Principal Compensation Partner

Helion; Seattle (WA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 280,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, Dental, Vision plans

PTO and holidays

401(k) match

Disability & life insurance

Parental leave

Job summary

Helion, based in Everett, WA with an onsite Seattle role, seeks an experienced Compensation Leader to shape our global compensation strategy, scale equity programs, and partner with executives as we grow. This IC role carries end-to-end ownership across the company.

This position reports to the Senior Director of Talent and People Operations and will design salary, equity, and incentive structures for our technical, corporate, and manufacturing teams, working closely with Finance to manage

Qualifications

• 10+ years in compensation roles within startups or high-growth companies.
• Deep expertise in pre-IPO equity and stock-based compensation.
• Experience designing compensation structures for large hourly workforces.
• Strong analytical and financial modeling skills with benchmarking.
• Hands-on with compensation systems and internal tool build.

Responsibilities

• Build competitive salary, hourly pay, and incentive structures that scale with the business.
• Own and evolve Helion's equity strategy, including plan design and grant guidelines.
• Design compensation structures specifically for our large hourly manufacturing workforce.
• Advise executive leadership on compensation strategies and trade-offs.
• Lead compensation cycles, promotions, equity grants, and offer reviews.
• Partner with Finance on compensation budgets, equity forecasting, and governance.
• Develop clear compensation and equity education for employees and leaders.

Skills

Compensation strategy

Equity design

Financial modeling

Data analytics

Executive advisory

Tools

Excel

HRIS

Equity tools

Job description

About Helion

We are a fusion power company based in Everett, WA, with the mission to build the world's first fusion power plant, enabling a future with unlimited clean electricity. Our vision is a world with clean, reliable, and affordable energy for everyone.

Since Helion's founding in 2013, we have raised $1.5 billion from long-time investors such as Sam Altman, Mithril, and Capricorn Investment Group as well as new investors including Thrive Capital, LightSpeed Venture Capital, SoftBank, and others to propel us forward. Our current prototype, Polaris, has reached record-breaking plasma temperatures of 150 million degrees Celsius (13 keV). Helion is continuing to iterate and on the path to the world's first fusion power plant, Orion.

This is a pivotal time to join Helion. You will tackle real-world challenges with a team that prizes urgency, rigor, ownership, and a commitment to delivering hard truths – values essential to achieving what no one has before. Together, we will change the future of energy, because the world can't wait.

What You Will Be Doing:

You will lead Helion's compensation strategy, with a focus on evolving our equity programs and building scalable compensation structures across our technical, corporate, and manufacturing teams. You will partner directly with executive leadership to shape how we attract, reward, and retain employees as we grow, combining company-wide strategic ownership with hands-on program design and execution. This is an individual contributor role with full end-to-end ownership of compensation strategy across the company. This onsite role is based in our Seattle, WA office and reports to our Senior Director of Talent and People Operations.

You Will:

• Build competitive salary, hourly pay, and incentive structures that reward performance and scale with the business

• Own and evolve Helion's equity strategy, including plan design, grant guidelines, and evaluation of future award structures

• Design and own compensation structures specifically for our large hourly manufacturing workforce

• Advise executive leadership on compensation strategies and trade-offs, supporting Board-level discussions as needed

• Lead compensation cycles, promotions, equity grants, and offer reviews with Talent and People Business Partners

• Partner with Finance on compensation budgets, equity forecasting, and governance

• Develop clear compensation and equity education that helps employees understand their compensation and equips leaders to communicate effectively

Required Skills:

• 10+ years of compensation experience, including building and scaling compensation programs in startup or high-growth environments

• Deep expertise in pre-IPO equity and stock-based compensation

• Experience designing compensation structures and incentives for a large hourly workforce

• Strong analytical and financial modeling skills, including market benchmarking, equity forecasting, and scenario analysis

• Hands-on experience with best-in-class compensation systems and platforms, with the judgment to build internal tools and processes where off-the-shelf solutions fall short

• Comfort leveraging data and AI-powered tools to scale analysis and improve decision speed

• Proven ability to advise executives, challenge assumptions, and communicate complex compensation recommendations clearly

• Demonstrated ability to turn ambiguous compensation needs into practical programs, balancing long-term strategy with hands-on execution

#LI-Onsite #LI-MM1

Benefits

Our total compensation package includes benefits, including but not limited to:

• Medical, Dental, and Vision plans for employees and their families

• 31 Days of PTO (21 vacation days and 10 sick days)

• 10 Paid holidays, plus company-wide winter break

• Up to 5% employer 401(k) match

• Short term disability, long term disability, and life insurance

• Paid parental leave and support (up to 16 weeks)

• Annual wellness stipend

Helion is an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. If you need assistance or an accommodation during the interview process, please let us know.