Senior Manager, Sales Compensation

Cohesity•Santa Clara, CA

2d•$200,700 - $223,000•Hybrid

About The Position

Cohesity is seeking a Senior Manager, Sales Compensation to help lead the design, administration, and continuous improvement of our sales compensation programs. This role owns the operational backbone of sales compensation — monthly commission payroll processing, SOX and internal controls, and system administration — while also managing and developing the team members who execute it day to day. The ideal candidate pairs deep sales compensation operations experience with an AI-first mindset, using AI-native tools to automate manual processes, strengthen controls, and increase the speed and accuracy of reporting to sales leadership and Finance.

Requirements

Proven experience managing sales compensation operations, including commission system administration (SAP Callidus, Xactly, or similar) at a management level.
Demonstrated ownership of SOX and business controls processes, with the judgment to identify and remediate control gaps.
A track record of leading and developing a team, with the ability to balance hands-on execution with people leadership.
Comfortable using AI assistants (e.g., Claude, ChatGPT, Copilot) and automation/scripting to eliminate manual work, build resilient models, and accelerate reporting — a genuine 'future-of-finance' mindset.
Strong analytical skills, including complex scenario modeling and analysis of large participant and commission datasets.
Advanced Excel skills, with experience in Salesforce, Workday, Anaplan, NetSuite, and Tableau (or equivalent) applications.
Ability to distill complex compensation data into clear, concise recommendations for financial and non-financial leaders.
Highly organized and detail-oriented, with the agility to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced, scaling environment.
Strong written and verbal communication skills, with experience presenting to executive and sales leadership.
Demonstrated ability to leverage AI tools to enhance productivity, streamline workflows, and support decision making.
Bachelor's degree required; MBA or equivalent experience a plus.
7+ years of relevant experience in sales compensation, finance, or accounting operations, including prior people management or team lead experience.
Hands-on experience with sales compensation or commission systems (SAP Callidus, Xactly, or similar) and SOX/business controls.
Experience in a high-tech or B2B SaaS environment preferred.

Nice To Haves

Experience operationalizing AI tools or automation to improve finance or operations workflows strongly preferred.

Responsibilities

Own the end-to-end monthly, quarterly, and annual sales compensation payroll process, ensuring commission payments to plan participants are accurate, timely, and properly reconciled with Payroll and Accounting.
Manage the Enterprise Incentive Management (EIM) system (SAP Callidus Commissions), including participant setup, plan configuration, and rollout of plan changes and new system features.
Lead the Sales Compensation team in the administration of compensation plans, participant data management, and resolution of commission calculation questions and disputes.
Partner with sales leadership to design and optimize sales compensation plans that align with Cohesity's go-to-market strategy and financial objectives.
Own the monthly, quarterly, and annual SOX and business controls program for sales compensation, ensuring system accuracy, data integrity, and audit readiness.
Develop and maintain policies, procedures, and documentation that support internal control compliance and consistent recordkeeping across the compensation lifecycle.
Serve as the primary point of contact for internal and external auditors on sales compensation controls and processes.
Identify and lead process improvement initiatives across compensation administration, controls, and reporting, with a focus on scalability as the sales organization grows.
Operationalize AI-native tools and automation (e.g., AI assistants, scripting, workflow automation) to streamline repetitive commission processing, controls testing, and reporting workstreams.
Build and maintain compensation analytics, dashboards, and predictive models — leveraging AI to surface anomalies, forecast commission expense, and assess plan effectiveness.
Continually evaluate and evolve sales compensation systems and processes, championing best practices and change management across Finance and Sales.
Lead, coach, and develop Sales Compensation Analysts, including performance management, prioritization, and workload distribution across the team.
Build strong relationships with cross-functional partners in Sales Operations, HR, Payroll, and Accounting to ensure clean, consistent participant and compensation data.
Prepare and present clear compensation analytics, forecasts, and plan performance updates to Finance and Sales leadership.