Principal Global Compensation Manager

We engage the most inspired minds to do their best work wherever they work best—powering the freedom to create worldwide. WP Engine empowers companies and agencies of all sizes to build, power, manage, and optimize their WordPress websites and applications with confidence. Serving 1.5 million customers across 150+ countries, the global technology company provides premium, enterprise-grade solutions, tools, and services, including specialized platforms for WordPress, industry-tailored eCommerce and agency solution suites, and developer-centric tools like Local, Advanced Custom Fields, and more. WP Engine’s innovative technology and industry-leading expertise are why 8% of the web visits a WP Engine-powered site daily. Learn more at . What's cool about this job. We are seeking a visionary and strategic Principal Global Compensation Manager to lead the design, execution, and continuous evolution of our global compensation programs. As a senior individual contributor in the Total Rewards team, you will play a critical role in scaling our compensation frameworks, driving business-aligned pay philosophies, and championing our journey toward world-class pay transparency. You are a deep subject matter expert who loves translating business goals into competitive pay structures and are ready to roll up your sleeves in the Workday platform. You are looking to transform the function with next generation AI built tools and workflows to power how we work. Whether you are consulting with EE Business partners or managers with pay practices, designing job architectures for a highly distributed global workforce, or advising on M&A integrations, you bring a data-driven, strategic, and highly collaborative approach to everything you do. The day to day. Compensation Leadership: Develop, evolve, and lead the company’s global cash, bonus, and equity compensation strategies, aligning them directly with business objectives and high-tech market trends. Pay Transparency & Equity: Act as the primary champion and architect for global pay transparency readiness (including the EU Pay Transparency Directive and US state laws), designing sustainable structures that build internal trust and ensure compliance. Global Cycles: Oversee the strategic direction and execution of the annual global merit, promotion, and equity refresh cycles, ensuring alignment with finance budgets and company performance within Workday utilizing the Advanced compensation module. Executive & Equity Compensation: Support executive compensation design and equity modeling for new hires and refresh cycles in partnership with the Sr Director, Total Rewards. Job Architecture & Scaling: Lead the design and evolution of our global job architecture, leveling frameworks, and geographic salary structures to support a highly distributed virtual first model. Business Consulting: Serve as the key strategic advisor to EE Business Partners, Talent Acquisition, and senior executive leaders on high-impact compensation decisions, organizational design, offer evaluation, and critical talent retention. M&A Integration: Drive compensation due diligence and post-merger integration strategies, ensuring newly acquired talent is seamlessly mapped to existing structures. Your skills and expertise. Experience: 10+ years of progressive compensation experience within the high-tech/SaaS industry, with at least 3 years in a lead advisory capacity. Workday SuperUser: Hands-on configuration experience in Workday Advanced Compensation. Global Domain Expertise: Deep knowledge of global compensation structures, international market dynamics, and complex regulatory environments. Strategic Modeling: Master-level compensation modeling, data analysis, and financial planning skills using advanced modeling tools. Influence & Collaboration: Proven capability to influence, consult with, and present to executive-level leadership and business stakeholders. Education: Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Finance, HR, or a related field (or equivalent practical experience). Preferred Skills: Certified Compensation Professional (CCP) designation. Experience leading compensation strategies with private equity firms Experience in benefit modules of Workday to support the broader Total Rewards team Low-Code/No-Code Automation: Proven experience building automated workflows using accessible enterprise tools (e.g., Gemini, Claude, etc). AI Agent Configuration: Hands-on experience building, testing, and deploying custom AI assistants or GPTs to automate information retrieval or text generation tasks. Target Starting Base Salary Range: 160k to 180k The Perks and Benefits Company Stock Options (Every employee is an owner in the company) Great Health Benefits (Medical, Dental, Vision, Life Insurance) Fertility Benefits (IVF/Fertility drug coverage) HSA Company contribution $750 for employee / $1500 for family 401(k) with a 4% match Disability Insurance Paid Family and Caregiver’s Leave Employee Assistance Program Generous Vacation Time (Who doesn’t like time off) One-time $500 payment to set up your home office 4 Company Wellness Days a year 1 floating holiday Pet Insurance On-going education through LinkedIn Learning, Workday Learning and our Career Growth Portal At WP Engine, we strive to have the broadest possible view of diversity, going beyond visible differences to include the background, experiences, skills, and perspectives that make each person unique. WP Engine is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and is committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity, Veteran status, or any other basis protected by federal, state, or local law. ​ ​ Base Salary Range $136,000.00 - $187,000.00 We believe that compensation should be reflective of the impact you have within the organization relative to the market value of your role. The estimated base salary range for this position is as listed above. Some roles may also be eligible for overtime pay. Our salary ranges are determined by job role and responsibilities and level. The range displayed on each job posting reflects the minimum and maximum target for salaries for the position nationwide. The actual base pay will vary based on various factors including job-related skills and individual qualifications objectively assessed during the interview process. Your talent acquisition partner can share more about the total rewards package at WP Engine including any additional total rewards components such as equity, variable pay plans (if applicable), and benefits during the hiring process.