Director of Operations – Cross-Border Payments

About Velaro

Velaro is building cross-border payment infrastructure for businesses operating between Latin America and Asia.

We combine local payment rails, global financial infrastructure, FX and stablecoin settlement to help businesses move money across borders faster, more efficiently, and with greater transparency.

As we expand our payment corridors and operations across Brazil, Latin America and Asia, we are looking for a Director of Operations to build and lead the operational engine behind how money moves through Velaro.

About the Role

This is not a process-coordination role.

You will own the end-to-end operational infrastructure supporting Velaro's cross-border payment flows — from funding and liquidity to settlement, payout and reconciliation.

You will work closely with Product, Engineering, Compliance, Finance, Commercial teams, as well as banks, payment providers, liquidity partners and other financial counterparties to ensure every transaction is executed reliably, efficiently and compliantly.

More importantly, you will help us turn operational complexity into scalable systems.

What You'll Do

• Lead the operational execution of cross-border transactions across fiat and digital asset rails, including funding, FX conversion, stablecoin settlement, local payout and transaction completion.
• Ensure transactions are settled accurately and on time. Build robust reconciliation, exception management and escalation processes across bank accounts, wallets, payment providers and counterparties.
• Coordinate closely with Treasury, banking partners, payment providers, OTC and liquidity partners to ensure sufficient liquidity and reliable execution across payment corridors.
• Design SOPs, controls, workflows and operational playbooks that allow Velaro to scale transaction volume and enter new markets without scaling manual work at the same rate.
• Identify opportunities for automation and work closely with Product and Engineering to turn operational requirements into systems and tooling.
• Own the operational response to failed, delayed or unusual transactions.
• Establish escalation procedures, business continuity plans and incident-response frameworks to maintain reliable payment operations across markets and time zones.
• Manage the operational relationship with banks, payment providers, exchanges, liquidity providers and other infrastructure partners.
• Monitor partner performance, resolve operational issues and identify infrastructure gaps as Velaro expands into new corridors.

What We're Looking For

• 8+ years of experience in payments, fintech, banking, treasury operations, FX or financial infrastructure
• Experience leading payment or financial operations in a fast-growing environment
• Strong understanding of cross-border payment flows, settlement and reconciliation
• Hands-on experience working with banks, PSPs, payment networks, FX providers or liquidity partners
• Familiarity with both traditional financial rails and digital asset / stablecoin settlement
• Experience operating in regulated financial environments, with a practical understanding of KYC/KYB, AML and operational risk controls
• Proven ability to design and scale operational processes, SOPs and controls
• Strong analytical mindset and experience building operational KPIs and dashboards
• Ability to manage incidents and make sound decisions under pressure
• Strong stakeholder management skills across business, technical, compliance and external partner teams
• Professional fluency in English and Portuguese

Nice to Have

• Experience in B2B cross-border payments, trade payments or treasury infrastructure
• Experience with Latin American payment markets, particularly Brazil and PIX
• Experience with stablecoins, digital assets, on/off-ramp infrastructure or OTC settlement
• Experience launching new payment corridors or markets
• Familiarity with API-based payment infrastructure and operational automation
• Mandarin proficiency