Compensation Programs Lead

What you will do

Compensation Planning & Cycle Execution

• Own the end-to-end strategy, planning, and execution of Rippling's annual and midyear merit cycles — timeline management, budget tracking, system configuration, communications, and post-cycle analysis.
• Serve as the primary operational partner to People Business Partners throughout every cycle, proactively removing blockers, resolving edge cases, and translating compensation mechanics into clear guidance for managers and employees.
• Partner with Finance to build and maintain accurate compensation budgets; ensure leaders understand both the numbers and the rationale behind them throughout the planning cycle.
• Leverage RipplingAI and other tools to automate the comp planning process: benchmarking, budgeting, program enablement/communication.
• Partner with the Product team to translate business requirements into skills, workflows that Rippling AI can run at regular intervals removing any comp analyst intervention.
• Identify comp trends, surface issues, and continuously raise the bar on comp programs quality and program delivery.

Compensation Launches & Operational Readiness

• Drive compensation plan launches, mid-cycle changes, and operational readiness across xfn teams, including variable pay programs.
• Coordinate cross-functionally with Finance, Legal, and People Business Partners to ensure plan changes are communicated clearly, implemented accurately, and compliant with applicable regulations.
• Build enablement resources — calculators, FAQs, manager guides — that help leaders understand and apply compensation programs effectively.
• Monitor compensation trends and proactively flag issues or opportunities that should influence program design.

Compensation Planning Systems & Program Design

• Contribute to the evolution of compensation program design, including market analysis, job architecture, pay range management, and pay equity reviews.
• Own design inputs for compensation software, including design inputs, UAT and change management.
• Partner with the Product team to ensure the planning tool reflects the correct program logic, org structures, and workflows ahead of each cycle.
• Identify process inefficiencies and build tools — dashboards, custom apps, automation — that make the function faster and more scalable.

Market Analysis & Program Intelligence

• Lead Rippling's annual compensation market analysis: survey participation, job matching, and synthesis of findings into competitive positioning recommendations.
• Maintain current awareness of compensation trends — pay equity regulation, skills-based pay, how AI is reshaping job families, and evolving incentive best practices in high-growth tech.
• Understand the mechanics of private company equity (including pre-IPO equity) and incorporate equity considerations into total compensation frameworks and communications.

What you will need

• 8+ years of compensation experience, including meaningful time in a business-facing or cross-functional role at a high-growth technology company.
• Proven track record owning complex, multi-stakeholder compensation cycles end-to-end — on time, with high accuracy, and ownership.
• Experience designing or supporting variable comp, equity compensation.
• Hands-on experience configuring and managing compensation planning cycles through a full cycle using any software.
• Substantial command of compensation fundamentals: job matching, market pricing, leveling, job architecture, equity mechanics (private and public), and cyclical programs.
• Clear, direct communicator — able to translate compensation mechanics into language that managers, employees, and senior leaders can actually use.
• A product mindset for comp programs: you think about who the user is and design for their experience, not just what is technically and legally compliant.
• Comfort with AI tools and a strong bias toward using them to reduce manual lift and move faster.
• Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business, Finance, Economics, or a related field.