Director, Head of Compensation

About the Role

Samsung Electronics America, Inc. (SEA), the U.S. Sales and Marketing subsidiary, is seeking a Head of Compensation to lead the design, governance, and execution of the company's compensation programs. Reporting to the Head of Total Rewards, this role owns short-term and long-term incentive planning, the annual compensation planning cycle, market research, analytics, and day-to-day compensation operations, while managing and developing a team of compensation consultants. This is a highly visible role that serves as a subject matter expert and thought partner to the Head of Total Rewards and the broader People leadership team, and acts as the dedicated compensation lead for the People (HR) function itself.

The Head of Compensation will also champion AI adoption across the compensation function, modernizing workflows, tools, and practices to increase speed, accuracy, and insight.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the primary compensation subject matter expert and trusted advisor to the Head of Total Rewards and the People leadership team on pay strategy, competitiveness, and emerging trends.
• Lead compensation programs and processes, including the annual merit, promotion, and long-term incentive program, from securing budget, award planning, executive review/approval, effective communications, and system administration.
• Manage executive compensation, including offers to Senior Directors and above, acting allowances, and retention agreements.
• Lead the design, modeling, budgeting, and administration of long-term incentive programs, including eligibility, grant strategy, vesting, and plan governance in partnership with Legal, Finance, and Total Rewards leadership.
• Own the end-to-end design and execution of short-term incentive programs on quarterly and semi-annual cycles, including payout modeling, processing, and manager/employee communications.
• Direct the annual merit increase, bonus, and promotion cycles - including budget development, guideline design, system configuration, calibration support, and executive reporting.
• Provide strategic leadership for market research and analysis, directing survey management (survey participation, peer group development, reporting, application) to develop and maintain innovative, compliant, and market-leading compensation programs.
• Oversee job architecture and leveling, and salary structure maintenance.
• Be a trusted partner and work closely with HRBPs, Executive Recruiting, and Legal on executive compensation requests such as job evaluation, compensation review and analysis, executive offers, and agreements.
• Support periodic and ad-hoc reviews of targeted populations to review pay relative to internal and external benchmarks and, where applicable, recommend adjustments.
• Oversee compensation operations, including payout support and compliance with pay equity and pay transparency requirements.
• Ensure all compensation programs comply with applicable federal, state, and local laws (e.g., pay transparency, pay equity) and align with Samsung's global compensation philosophy and governance standards.
• Manage, coach, and develop a high-performing team of compensation consultants/analysts; set priorities, allocate workload across concurrent cycles, and build depth and succession within the team.
• Establish standards, training, and documentation that raise the technical rigor and consistency of the compensation function.
• Identify, pilot, and scale AI-enabled tools and workflows across compensation modeling, analytics, market pricing, and reporting; act as the team's champion for responsible and effective AI adoption.
• Continuously evaluate compensation processes for automation and efficiency opportunities, partnering with HRIS/People Analytics and IT to implement scalable solutions.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business, Analytics, Finance, or a related field or equivalent practical experience; advanced degree a plus.
• 10+ years of progressive compensation experience, including direct experience designing and administering short-term and long-term incentive plans.
• 3+ years of people management experience, leading compensation analysts, consultants, or a similar team.
• Demonstrated experience leading annual compensation cycles (merit, bonus, promotion) end-to-end at scale.
• Strong knowledge of compensation operations, including job architecture, market pricing/benchmarking, and salary structure management.
• Clear functional understanding of core HR business practices, processes, and terminology (HRIS, compensation, recruiting, performance management) and the ability to develop solutions to address business problems and requirements.
• Experience partnering with senior HR and business leaders as a strategic advisor, not just a program administrator.
• Hands-on experience with HRIS/compensation platforms and advanced Excel/analytical skills.
• Working knowledge of federal, state, and local compensation-related regulations, including pay equity and pay transparency requirements.
• Genuine interest and practical experience applying AI tools to compensation, HR, or analytics workflows.
• Excellent project management and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to translate complex compensation concepts for non-technical audiences.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in a large, global, matrixed organization; multinational experience a plus.
• Prior experience supporting or partnering with an HR/People function on its own compensation needs.
• Familiarity with AI/automation tools applied to compensation modeling, market pricing, or reporting.
• Consulting background a plus.

Skills

• Strategic thinking balanced with hands-on operational execution.
• Strong analytical and quantitative modeling skills.
• Team leadership and talent development.
• Executive presence and stakeholder management.
• Change management and process improvement mindset.
• Discretion and sound judgment handling highly confidential data.

Benefits

Regular full-time employees (salaried or hourly) have access to benefits including:

• Medical, Dental, Vision, Life Insurance
• 401(k)
• Employee Purchase Program
• Tuition Assistance (after 12 months)
• Paid Time Off
• Student Loan Program (after 12 months)
• Wellness Incentives
• MBO bonus compensation, based on company, division, and individual performance