Senior Staff Engineer leading technical vision for Airbnb's Payments Compliance organization. Owns architecture across AML, KYC, sanctions screening, and identity systems serving billions in transactions across 191 countries.
Airbnb was born in 2007 when two hosts welcomed three guests to their San Francisco home, and has since grown to over 5 million hosts who have welcomed over 2 billion guest arrivals in almost every country across the globe. Every day, hosts offer unique stays and experiences that make it possible for guests to connect with communities in a more authentic way.
Airbnb Payments team allows any two people in the world to frictionlessly exchange money with easy to use payments services. It is a core strategy to fulfill Airbnb's belongs anywhere mission. We are building a world-class payments platform that moves billions of dollars, in 191 countries, with 75 currencies, through a complex ecosystem of payments partners. We build and maintain our own in-house global payments platform because no solution exists with the global reach needed. As the platform grows we'll be adding new payment partners, global licenses, compliance and regulation controls, and building new payment experiences for our guests and hosts.
Airbnb's business grows rapidly year over year, and so does Airbnb Payments' processing volume. Payments Compliance is an essential part of the Payments organization. Without it, Airbnb can be subject to fines and even forbidden from conducting business in certain markets.
As a Senior Staff Engineer and Technical Lead for the Payments Compliance organization, you would own the technical vision and architectural direction across the full Compliance engineering landscape — spanning Policy Enforcement, Identity, Screening, Auditing, and Compliance Experience. You will ensure our compliance systems are cohesive, scalable, and aligned with broader company priorities as we navigate an increasingly complex global regulatory environment.
We are looking for a seasoned technical leader who can operate at the intersection of deep systems expertise and organizational influence. As a Senior Staff Engineer, you will serve as the connective tissue across Compliance's multi-year strategic initiatives — defining how components fit together, identifying where capabilities can be shared rather than duplicated, and ensuring we leverage platform investments from partner teams. Your decisions will directly affect how Airbnb meets obligations such as Anti-Money Laundering (AML), Know Your Customer (KYC), and sanctions screening while minimizing operational cost and customer friction.
This role extends well beyond the Compliance organization itself. You will partner directly with cross-organizational engineering teams, as well as cross-functional stakeholders across Product, Content, Legal, and Design. The technical choices you make carry direct financial and legal exposure — requiring the judgment, depth of expertise, and organizational credibility to drive high-stakes design tradeoffs across team boundaries.
Your Location:
This position is US - Remote Eligible. The role may include occasional work at an Airbnb office or attendance at offsites, as agreed to with your manager. While the position is Remote Eligible, you must live in a state where Airbnb, Inc. has a registered entity. Click here for the up-to-date list of excluded states. This list is continuously evolving, so please check back with us if the state you live in is on the exclusion list . If your position is employed by another Airbnb entity, your recruiter will inform you what states you are eligible to work from.
Our Commitment To Inclusion & Belonging:
Airbnb is committed to working with the broadest talent pool possible. We believe diverse ideas foster innovation and engagement, and allow us to attract creatively-led people, and to develop the best products, services and solutions. All qualified individuals are encouraged to apply.
We strive to also provide a disability inclusive application and interview process. If you are a candidate with a disability and require reasonable accommodation in order to submit an application, please contact us at: reasonableaccommodations@airbnb.com. Please include your full name, the role you’re applying for and the accommodation necessary to assist you with the recruiting process.
We ask that you only reach out to us if you are a candidate whose disability prevents you from being able to complete our online application.
How We'll Take Care of You:
Our job titles may span more than one career level. The actual base pay is dependent upon many factors, such as: training, transferable skills, work experience, business needs and market demands. The base pay range is subject to change and may be modified in the future. This role may also be eligible for bonus, equity, benefits, and Employee Travel Credits.