Senior Director, Compensation and Benefits

Hanwha Defense USA, Inc.; Arlington (VA); On-site; USD 225,000 - 280,000; Full time

Job summary

Hanwha Defense USA, Inc. seeks a Senior Director of Compensation & Benefits to build the total rewards function from the ground up in Arlington, VA. You will author the enterprise compensation philosophy, design pay architecture, and shape a benefits strategy to attract top talent across the U.S.

This role reports to the VP and Head of HR and partners with the CEO and senior leadership. You will own the compensation and benefits program, define market positioning, establish benchmarking, and

Qualifications

• Experience leading compensation and benefits leadership roles in multi-state professional/manufacturing/engineering environments.
• Proven track record building compensation philosophies, structures, and programs from the ground up, during growth or transformation.
• Strong knowledge of U.S. federal, state, and local regulatory requirements.
• Executive presence with the ability to influence senior leaders and analytical rigor to build models.

Responsibilities

• Author and own enterprise compensation philosophy; define market positioning and pay decision processes.
• Build enterprise job architecture and leveling framework across multiple job families.
• Design and launch market-competitive, defense-industry-specific compensation structures.
• Establish benchmarking methodology and internal equity standards with auditable documentation.
• Advise leadership on compensation planning and organizational design.
• Ensure compliance with federal, state, and local compensation regulations including pay transparency.

Skills

Compensation leadership

Benefits strategy

Regulatory knowledge

Executive influence

Analytical skills

Job description

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Senior Director, Compensation and Benefits

Arlington, VA, US

6 days ago Requisition ID: 1229

Salary Range: $225,000.00 To $280,000.00 Annually

Senior Director, Compensation & Benefits
Location: Arlington, VA (On-site)

Position Overview
The Senior Director of Compensation & Benefits will build Hanwha Defense USA’s total compensation and benefits function from the ground up. This leader will author the company’s enterprise compensation philosophy, design the pay architecture behind it, and shape a benefits strategy that helps us compete for top engineering, manufacturing, and professional talent across the U.S. Reporting to the Vice President and Head of Human Resources and partnering directly with senior leadership, including the CEO, this role has true ownership: you’ll start as a hands‑on builder and grow into leading the team that runs what you create as the organization scales.

Key Responsibilities

• Author and own Hanwha Defense USA’s enterprise compensation philosophy, defining market positioning, what we reward, and how pay decisions are made; secure alignment with executive leadership and present recommendations to the Compensation Committee of the Board.
• Build the enterprise job architecture and leveling framework across professional, manufacturing, and engineering job families.
• Design and launch market-competitive, defense‑industry‑specific compensation structures for diverse job families across U.S. regions.
• Establish the company’s market benchmarking methodology and internal equity standards, with auditable documentation that makes the system defensible and durable.
• Serve as a strategic advisor to leadership on compensation planning and organizational design.
• Build compliance with federal, state, and local compensation regulations, including pay transparency requirements, into every program from day one.

Benefits Strategy & Administration

• Set the vision and strategy for a competitive total rewards offering that attracts and retains critical talent.
• Evaluate benefits plan options, regulatory requirements, and competitive trends across the U.S. to shape plan design.
• Lead benefits planning and administration in a multi‑market, multi‑domain environment.
• Own strategic relationships with benefits vendors, brokers, and third‑party administrators, holding partners accountable for performance and value.
• Oversee benefits administration, communications, and issue resolution, so programs deliver for employees as well as on paper.
• Lead benefits‑related components of M&A activity, including due diligence, plan design reviews, integration strategy, and harmonization.

Mergers & Acquisitions

• Serve as the compensation and benefits lead on M&A activity, shaping deals from due diligence through integration.
• Drive decisions on benefits integration, compensation leveling, and risk mitigation as acquired workforces join the enterprise framework.
• Partner with HR, Finance, and Legal to ensure smooth, compliant transitions throughout transactions.
• Act as the company’s senior subject matter expert on total rewards, leading hands on today and building and leading a Compensation & Benefits team as the organization grows.
• Build a compensation governance framework that balances U.S. market competitiveness with the values and standards of a global enterprise, partnering effectively with the Compensation Committee and executive leadership.
• Partner with HR, Finance, and operational leaders to shape strategic workforce planning and organizational growth.
• Build the processes, tools, and governance model that will run compensation and benefits at enterprise scale.

Qualifications

Required

• Extensive experience in compensation and benefits leadership roles within multi‑state professional, manufacturing, or engineering environments.
• Proven track record of building compensation philosophies, structures, and programs from the ground up, not only administering existing ones, ideally during a period of growth or transformation.
• Strong knowledge of U.S. federal, state, and local regulatory requirements.
• Executive presence and the ability to influence senior leaders, paired with the analytical rigor to build the models yourself.
• Excellent analytical, communication, and stakeholder management skills.

Preferred

• Experience leading compensation and benefits components of mergers and acquisitions.
• Experience working with a Board Compensation Committee, and comfort operating within a governance structure that spans multiple stakeholders.
• Defense industry experience.
• Professional certifications such as CCP or CEBS.

Hanwha Defense USA is committed to pay transparency and equitable compensation practices. The salary range listed for this position represents a good faith estimate of the base pay we reasonably expect to offer for the position at the time of posting. Actual compensation may vary based on relevant skills/experience, education and certifications, market conditions, geographic location and internal pay equity. In addition to base salary, employees may be eligible for discretionary annual bonuses, benefits, and other forms of compensation as part of Hanwha Defense USA's total rewards package.

Hanwha Defense USA is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, disability, veteran status, or any other protected characteristic.