Lead Payments Operations, Incident Management

About Airbnb Capability Center: Airbnb Capability Centre was set up in 2017 in Gurgaon. We provide specialized operational services which enable Airbnb's business and functions across the world. These include Finance Technology, Finance Shared Services, Analytics, Engineering, amongst other verticals. 

Our offices are home to multi-skilled teams with an insightful and deep understanding of our business and community. We're hospitable, fun and we welcome all with open arms. 

 

The Community you will join: 

Our small and extremely capable team of Gurgaon-based colleagues strive to make the impossible happen for our inbound and outbound travellers within this big and diverse market. ACC is providing varied services under Community Support thereby providing world-class customer experience to our customers. Besides this, ACC is also building deep capabilities for different verticals like Homes, Finance Technology Group, Finance Shared Services, Payments, Analytics, etc. 

The Difference You Will Make: 

As a Payments Operations Lead focused on Incident Management, you will establish and manage a Payments-specific incident management framework that complements Airbnb’s existing company-wide incident management and escalation processes. This role will ensure Payments incidents, issues, and escalations are captured, coordinated, and resolved with the speed, rigor, and regulatory nuance they require.

You will act as the primary point of contact for Payments Operations incidents, issues, and escalations, working across global and regional teams to monitor performance, drive urgent remediation, and ensure compliance with regulated payment entity requirements. By coordinating escalations and embedding institutional learnings, you will play a critical role in strengthening the resiliency and reliability of Airbnb Payments.

 

A Typical Day: 

Payments Incident Management

• Act as the single point of contact for Payments Operations incidents, issues, and escalations (excluding Tech Foundation incidents).
• Partner cross-functionally to develop and maintain a Payments Incident, Issues, and Escalation Management framework—defining how incidents, issues, and escalations are tracked, tiered, sized, escalated, and reported. 
• Partner closely with Airbnb’s company-wide incident and escalation processes, ensuring Payments-specific obligations and nuances are integrated.

 

Monitoring & Escalation

• Continuously monitor daily Payments dashboards at the global and market level (transaction success, payout timeliness, third-party partner performance).
• Escalate material variances to Product, Engineering, Analytics, CS, or external providers as needed.
• Drive cross-functional resolution of incidents, issues, and escalations affecting hosts, guests, or partners.

Regional & Regulatory Nuances

• Collaborate with Regional Managers to remediate localized incidents, issues, and escalations (e.g., regulatory triggers, sanctions, or payout issues).
• Incorporate requirements of regulated payment entities into incident, issues, and escalation handling, ensuring compliance with SLA and reporting obligations.

    Continuous Improvement

• Capture learnings from incidents, issues, and escalations to propose updates to our global payment standards and operating procedures, SLAs, or SOPs that reduce recurrence.
• Use incident, issue, and escalation and performance data to highlight systemic issues and recommend improvements in resiliency, cost efficiency, and customer experience.
• Support adoption of new processes, ensuring cross-functional alignment.

Success in this Role Looks Like.

• Payments Operations incidents are resolved faster, with clearer accountability and reduced escalations to senior leadership.
• High visibility dashboards and reporting exist for incidents, enabling proactive issue detection and rapid mobilization.
• Regulatory and entity-specific SLA obligations are consistently met, reducing compliance risk.
• Clear institutional learning loops exist, with incidents driving concrete improvements to policies, SLAs, and product capabilities.
• Payments Operations is regarded as a trusted escalation partner by Product, Engineering, Support, Legal, and Regional teams.

 

Your Expertise: 

• 8+ years of experience in payments operations, financial services, or incident / issue management.
• 5+ years in incident, issue, escalation management for operations
• Strong understanding of payments systems, payout flows, and partner dependencies.
• Demonstrated ability to manage complex, high-stakes escalations with urgency and precision.
• Experience working with regulated financial entities or in environments with strict SLA requirements.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to turn performance data into insights and actions.
• Excellent cross-functional communication and collaboration skills.

 

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.