Principal Global Compensation Manager

We're Looking For

We are seeking a visionary and strategic Principal Global Compensation Manager to lead the design, execution, and continuous evolution of our global compensation programs. As a senior individual contributor in the Total Rewards team, you will play a critical role in scaling our compensation frameworks, driving business-aligned pay philosophies, and championing our journey toward world-class pay transparency.

What's Cool About This Job

The day to day includes:

• Compensation Leadership: Develop, evolve, and lead the company’s global cash, bonus, and equity compensation strategies, aligning them directly with business objectives and high-tech market trends.
• Pay Transparency & Equity: Act as the primary champion and architect for global pay transparency readiness (including the EU Pay Transparency Directive and US state laws), designing sustainable structures that build internal trust and ensure compliance.
• Global Cycles: Oversee the strategic direction and execution of the annual global merit, promotion, and equity refresh cycles, ensuring alignment with finance budgets and company performance within Workday utilizing the Advanced compensation module.
• Executive & Equity Compensation: Support executive compensation design and equity modeling for new hires and refresh cycles in partnership with the Sr Director, Total Rewards.
• Job Architecture & Scaling: Lead the design and evolution of our global job architecture, leveling frameworks, and geographic salary structures to support a highly distributed virtual first model.
• Business Consulting: Serve as the key strategic advisor to EE Business Partners, Talent Acquisition, and senior executive leaders on high-impact compensation decisions, organizational design, offer evaluation, and critical talent retention.
• M&A Integration: Drive compensation due diligence and post-merger integration strategies, ensuring newly acquired talent is seamlessly mapped to existing structures.

Skills And Expertise

• Experience: 10+ years of progressive compensation experience within the high-tech/SaaS industry, with at least 3 years in a lead advisory capacity.
• Workday SuperUser: Hands-on configuration experience in Workday Advanced Compensation.
• Global Domain Expertise: Deep knowledge of global compensation structures, international market dynamics, and complex regulatory environments.
• Strategic Modeling: Master-level compensation modeling, data analysis, and financial planning skills using advanced modeling tools.
• Influence & Collaboration: Proven capability to influence, consult with, and present to executive-level leadership and business stakeholders.
• Educational Background: Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Finance, HR, or a related field (or equivalent practical experience).
• Preferred Skills: Certified Compensation Professional (CCP) designation, experience leading compensation strategies with private equity firms, experience in benefit modules of Workday to support the broader Total Rewards team, low-code/no-code automation experience, hands-on experience building, testing, and deploying custom AI assistants or GPTs to automate information retrieval or text generation tasks.

Qualifications

• Education: Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Finance, HR, or a related field (or equivalent practical experience).
• Experience: 10+ years of progressive compensation experience within the high-tech/SaaS industry, with at least 3 years in a lead advisory capacity.

Pay & Benefits

Your target starting base salary range is $160,000 to $180,000. The actual base pay will vary based on various factors including job-related skills and individual qualifications objectively assessed during the interview process.

Company Stock Options (Every employee is an owner in the company)

Great Health Benefits (Medical, Dental, Vision, Life Insurance)

Fertility Benefits (IVF/Fertility drug coverage)

HSA Company contribution $750 for employee / $1500 for family

401(k) with a 4% match

Disability Insurance

Paid Family and Caregiver’s Leave

Employee Assistance Program

Generous Vacation Time

One-time $500 payment to set up your home office

Four Company Wellness Days a year

Pet Insurance

On-going education through LinkedIn Learning, Workday Learning and our Career Growth Portal

At WP Engine, we strive to have the broadest possible view of diversity, going beyond visible differences to include the background, experiences, skills, and perspectives that make each person unique. WP Engine is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and is committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity, Veteran status, or any other basis protected by federal, state, or local law.