Total Rewards Manager

General Matter • Los Angeles, CA

1d • $140,000 - $190,000

About The Position

As Total Rewards Manager at General Matter, you will build and own the company’s compensation and benefits infrastructure and operate it day to day while maturing its strategy, philosophy, and implementation. You will develop defensible approaches to benchmarking specialized roles and design rewards programs suited to both engineering staff and around-the-clock nuclear facility operators and technicians. You will gather data, build models, make tradeoffs explicit, and provide clear recommendations to leadership.

This is a hands-on, strategic role that works with partners across engineering, nuclear operations, infrastructure, construction, security, legal, finance, and people. You will use a modern HR and compensation technology stack, including Rippling, Carta, and Pave, and build tools with AI. The company describes its work as fast-paced and high-intensity, with an emphasis on ownership and impact.

Requirements

• Evidence of exceptional ability, such as rewards programs built, models or tools created, or problems solved without an established playbook.
• At least 5 years of Total Rewards experience, with hands-on depth in both compensation and benefits.
• Experience running benefits renewals, sourcing and implementing vendors, and building and managing a benefits budget.
• Hands-on experience with market benchmarking, compensation analysis, and supporting or running compensation review cycles.
• Working knowledge of pay transparency laws, including California requirements.
• Fluency with modern HR and compensation tools such as Rippling, Carta, and Pave.
• Experience using AI tools to build models, automations, or internal tools for compensation work.
• Strong analytical and Excel or Sheets modeling skills, with the ability to turn data into clear recommendations.
• An exemplary record of handling highly confidential information with discretion.
• Ability to work extended hours and weekends as necessary.

Nice To Haves

• Experience administering equity and stock option programs, including grants, refreshes, vesting, and cap table coordination in Carta.
• Experience designing compensation and benefits for hourly or shift-based workforces, including shift differentials, overtime, and premium pay.
• Experience designing benefits and compensation across multiple states.
• Experience at a high-growth startup, especially as an early or first Total Rewards hire.
• Experience in nuclear, energy, aerospace/defense, advanced manufacturing, or other regulated industrial environments.

Responsibilities

• Own market benchmarking, manage salary surveys, and build defensible benchmarks for specialized roles with limited survey coverage.
• Build and maintain compensation bands, leveling alignment, and guidance for offers, promotions, and market adjustments.
• Conduct compensation analysis, including internal equity reviews, offer modeling, and cost projections, and present recommendations to leadership.
• Run compensation review cycles from start to finish, including budget modeling, manager guidance, calibration support, and communicating outcomes.
• Partner with Talent Acquisition on competitive offers and with Finance on headcount and compensation budgeting.
• Own benefits programs end-to-end, including medical, dental, vision, 401(k), and wellness offerings.
• Lead annual benefits renewals, manage broker and carrier relationships, analyze plan performance and cost trends, and negotiate outcomes.
• Source, evaluate, and implement benefits vendors as company needs and workforce grow.
• Build and manage the benefits budget, forecast costs, and identify savings while maintaining quality.
• Plan and run open enrollment and make benefits understandable and accessible to employees.
• Own pay transparency compliance across California and other states where the company hires, including salary ranges, pay data reporting, and recordkeeping.
• Maintain compliance with applicable benefits regulations, including ERISA, ACA, COBRA, and HIPAA, in partnership with brokers, administrators, and counsel.
• Handle compensation and employee data with strict confidentiality and judgment.
• Administer and optimize the Total Rewards technology stack, including Rippling, Carta, and Pave, to keep data clean, connected, and trustworthy.
• Use AI to build tools such as compensation calculators, offer modeling tools, cycle workflows, and leadership dashboards.
• Write clear documentation and guidance explaining compensation practices to managers and employees.

Benefits

• Medical coverage
• Vision coverage
• Dental coverage
• 401(k) retirement plan
• Potential eligibility for long-term incentives in the form of stock options for full-time hires
• Wellness offerings

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager
• Education Level: No Education Listed