Development: Gaining experience in high-level strategic planning, P&L management, and global GTM execution within a fast-growing fintech company.

• Fintech & Payments Expertise: Deepening knowledge of complex financial products, payment infrastructure, and regulatory landscapes.

• Cross-Functional Business Acumen: Developing a holistic understanding of business operations through extensive collaboration with all departments.

• Mentorship & Networking: Opportunities to learn from experienced leaders within Airwallex and the broader fintech industry.

• Potential for Team Leadership: Building and managing a high-performing product strategy team.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role presents significant challenges related to market dynamics and organizational complexity, but these are directly tied to substantial growth opportunities. Candidates who thrive in dynamic, competitive environments and are eager to tackle complex strategic problems will find this role highly rewarding.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Walk me through how you would define the GTM strategy for a new corporate card feature targeting enterprise clients in Europe." (Focus on market segmentation, pricing, channel strategy, and key success metrics).

• "Imagine our Spend P&L is underperforming in Q3. What steps would you take to diagnose the issues and propose corrective actions?" (Demonstrate analytical approach, data utilization, and strategic problem-solving).

Company & Culture Questions:

• "Based on what you know about Airwallex and the fintech market, what do you see as our biggest strategic opportunity and threat in the Spend category?" (Showcase research, strategic thinking, and understanding of the competitive landscape).

• "Describe a time you had to influence a senior stakeholder or a cross-functional team that had conflicting priorities. How did you achieve alignment?" (Evaluate communication, negotiation, and collaboration skills).

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Storytelling with Data: Structure your case studies to tell a compelling story: the problem, your strategy, your actions, and the quantifiable results. Use clear, concise language.

• Focus on Impact: Emphasize the business impact of your work – revenue generated, costs saved, market share gained, or key metrics improved.

• Strategic Rationale: Clearly articulate why you made certain decisions and the strategic thinking behind your approach.

• Visual Aids: Use clear and well-designed slides or documents to present data, frameworks, and key takeaways. Avoid clutter.

• Conciseness: Be mindful of time. Prepare to present your most impactful work efficiently, leaving time for Q&A.

• Tailor to Airwallex: Where possible, subtly connect your experiences and examples to Airwallex's mission, values, and the specific challenges of the Spend product.

📝 Enhancement Note: Interview preparation should focus on demonstrating a strategic mindset, strong commercial acumen, and the ability to translate complex ideas into actionable plans with measurable outcomes. Candidates should be ready to discuss their experience in P&L management, GTM strategy, and cross-functional leadership, using specific examples from their portfolio.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this operations position:

• Submit your application through the provided link on Ashbyhq.

• Portfolio Customization: Tailor your resume and cover letter to highlight your experience in product strategy, GTM, P&L ownership, and fintech/payments, specifically mentioning your impact in driving growth and commercial success.

• Resume Optimization: Ensure your resume clearly showcases your 10+ years of experience, quantifiable achievements, and relevant skills that align with the job description's requirements, using keywords like "Fintech," "Spend Management," "P&L Management," and "GTM Strategy."

• Interview Preparation: Practice articulating your strategic thinking and GTM experience through mock interviews, focusing on how you would approach challenges specific to Airwallex's Spend product. Be ready to present key portfolio items that demonstrate your impact.

• Company Research: Thoroughly research Airwallex, its products (especially Spend), its competitors, and its stated operating principles. Understand their market position and strategic goals to better tailor your responses and demonstrate genuine interest.

⚠️ Important Notice: This enhanced job description includes AI-generated insights and operations industry-standard assumptions. All details should be verified directly with the hiring organization before making application decisions.