Sr. Director, Compensation

Vianttechnology; Irvine (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 215,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Fully paid health insurance

Paid parental leave

Unlimited PTO

Job summary

Vianttechnology is seeking a Sr. Director, Compensation who will be the strategic leader responsible for designing and executing compensation, benefits, and workforce planning strategies. In this critical role, you will define the compensation philosophy and lead various compensation cycles including merit and bonus.

The ideal candidate will have 10+ years of experience, with deep expertise in compensation strategies, strong analytical skills, and a proven ability to partner with Finance. Viant offers competitive compensation packages, including fully paid health insurance and unlimited PTO.

Qualifications

• Proven experience partnering with Finance on headcount planning.
• Strong understanding of benefits strategy and vendor management.
• Exceptional analytical skills and ability to advise leaders.

Responsibilities

• Define Viant's compensation philosophy and governance model.
• Lead compensation cycles with accuracy and rigor.
• Drive compensation analytics to inform executive decisions.
• Build and develop a high-performing Total Rewards team.

Skills

Compensation strategy

Benefits strategy

Financial modeling

Analytical skills

Cross-functional leadership

Education

10+ years in Compensation or related HR specialty

Tools

ChartHop

ADP

Greenhouse

Job description

WHAT YOU’LL DO

The Sr. Director, Compensation is the strategic leader responsible for designing, governing, and executing Viant’s compensation, benefits, rewards, and workforce planning strategy. This role owns pay philosophy, job architecture, compensation cycles, benefits strategy, headcount forecasting, and internal equity. They partner closely with Talent Acquisition, HR Operations, Finance, and the executive team to build a competitive, equitable, and financially disciplined rewards system.

This role is both strategic and hands‑on, and is critical to modernizing Viant’s HR function.

THE DAY-TO-DAY

Compensation Strategy & Governance

• Define and maintain Viant’s compensation philosophy and compensation governance model.
• Own job architecture, leveling frameworks, salary bands, and market competitiveness across all job families.
• Lead compensation cycles (merit, bonus, equity) with rigor, accuracy, and strong cross‑functional partnership.
• Build compensation frameworks that align performance, skills, and business objectives to pay.

Rewards & Benefits Strategy

• Evaluate and recommend benefits programs that support attraction and retention.
• Ensure benefits packages align with market and business priorities.

Workforce Planning & Analytics

• Own Viant’s headcount and compensation census.
• Partner with Finance to run headcount planning, reforecast cycles, and scenario modeling.
• Govern position management and ensure all job movement aligns with budget and headcount plan.
• Drive compensation analytics, including cost modeling, turnover impact, geographic differentials, and workforce trends to inform executive decisions.

Cross‑Functional Leadership

• Partner with Talent Acquisition, HR Ops, HRIS, and executives on offers, data integrity, performance alignment, and Compensation Committee deliverables.
• Serve as a key member of the 401(k) Committee and drive clear, effective Total Rewards communication and education across the company.
• Build strong relationships with senior leaders to ensure rewards programs are understood, trusted, and adopted.

People Leadership

• Build and develop a high‑performing Total Rewards team, establishing tools and processes that ensure discipline, consistency, and scalability

GREAT TO HAVE

• 10+ years experience in Compensation, Total Rewards, or related HR specialty.
• Deep expertise in comp strategy, job architecture, benchmarking, analytics, and market competitiveness.
• Strong understanding of benefits strategy, vendor management, and total rewards communication.
• Proven experience partnering with Finance on headcount planning, budgeting, and modeling.
• Exceptional analytical and financial modeling skills.
• Strong communication, executive presence, and ability to advise leaders at all levels.
• Experience operating in a growth‑oriented environment with evolving structures.
• Experience with ChartHop, ADP or Greenhouse a plus

LIFE AT VIANT

Investing in our employee’s professional growth is important to us, but so is investing in their well‑being. That’s why Viant was voted one of the best places to work and some of our favorite employee benefits include fully paid health insurance, paid parental leave and unlimited PTO and more.

Base compensation range: $180,000 - $215,000

In accordance with California law, the range provided is Viant’s reasonable estimate of the compensation for this role. Final title and compensation for the position will be based on several factors including work experience and education.

Viant is an equal opportunity employer and makes employment decisions on the basis of merit. Viant prohibits unlawful discrimination against employees or applicants based on race (including traits historically associated with race, such as hair texture and protective hairstyles), religion, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, reproductive health decision making, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, military status, veteran status, uniformed service member status, sexual orientation, transgender identity, citizenship status, pregnancy, or any other consideration made unlawful by federal, state, or local laws. Viant also prohibits unlawful discrimination based on the perception that anyone has any of those characteristics, or is associated with a person who has or is perceived as having any of those characteristics.