Compensation Program Manager, Rewards & Market Strategy

Adobe; San Jose (CA); On-site; USD 117,000 - 169,000; Full time

Job summary

Adobe in San Jose, CA is seeking a Compensation Program Manager to lead end-to-end global rewards cycles, drive market pricing improvements, and partner across HR, Finance, and Talent Management.

You will own promotions, merit, adjustments, bonuses, and equity cycles, ensuring consistency with the pay-for-performance philosophy. Strong Workday and PowerBI skills are highly valued in this evolving compensation function.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of compensation experience with global cycle ownership.
• Market pricing and salary benchmarking knowledge; Radford survey experience.
• Clear communicator who can translate compensation complexity for managers and leaders.
• Collaborative partner with cross-functional alignment.
• Proficient in Workday compensation modules; workflow experience is a plus.
• PowerBI experience; prototype compensation metrics/dashboards for Analytics.
• Comfortable with ambiguity and driven by ownership as Adobe's compensation function evolves.

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end planning and execution of the annual rewards cycle—merit, promotions, adjustments, bonus, and equity—partnering with HRBPs, Talent Management/Development, and Finance at scale for global managers.
• Own the global promotion cycle from design to execution, ensuring fairness and alignment with our compensation philosophy across regions.
• Enhance and own Adobe's annual market pricing process, advise on methodology, build new tooling, and establish a repeatable cadence for competitive positioning.
• Collaborate with Talent Management to align pay-for-performance philosophy and ensure compensation and talent strategies move together.
• Develop manager and HRBP-facing guidance and communications to build capability and reduce cycle concerns over time.
• Leverage Workday and PowerBI to build cycle reporting, monitor program health, and deliver data-driven insights.
• Identify and drive process improvements to increase cycle efficiency and reduce manual effort year over year.

Skills

Compensation experience

Communication skills

Cross-functional work

Ownership mindset

Ambiguity tolerance

Tools

Workday

PowerBI

Job description

The Opportunity

As a Compensation Program Manager, you will lead the end-to-end management of Adobe's global rewards and promotion cycles and work to improve our annual market pricing methodology and system. You will work alongside Talent Management to ensure the pay-for-performance philosophy is clear and applied consistently. This is a role that will require compensation expertise, precision, and ability to build something new on established frameworks.

This position is in the San Jose, CA office.

What You'll Do

• Lead end-to-end planning and execution of the annual rewards cycle — merit, promotions, adjustments, bonus, and equity — partnering with HRBPs, Talent Management/Development, and Finance to at scale for global people managers
• Own the global promotion cycle from design through execution, ensuring consistency, fairness, and alignment with our compensation philosophy across all regions
• Enhance and own Adobe's annual market pricing process, advising on the methodology, building new tooling, and creating a cadence that gives the team a structured, repeatable approach to competitive positioning
• Collaborate closely with Talent Management to inform and align pay-for-performance philosophy, ensuring compensation and talent strategies are in lockstep on how Adobe rewards impact and growth
• Develop manager and HRBP-facing guidance and communications that build organizational capability and reduce cycle concerns over time
• Leverage Workday and PowerBI to build cycle reporting, monitor program health, and deliver data-driven insights before, during, and after each cycle
• Identify and drive process improvements that increase cycle efficiency, partnering with the broader team, to reduce manual effort year-over-year

What You Need To Succeed

• 5+ years of compensation experience with demonstrated ownership of annual rewards or promotion cycle execution in a global environment
• Strong working knowledge of market pricing and salary benchmarking; Radford survey experience
• Clear, confident communicator who can translate compensation complexity into plain language for managers, HRBPs, and senior leaders
• Collaborative partner; experience working cross-functionally to build alignment
• Strong proficiency with Workday compensation modules; experience building or maintaining cycle workflows a strong plus
• PowerBI or comparable data visualization experience; ability to prototype compensation metrics and dashboards for the Analytics team to configure
• Comfortable with ambiguity and motivated by ownership — Adobe's compensation function is evolving and this role will evolve with it

About Adobe

Adobe empowers everyone to create through innovative platforms and tools that unleash creativity, productivity and personalized customer experiences. Adobe’s industry-leading offerings including Adobe Acrobat Studio, Adobe Express, Adobe Firefly, Creative Cloud, Adobe Experience Platform, Adobe Experience Manager, and GenStudio enable people and businesses to turn ideas into impact, powered by AI and driven by human ingenuity.

Our 30,000+ employees worldwide are creating the future and raising the bar as we drive the next decade of growth. We’re on a mission to hire the very best and believe in creating a company culture where all employees are empowered to make an impact. At Adobe, we believe that great ideas can come from anywhere in the organization. The next big idea could be yours.

Let’s Adobe together

Learn more about Adobe life, including our values and culture, focus on people, purpose and community, Adobe for All, comprehensive benefits programs, the stories we tell, the customers we serve, and how you can help us advance our mission of empowering everyone to create.

Adobe is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. We do not discriminate based on gender, race or color, ethnicity or national origin, age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran status, or any other protected characteristic. Learn more.

Adobe aims to make our Careers website and recruiting process accessible to any and all users. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation to navigate our website or complete the application process, email [e-mail] or call [phone].

AI Use Guidelines for Interviews

Our interviews are designed to reflect your own skills and thinking. The use of AI or recording tools during live interviews is not permitted unless explicitly invited by the interviewer or approved in advance as part of a reasonable accommodation. If these tools are used inappropriately or in a way that misrepresents your work, your application may not move forward in the process.

At Adobe, we empower employees to innovate with AI — and we look for candidates eager to do the same. As part of the hiring experience, we provide clear guidance on where AI is encouraged during the process and where it’s restricted during live interviews. See how we think about AI in the hiring experience.

Expected Pay Range

Our compensation reflects the cost of labor across several U.S. geographic markets, and we pay differently based on those defined markets. The U.S. pay range for this position is $79,800 -- $168,700 annually. Pay within this range varies by work location and may also depend on job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary range for the job location during the hiring process.

In California, the pay range for this position is $116,500 - $168,700

At Adobe, for sales roles starting salaries are expressed as total target compensation (TTC = base + commission), and short-term incentives are in the form of sales commission plans. Non-sales roles starting salaries are expressed as base salary and short-term incentives are in the form of the Annual Incentive Plan (AIP).

In addition, certain roles may be eligible for long-term incentives in the form of a new hire equity award.

State-Specific Notices

California

Fair Chance Ordinances

Adobe will consider qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records for employment in accordance with state and local laws and “fair chance” ordinances.

Colorado

Application Window Notice

If this role is open to hiring in Colorado (as listed on the job posting), the application window will remain open until at least the date and time stated above in Pacific Time, in compliance with Colorado pay transparency regulations. If this role does not have Colorado listed as a hiring location, no specific application window applies, and the posting may close at any time based on hiring needs.

Massachusetts

Massachusetts Legal Notice

It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.