Compensation Lead
Decagon is hiring a Compensation Lead in San Francisco, United States. It pays $200k-$260k a year and Level rates it ; you can apply on Decagon.
Level's read on this job
- Little AI ●○○○ is how Level rates this role: aI is not part of the work.
- Tools and skills the posting cites include Pave, Levels Fyi and AI agents.
- Level classifies it as a senior role.
- Level lists 133 other open roles at Decagon.
AI in this role
Build and own the compensation and benefits architecture from the ground up as Decagon's first Compensation Lead.
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 is looking to hire our first Compensation Manager leader to build and own the foundation of how we attract, reward, and retain world-class talent as we scale. This is a high-impact, zero-to-one role: you'll design the compensation and benefits architecture from the ground up, bring structure and rigor to our equity programs, and serve as the strategic authority on all things total rewards across the company. You'll partner directly with our founders, People leadership, and Finance to ensure our programs are competitive, equitable, and built to scale with us.
You May Be a Good Fit If You:
Have 6+ 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
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
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 - $260,000 + 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.
How we rate this
Compensation Lead at Decagon rates 0 out of 100 for how much of the daily work is AI. That makes it Little AI (AI Level 1 of 4). The level is about AI in the job, not seniority.
Little AI. AI is not part of the work.
- ●●●● Builds AI80 to 100
- ●●●○ Works on AI60 to 79
- ●●○○ Uses AI40 to 59
- ●○○○ Little AI0 to 39
Levels come from how often the tools, models and workflows of the role are named in the posting itself. Read the description and count the AI tools, models and workflows it names.
Prepare for this job
Built from this posting and from similar jobs on Level.
Skills and AI tools this role asks for
Questions you could be asked
- How do you decide when an AI agent can act on its own versus asking for approval first?
- Tell me about a project where compensation was part of your work. What did you do?
- Tell me about a project where benefits was part of your work. What did you do?
- Tell me about a project where equity compensation was part of your work. What did you do?
- Tell me about a project where job architecture was part of your work. What did you do?
Adapt your resume
- List these exact terms on your resume: AI agents, Compensation, Benefits, Equity Compensation, and Job Architecture. An applicant tracking system matches the wording, not the idea.
- Attach one line of real, concrete experience to at least one of them. A tool named with nothing behind it rarely survives a human read.
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