Manager, Global Sales Commissions

couchbaseinc; Raleigh (NC); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Couchbase, the operational data platform for AI, is seeking a Manager, Global Sales Commissions in Raleigh, NC (hybrid, 3 days/week in office). You will lead, modernize, and scale our global sales compensation administration, partnering across Sales, RevOps, FP&A, Accounting, Payroll, and IT to ensure accurate plans and timely payments.

Bring 8+ years in sales compensation and a track record of transforming commission operations, plus strong Excel and stakeholder management skills.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of progressive experience in sales compensation management, sales finance, or financial analytics.
• Transformation track record in standardizing or modernizing commission operations.
• Experience leading direct reports and offshore teams (India) and external resources.
• Ability to align senior stakeholders across Sales, RevOps, Finance, Payroll, Accounting and IT.
• Expertise in Excel and multi‑tier payout analyses.

Responsibilities

• Strategy & Process Transformation: modernize and scale commission administration globally with automation.
• Operations & Execution: manage end-to-end global sales compensation plans with accuracy and on-time payouts.
• Systems & Analytics: oversee the commission software environment (Xactly) and generate insights for leadership.
• Leadership & Collaboration: lead Commission Analysts and coordinate across cross-functional teams.

Skills

Excel Expertise

People management

Stakeholder alignment

Sales compensation

Analytical thinking

Tools

Xactly

Job description

Couchbase, the operational data platform for AI, empowers businesses to succeed by bringing data to life in new ways. Major market-leading companies rely on Couchbase for mission critical operational, analytical, mobile and AI workloads. Built to replace legacy infrastructure and fragmented data services, Couchbase empowers enterprises with a unified platform architected for performance, flexibility and global scale.

With Couchbase, organizations bring their data to life, launching game‑changing customer experiences, exploring the limitless potential of AI, and seamlessly extending applications from the cloud to the edge and beyond. Couchbase's AI‑ready technology and enterprise partnership model eliminate complexity and reduce total cost of ownership, enabling teams to stay agile, innovative and secure.

Couchbase believes data should never slow you down, but act as the foundation for your next breakthrough. Discover why Couchbase is trusted to help the world's biggest players scale, move fast and stay resilient, no matter what's next on their roadmap. Visit couchbase.com and follow us on LinkedIn and X.

Manager, Global Sales Commissions

Location: Raleigh, NC (hybrid, 3 days/week in office)

Reports To: Director of Global Payroll & Equity

As the Manager, Global Sales Commissions , you will lead, modernize, and scale the administration of our global sales compensation program. In this pivotal position, you will drive strategic process transformation-establishing robust, automated, and efficient commission workflows from the ground up to support our rapidly growing organization.

You will serve as a primary strategic partner across Sales, RevOps, FP&A, Accounting, Payroll, and IT to ensure commission plans are administered accurately, complex adjustments are handled swiftly, and payments are delivered seamlessly. If you are a collaborative leader who thrives in a dynamic environment and excels at navigating financially and operationally critical decisions, we invite you to make a lasting impact with our team.

What You'll Do

Strategy & Process Transformation

• Modernize & Scale: Drive continuous process improvement and operational change to elevate commission administration from legacy methods into a streamlined, highly automated, and scalable global model.
• Policy & Frameworks: Draft, establish, and maintain comprehensive commission‑related policy and procedure documentation.

Operations & Execution

• End-to-End Execution: Oversee the end-to-end administration of global sales compensation plans with meticulous attention to detail, maintaining 100% payout accuracy and on‑time distribution.
• Agile Adjustments: Rapidly process plan modifications, crediting adjustments, compensation exceptions, and mid-year plan updates with high precision.
• Governance & Audit: Ensure all variable pay operations strictly adhere to internal standards; execute daily financial controls and serve as the primary operational liaison for external audit requests.

Systems & Analytics

• Software Management: Supervise and optimize our commission software environment (Xactly), partnering with internal IT and external consultants to implement new functionality, updates, and custom rules.
• Reporting & Insights: Build monthly/quarterly reporting, prepare commission and sales incentive payment summaries, execute what‑if financial scenario analyses, and deliver plan effectiveness insights to executive leadership.

Leadership & Collaboration

• Team Leadership: Directly manage, coach, and performance‑manage a dedicated team of Commission Analysts based in Bangalore, India, alongside external implementation consultants.
• Cross‑Functional Alignment: Partner seamlessly across RevOps, Sales Leadership, FP&A, Accounting, Payroll, and IT to align compensation strategies, financial impacts, data pipelines, and system integrations.
• Enablement & Support: Develop commission communication materials and train members of Sales and Field Operations; serve as a diplomatic point of contact for resolving complex plan questions, payment inquiries, and escalations.

What You'll Bring

Minimum Qualifications

• Experience: 8+ years of progressive experience in sales compensation management, sales finance, or financial analytics, with a proven track record leading global commission operations.
• Transformation Track Record: Demonstrated success building, standardizing, or transforming commission operations and driving adoption across matrixed teams.
• People Management: Prior success managing direct reports, offshore teams (specifically in India), and external advisory resources.
• Stakeholder Alignment: Proven ability to manage and align a wide array of senior stakeholders across Sales, RevOps, Finance, Payroll, Accounting, and IT.
• Technical & Analytical Mastery: Expert-level capability in Microsoft Excel and experience analyzing complex, multi‑tiered payout structures.

Preferred Qualifications

• Systems Expertise: Hands‑on