Total Rewards Lead

Candidate; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 200,000 - 280,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, Dental, and Vision

Life Insurance

Disability Benefits

401K

Parental Leave

Fertility benefits

Wellness stipend

Office lunches

Vacation policy

Job summary

Decagon seeks a senior Compensation leader to scale our total rewards framework. You will define compensation philosophy with founders and Head of People, shaping how we pay, reward, and retain talent as the company grows across markets.

You’ll partner with People leadership, Finance, and executives to design, govern pay programs and equity strategy in a fast-moving environment while building transparent communications for employees.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience in compensation, benefits, or total rewards at a high-growth tech or SaaS company.
• Experience building or rebuilding compensation structures, job architecture, and leveling frameworks.
• Deep expertise in equity compensation (option plans, RSUs, refresh cycles).
• Design and administer competitive benefits programs including medical, dental, vision, 401(k).

Responsibilities

• Design and own Decagon's total compensation philosophy, including salary bands, equity guidelines, bonus structures, and benefits programs.
• Build and maintain a job architecture and leveling framework that creates consistency and clarity across the company.
• Lead annual and mid-year compensation review cycles, partnering with Finance and People Business Partners.
• Own all equity program administration—grant processes, refresh cycles, and vesting communications.
• Manage our benefits programs end-to-end, including open enrollment and broker relationships.
• Serve as the internal expert on comp and benefits compliance (FLSA, ACA, state requirements).
• Partner with Recruiting to build compelling offers and win top talent at every level.
• Develop clear communications that help employees understand total compensation.

Skills

8+ years experience

Equity compensation

Data-driven

Finance partnership

Communication

Ambiguity tolerance

Leadership experience

Tools

Carta

Pave

Radford

Workday

Rippling

Job description

About Decagon

Decagon is the leading conversational AI platform empowering every brand to deliver concierge customer experiences.

Our technology enables industry-defining enterprises like Avis Budget Group, Block’s Cash App and Square, Chime, Oura Health, and Hunter Douglas to deploy AI agents that power personalized, deeply satisfying interactions across voice, chat, email, SMS, and every other channel.

We’re building a future where customer experiences are being redefined from support tickets and hold music to faster resolutions, richer conversations, and deeper relationships. We’re proud to be backed by world-class investors who share that vision, including a16z, Accel, Bain Capital Ventures, Coatue, and Index Ventures, along with many others.

We’re an in-office company, driven by a shared commitment to excellence and velocity. Our values — Just Get It Done, Invent What Customers Want, Winner’s Mindset, and The Polymath Principle — shape how we work and grow as a team.

About the Role

Decagon has grown from 200 to 700 across seven countries and is looking to hire our first Compensation leader. The foundational pieces are in place: leveling framework, pay bands, equity programs, and benefits across every market we operate in. What we need now is the person who turns a working v1 into a full function. You’ll scale our compensation and equity infrastructure to keep pace with hyper growth, bring the analytical rigor and governance that a late-stage company requires, and stand up the compensation committee we expect to need within the next year. Most importantly, you’ll define Decagon’s compensation philosophy alongside our founders and Head of People and shape how we pay, reward, and retain talent for years to come.

This is a senior, high-visibility role. You’ll partner directly with People leadership, Finance and the founders, and you’ll have the latitude to design total rewards for the entire company. If you’ve built or scaled rewards at a company moving this fast, and you want to own the whole system rather than inherit someone else’s, this is the role.

You May Be a Good Fit If You

• Have 8+ years of experience in compensation, benefits, or total rewards at a high-growth tech or SaaS company - leadership experience is a plus
• Have built or significantly rebuilt compensation structures, job architecture, and leveling frameworks — ideally in a fast-moving, pre-IPO environment
• Have deep expertise in equity compensation (option plans, RSUs, refresh cycles) and experience supporting equity education and communications for employees
• Understand how to design and administer competitive benefits programs, including medical, dental, vision, 401(k), and ancillary programs, while managing vendor relationships and renewals
• Are data-driven — you use market data (Pave, Levels.fyi, etc.) to anchor decisions and can build clean, defensible comp models
• Have experience partnering with Finance on headcount planning, comp accruals, and total compensation cost modeling
• Are a strong communicator who can distill complex comp concepts for employees, managers, and executives alike
• Thrive in ambiguity and can move quickly without sacrificing rigor

Even Better If You

• Have worked at a company that scaled from ~100 to 500+ employees and navigated the total rewards complexity that comes with that growth
• Have experience with executive compensation and board-level reporting
• Have supported international expansion and understand how to structure compensation across multiple geographies
• Are familiar with HR tech and compensation tooling (Carta, Pave, Radford, Workday, Rippling, etc.)

What You'll Own

• Design and own Decagon's total compensation philosophy, including salary bands, equity guidelines, bonus structures, and benefits programs
• Build and maintain a job architecture and leveling framework that creates consistency and clarity across the company
• Lead annual and mid-year compensation review cycles, partnering closely with Finance and People Business Partners
• Own all equity program administration — from grant processes and refresh cycles to employee education and vesting communications
• Manage our benefits programs end-to-end, including open enrollment, broker relationships, and ongoing plan design
• Serve as the internal expert on comp and benefits compliance (FLSA, ACA, state-level requirements, etc.)
• Partner with Recruiting to build compelling, competitive offers and ensure we’re winning top talent at every level
• Develop clear communications that help employees understand and value their total compensation package

Comp

$200,000 - $280,000 + Equity

Benefits

We proudly offer the following benefits for our full-time employees:

• Medical, Dental, and Vision benefits for you and your family
• Life Insurance and Disability Benefits
• Retirement Plan (e.g., 401K, pension)
• Parental Leave
• Fertility and family building benefits through Carrot
• Monthly stipend to support your wellness, lifestyle, and work-life balance
• Daily lunches and snacks in the office to keep you at your best
• Take what you need vacation policy (subject to local requirements; UK employees receive 25 days of statutory leave)

These benefits are described in more detail in Decagon’s policies, may vary by location, and can change at any time according to applicable compensation and benefits plans.