Director of Total Rewards

The role, in a nutshell: We're looking for a Director of Total Rewards to own compensation and benefits strategy as Chainguard scales from a startup into its next phase of growth. This role will lead our Total Rewards team, managing our Compensation Manager and Benefits team, and will be responsible for setting the strategy that keeps us competitive as we compete for talent against some of the biggest names in tech.

You'll partner closely with the business to build a total rewards approach that's both employee-first and cost-effective, while helping us extend our compensation and benefits programs into new countries as we expand internationally. This is a role with real ownership and runway. You'll shape how we think about pay, benefits, and rewards as the company roughly doubles in size over the next several years.

What You'll Do:

Own and set Chainguard's total rewards strategy across compensation and benefits
Manage and develop the Total Rewards team
Lead our approach to global compensation and benefits strategy as we expand into new international markets, including the UK, Canada, and Germany, with more countries to follow
Partner with the business to balance employee experience with cost efficiency, identifying legacy programs or underutilized benefits that can be redesigned or retired without eroding our benefits-rich culture
Stay ahead of market trends in compensation and benefits, helping Chainguard remain competitive for talent against major players in the market
Oversee banding, market pricing, and merit cycles, in partnership with the Compensation Manager
Advise leadership on comp and benefits strategy tied to headcount growth and cost management as the company scales
Build scalable total rewards processes as the team and company grow

What We're Looking For:

8-10 years of progressive compensation and benefits experience, including 3+ years in a management capacity.
Proven experience setting total rewards strategy, with a strong background in either compensation or benefits (and working knowledge of the other)
Experience scaling total rewards programs at a high-growth SaaS or startup company, ideally through a growth stage comparable to scaling from roughly 1,000 to 3,000+ employees
End-to-end experience running compensation cycles — job architecture, market pricing, merit/promotion planning, and bonus design
Experience with equity program design and administration, including cap table fluency (Carta, Shareworks, or similar)
Strong command of market pricing and benchmarking tools (Radford, Pave, Mercer, or similar)
International experience required, particularly across EMEA; experience in Japan, Singapore, or South America is a strong plus
Experience partnering with or managing an Employer of Record (EOR) for international employees
Working knowledge of pay equity and compliance considerations across multi-state and international jurisdictions
Strong track record managing and developing a team
Comfort operating with some ambiguity and building process where it doesn't yet exist
Relevant experience is valued over certifications
This is a people-manager role reporting into the VP overseeing People