Senior Manager, Commissions

About the role

Chainguard's commission function is largely owned by one person today, and we're looking to change that. We're hiring a Commission Manager to build real redundancy into how we design, calculate, validate, and administer sales compensation. In this role, you'll partner closely with Sales, Finance, and Partnerships to strengthen our commission structure and prepare it for the next stage of growth.

This is not a role where you'll learn commissions on the job. You should already be fluent in commission design, plan mechanics, and payout economics. Our sales organization moves quickly and expects timely, accurate answers. You'll own the technical and analytical side of commissions, including calculation, reporting, and payout validation, while also playing an active role in compensation plan design. You'll advise on accelerators, gates, multipliers, and mega deal structures as we work to bring our commission pay rate down from an aggressive ~50% of net new bookings toward a best-in-class benchmark of ~20 to 25%.

You'll also mentor and develop our Senior Financial Analyst as she progresses toward a management track and serve as a key backup who can step in and run the commission function end-to-end when needed. This is a foundational hire with significant runway. We're not asking you to build a fully staffed team on day one, but we are asking you to own outcomes, establish scalable processes, and build the infrastructure that will allow the function to grow with the business.

Responsibilities

• Own hands-on commission calculation, validation, and reporting, including stepping into operational work when needed rather than simply overseeing it
• Partner directly with functional leaders across Sales, Solutions Engineering, and Partnerships to evaluate what's working in our compensation plans and where they need to flex
• Advise on compensation plan design, including accelerator gates, multiplier structures, and payout mechanics, and bring data-backed recommendations to leadership discussions
• Own commission structuring for mega deals as we close increasingly large transactions in the $4M to $5M+ range
• Help drive our commission pay rate from approximately 50% of net new bookings toward a 20 to 25% benchmark
• Manage global commission plans across approximately five plan types, including Account Executives, Solutions Engineers, Partnerships, BDRs, and Renewals, across multiple geographies
• Mentor and develop our Senior Financial Analyst as she grows toward a management role
• Play a key role in compensation plan design and strategy discussions
• Build scalable processes, documentation, controls, and infrastructure to support the continued growth of the commission function

Requirements

• Experience owning commissions at a high-growth software company, ideally supporting a sales organization of 300 to 400+ representatives
• Proven experience in commission design, not just calculation and execution, including familiarity with accelerator structures, plan optimization, and payout economics
• Experience structuring commissions for mega deals and other complex, large transactions
• Experience with commission management and administration tools is required; experience with EverStage is a plus but not required
• Comfort operating in a fast-paced environment where the business expects quick turnaround without compromising accuracy
• Strong executive presence and the ability to engage in peer-level conversations with Sales and Finance leadership on compensation strategy
• Experience managing global compensation programs across multiple plan types and geographies is a plus

Why this role

This role is an opportunity to build redundancy, bring deeper commission design expertise to the organization, and become a strategic partner to Sales leadership. You'll help identify where our compensation plans are too rich, where they aren't driving the right behaviors, and where they need to be redesigned. As Chainguard continues to scale, the scope and impact of this role will grow with it. For the right person, this is an opportunity to help shape how commissions work across the company and build a function that can scale alongside the business.

Pay

Base Salary Range: $174,000—$205,000 USD

Benefits

• Flexible & Remote-First Culture: Work remotely with team meetup opportunities, bi-annual destination summits, and a monthly stipend for coworking spaces, phone, and internet costs
• Our Approach to Equity: Receive stock options upon hire and promotion, participate in secondary offerings, and have 10 years to exercise your options
• 100% Covered Health Insurance: We cover 100% of your health, vision, and dental insurance premiums for you and your dependents
• ∞ Flexible Time Off: Take the time you need to recharge and reset
• 18 Weeks Paid Parental Leave: 18 weeks for birthing parents and 12 weeks for non-birthing parents, with the option to use it all at once or throughout your child's first year

About Us

We live and breathe our company values:

• We are customer obsessed — We focus on delivering solutions to our customers that create value and make their lives better.
• We have a bias for intentional action — We prioritize, plan, try things, and fail fast.
• We don't take ourselves too seriously (but we do serious work) — We are solving an important problem which takes focus, but we also like to enjoy the journey.
• We trust each other and assume good intentions — We're transparent with decisions to empower team members to make well-informed decisions.