Director of Compensation

Western Digital • San Jose, CA

2d

About The Position

Job Summary: The Director of Compensation leads the strategic design and operational execution of the company’s compensation programs. This role ensures that all compensation practices—including base pay, variable pay, equity, job architecture, and market analysis—are competitive, compliant, scalable, and aligned with the company’s strategic goals. The Director partners closely with senior HR leaders and business executives, advising on compensation strategies to attract, retain, and motivate top talent.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Finance, Business, or related field; Master’s or MBA preferred.
• CCP (Certified Compensation Professional) certification highly preferred.
• 10+ years of progressive compensation experience, with at least 3–5 years in a leadership role.
• Experience managing compensation operations.
• Strong analytical, project management, and strategic thinking skills.
• Proficiency with compensation tools and platforms (e.g., Workday, SAP SuccessFactors, MarketPay).
• Excellent communication and influencing skills; proven ability to work with senior leadership.

Nice To Haves

• Experience supporting high-growth, matrixed, or global organizations.
• Ability to lead through ambiguity and build scalable processes in dynamic environments.

Responsibilities

• Strategic Leadership & Partnership Develop and drive a holistic compensation strategy that supports business objectives and employee experience.
• Serve as a trusted advisor to senior leadership and HR Business Partners on compensation philosophy, pay decisions, and organizational design.
• Provide executive-level consultation on compensation-related issues including workforce structure, retention risks, and leadership transitions.
• Compensation Operations Ownership Lead the design and execution of compensation operations, including:
• Job architecture and leveling frameworks
• Annual compensation cycles (merit, bonus, equity)
• Global market benchmarking and survey participation
• Compensation tools and systems (e.g., HRIS, comp planning platforms)
• Ensure operational excellence, accuracy, and scalability in all compensation processes.
• Governance, Compliance & Risk Mitigation Own compensation governance, including policies, process documentation, and approval workflows.
• Ensure compliance with applicable regulations (FLSA, pay equity, transparency laws, etc.).
• Partner with Legal, HR, and Finance on audit support, reporting, and risk mitigation related to compensation practices.
• Analytics & Insights In partnership with systems & analytics leader, oversee compensation analytics and reporting to inform decision-making across the organization.
• Monitor compensation trends and market intelligence; provide recommendations to maintain competitive positioning.
• Use data to identify pay equity issues, workforce cost trends, and reward optimization opportunities.

Benefits

• We offer a comprehensive package of benefits including paid vacation time; paid sick leave; medical/dental/vision insurance; life, accident and disability insurance; tax-advantaged flexible spending and health savings accounts; employee assistance program; other voluntary benefit programs such as supplemental life and AD&D, legal plan, pet insurance, critical illness, accident and hospital indemnity; tuition reimbursement; transit; the Applause Program; employee stock purchase plan; and the Western Digital Savings 401(k) Plan.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees