Remote Global Total Rewards Director

Chainguard; New York (NY); Remote; USD 180,000 - 320,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity options

Unlimited PTO

Remote work

Home office stipend

Health insurance

Job summary

Chainguard is seeking a Director of Total Rewards to own compensation and benefits strategy as it scales from startup to growth-stage. You will lead the Total Rewards team, set strategy across pay and benefits, and partner with the business to extend programs internationally, including new markets in the UK, Canada, and Germany.

You will manage compensation cycles, market pricing, and plan design while ensuring cost efficiency and an employee-first culture.

Qualifications

• Strong command of market pricing and benchmarking tools (Radford, Pave, Mercer, or similar)
• Proven experience setting total rewards strategy, with a strong background in either compensation or benefits (and working knowledge of the other)
• This is a people-manager role reporting into the VP overseeing PeopleExperience with equity program design and administration, including cap table fluency (Carta, Shareworks, or similar)
• Working knowledge of pay equity and compliance considerations across multi-state and international jurisdictions
• Experience scaling total rewards programs at a high-growth SaaS or startup company, ideally through a growth stage comparable to scaling from roughly 1,000 to 3,000+ employees
• 8-10 years of progressive compensation and benefits experience, including 3+ years in a management capacity
• Experience partnering with or managing an Employer of Record (EOR) for international employees
• Strong track record managing and developing a team
• End-to-end experience running compensation cycles — job architecture, market pricing, merit/promotion planning, and bonus design
• Relevant experience is valued over certifications
• International experience required, particularly across EMEA; experience in Japan, Singapore, or South America is a strong plus
• Comfort operating with some ambiguity and building process where it doesn’t yet exist

Responsibilities

• Own compensation and benefits strategy for Chainguard during growth
• Lead the Total Rewards team (Compensation Manager and Benefits team)
• Shape global compensation and benefits strategy as we expand into new international markets
• Balance employee experience with cost efficiency and redesign underutilized benefits
• Stay ahead of market trends to remain competitive for talent
• Oversee banding, market pricing, and merit cycles with the Compensation Manager
• Advise leadership on comp and benefits strategy tied to headcount growth and cost management
• Build scalable total rewards processes as the team and company grow

Skills

Market pricing tools

Total rewards strategy

Equity program design

Cap table fluency

Pay equity & compliance

Global compensation

EOR coordination

Team leadership

End-to-end comp cycles

International experience (EMEA)

Tools

Radford

Pave

Mercer

Job description

Chainguard is seeking a Director of Total Rewards to own compensation and benefits strategy as it scales from startup to growth-stage. You will lead the Total Rewards team, set strategy across pay and benefits, and partner with the business to extend programs internationally, including new markets in the UK, Canada, and Germany.

You will manage compensation cycles, market pricing, and plan design while ensuring cost efficiency and an employee-first culture.