Compensation Programs Lead

About Rippling Rippling gives businesses one place to run HR, IT, and Finance. It brings together all of the workforce systems that are normally scattered across a company, like payroll, expenses, benefits, and computers. For the first time ever, you can manage and automate every part of the employee lifecycle in a single system. Take onboarding, for example. With Rippling, you can hire a new employee anywhere in the world and set up their payroll, corporate card, computer, benefits, and even third-party apps like Slack and Microsoft 365—all within 90 seconds. Based in San Francisco, CA, Rippling has raised $1.4B+ from the world’s top investors—including Kleiner Perkins, Founders Fund, Sequoia, Greenoaks, and Bedrock—and was named one of America's best startup employers by Forbes. We prioritize candidate safety. Please be aware that all official communication will only be sent from @ Rippling.com addresses. About the role We are looking for a Compensation Programs Lead to own and drive our core compensation programs end-to-end. This is a high-impact individual contributor (Super IC) role at the intersection of strategy and execution — you will design and operate our merit and incentive cycles, lead compensation readiness across cross functional teams, and own the systems and tooling that power our planning processes. You will work closely with People Business Partners and Finance to ensure our programs are competitive, affordable, sustainable, and built for a fast-scaling business. What you will do Compensation Planning & Cycle Execution Own the end-to-end strategy, planning, and execution of Rippling's annual and midyear merit cycles — timeline management, budget tracking, system configuration, communications, and post-cycle analysis. Serve as the primary operational partner to People Business Partners throughout every cycle, proactively removing blockers, resolving edge cases, and translating compensation mechanics into clear guidance for managers and employees. Partner with Finance to build and maintain accurate compensation budgets; ensure leaders understand both the numbers and the rationale behind them throughout the planning cycle. Leverage RipplingAI and other tools to automate the comp planning process: benchmarking, budgeting, program enablement/communication Partner with the Product team to translate business requirements into skills, workflows that Rippling AI can run at regular intervals removing any comp analyst intervention Identify comp trends, surface issues, and continuously raise the bar on comp programs quality and program delivery Compensation Launches & Operational Readiness Drive compensation plan launches, mid-cycle changes, and operational readiness across xfn teams, including variable pay programs Coordinate cross-functionally with Finance, Legal, and People Business Partners to ensure plan changes are communicated clearly, implemented accurately, and compliant with applicable regulations Build enablement resources — calculators, FAQs, manager guides — that help leaders understand and apply compensation programs effectively Monitor compensation trends and proactively flag issues or opportunities that should influence program design Compensation Planning Systems & Program Design Contribute to the evolution of compensation program design, including market analysis, job architecture, pay range management, and pay equity reviews. Own design inputs for compensation software, including design inputs, UAT and change management Partner with the Product team to ensure the planning tool reflects the correct program logic, org structures, and workflows ahead of each cycle Identify process inefficiencies and build tools — dashboards, custom apps, automation — that make the function faster and more scalable Market Analysis & Program Intelligence Lead Rippling's annual compensation market analysis: survey participation, job matching, and synthesis of findings into competitive positioning recommendations. Maintain c