Compensation Lead

Plaid•San Francisco, CA

1d•$122,880 - $192,000

About The Position

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.

Requirements

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 Haves

private/pre-IPO experience
EPD client support
Plaid tech stack familiarity

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