Compensation Lead

About the role

We believe that the way people interact with their finances will drastically improve in the next few years. We’re dedicated to empowering this transformation by building the tools and experiences that thousands of developers use to create their own products. Plaid powers the tools millions of people rely on to live a healthier financial life. We work with thousands of companies like Venmo, SoFi, several of the Fortune 500, and many of the largest banks to make it easy for people to connect their financial accounts to the apps and services they want to use. Plaid’s network covers 12,000 financial institutions across the US, Canada, UK and Europe. Founded in 2013, the company is headquartered in San Francisco with offices in New York, Seattle, Washington D.C., Raleigh, London, and Amsterdam. The Compensation team designs, manages, and evolves Plaid’s compensation strategy to attract, retain, and motivate world-class talent. We make sure compensation is fair inside the company and competitive in the market. We work on programs that connect directly to Plaid’s business goals and employee experience — using data and insight to make equitable, well-informed decisions. Our work spans cash and equity program design, annual and mid-year review cycles, benchmarking, and exec comp support. In this role, you will own compensation support for specific client groups and take the lead on cycle operations and comp tooling across the team. You’ll work alongside a sharp team and closely with Plaid’s Head of Total Rewards. You’ll have clear ownership of your domain from day one, with real exposure to equity program mechanics, exec comp, and board-level deliverables.

Responsibilities

• Own comp support for specific client groups — offers, promos, manager/HRBP questions — with a high bar for speed and accuracy
• Lead configuration and rollout of annual and mid-year compensation cycles in Workday and comp tooling
• Manage and maintain Plaid’s comp systems: Compa, Pave, and external survey tools (Compensia, Radford)
• Run benchmarking analysis — job matching, market data pulls, competitive pay positioning
• Maintain compensation band and zone data; ensure ranges stay current and accurate
• Build and maintain complex models in support of program design and leadership decisions
• Partner closely with other team members on high-priority workstreams and peak-season capacity

Qualifications

• 5–8+ years of experience in compensation or total rewards
• Hands-on experience owning or co-owning a compensation cycle (YE or mid-year)
• Benchmarking experience: job matching, survey submissions, competitive analysis
• Strong analytical skills — you build and own complex models, not just populate templates
• RSU/equity experience — you understand how equity comp works and can explain it clearly
• Systems fluency — comfortable in at least one comp tool (Workday, Compa, Pave, or equivalent)
• Nice to have: private/pre-IPO experience, EPD client support, Plaid tech stack familiarity

Benefits

• Comprehensive benefit plan including medical, dental, vision, and 401(k)
• Additional compensation in the form of equity and/or commission (dependent on position)

Pay

Compensation Range: $122,880 - $192,000