Senior Manager, Sales Compensation & Incentive Strategy

Job description

## **Get to Know Us** Horizon3 is a fast-growing, remote cybersecurity company dedicated to the mission of enabling organizations to proactively find and fix and verify exploitable attack vectors before criminals exploit them. Our flagship product, the NodeZeroTM platform, delivers production-safe autonomous pentests and other key assessment operations that scale across the largest internal, external, cloud, and hybrid cloud environments. NodeZero has been adopted by organizations of all sizes, from small educational institutions to government agencies and Global 100 enterprises. It is used by ITOps/SecOps teams, consulting pentesters, and MSSPs and MSPs. We are a fusion of former U.S. Special Operations cyber operators, startup engineers, and formerly frustrated cybersecurity practitioners. We're committed to helping solve our common security problems: ineffective security tools, false positives resulting in alert fatigue, blind spots, "checkbox” security culture, cybersecurity skills shortage, and the long lead time and expense of hiring outside consultants. Collectively, we are a team of learn it alls, committed to a culture of respect, collaboration, ownership, and results. ## About the Team Revenue Operations owns the operating system behind how Horizon3 goes to market: how the business is planned, how territories and quotas are set, how performance is measured, and how sellers are paid. Compensation is where that work becomes real to the field, and we are building a dedicated compensation pillar inside Sales Operations so it is designed deliberately rather than assembled cycle by cycle. ## About the Role We are hiring a hands-on owner for how Horizon3 designs incentives for its global go-to-market organization. You will build the incentive architecture that turns our revenue plan into the quota structures, plans, and payouts that motivate and reward our sellers. This is a design-first, high-ownership role: you will set the compensation philosophy, build the plans, and put the modeling and governance in place to keep them fair, motivating, and defensible as we scale. The opportunity is the scope. Our go-to-market organization is on track to roughly double over the next several quarters across the Americas, EMEA, APJ, public sector, and our partner and managed service provider motions, and compensation is being built as a durable capability rather than a recurring manual cycle. You will own that build, and your work will land in front of Sales, Finance, and executive leadership every quarter. ## In This Role, You Will ### Own the incentive architecture - Own plan design across quota-carrying, overlay, management, channel, and partner-facing roles, including pay mix, rate structures, accelerators, caps, draws, and multi-period attainment mechanics - Set the sales compensation philosophy and own the executive narrative on plan performance, cost, and risk - Design crediting rules that survive real deal complexity, including seller splits, partner co-sell dual credit, marketplace and distributor fulfillment, and negative booking treatment - Translate strategy changes, including new segments, pricing launches, and coverage model shifts, into plan updates delivered quickly and accurately ### Own quota methodology and analysis - Partner with Finance and Sales Operations to translate approved goals into sensible, defensible quota structures across functions, segments, and every layer of sales leadership - Own the methodology itself: how quota is constructed by role, how it is prorated for mid-period starts, how ramp is phased, and how commission rate integrity and accelerator behavior hold through it - Analyze proposed quotas for attainability and internal equity before they go to the field, using attainment history, capacity, and coverage to flag numbers that will not produce the intended behavior - Help move quota construction from a manual build toward a rules-driven process, where role, segment, region, and start date generate the structure deterministically ### Own short-term incentive programs - Own SPIFF and short-term incentive programs end to end, from intake and design through approval, field communication, and payout validation - Manage them as a portfolio inside an agreed budget envelope, making tradeoffs explicit when requests exceed it - Pressure-test proposed programs for the failure modes that actually occur, including duplicate payment, goals set below rolled-up quota, and uncapped exposure - Close the loop on whether each program changed behavior, so the next design is informed rather than assumed ### Own governance and decision rights - Own and publish the compensation decision rights framework, including exception thresholds by dollar value and population impact - Act as the approving authority on routine exceptions, and run dispute resolution with clear service levels and consistent outcomes - Codify decisions into policy so the next instance is resolved by the document instead of by a meeting - Own the governance layer: plan documentation, program terms, approval workflow, version control, and audit-ready records ### Own the operating cycle with Finance - Partner with our commissions function to deliver quotas and signed plans to new hires within days of their start date, and hold that through a sustained hiring ramp - Carry plan assignment and proration execution alongside Finance, with the deliberate intent that neither party is single-threaded - Drive automation across the onboarding to payment chain, replacing manual steps with governed workflow - Partner with Revenue Operations Systems so CRM structure supports crediting, attainment, and territory hierarchy cleanly ## You Might Thrive Here If You Have - 10 or more years in sales compensation, incentive design, revenue operations, or sales finance, with meaningful depth specifically in incentive plan design - Real design experience rather than administration experience. You have authored plan structures, accelerator design, and crediting rules, and defended them to executives who pushed back - Deep experience with quota methodology at scale, including proration, ramp design, attainability analysis, and overlay and management quota construction - Advanced financial modeling skills. You can stress-test a design before it ships and diagnose a plan already in market - Strong command of incentive compensation platforms and the configuration logic underneath them, and fluency in Salesforce as the crediting and attainment source of truth - A builder mindset. You are energized by ambiguity and comfortable creating structure where none exists - High EQ and a thick skin. You can hold the tension between Sales asking for aggressive accelerators and Finance asking for cost control without losing either side - A player-coach disposition. You can present compensation philosophy to executives and work a single rep's commission dispute by hand - Willingness to say no with a reason, and comfort being the decision-maker on routine exceptions - Experience in high-growth environments where the organization doubled underneath you ## What Success Looks Like - Quota construction runs on published methodology with a documented exception path, rather than a manual build repeated each cycle - Quotas are analyzed for attainability and equity before they reach the field, not after reps start pushing back - New hires receive their quota and signed plan within days of starting, consistently, without depending on any one person - Routine compensation exceptions resolve at the right level and no longer require leadership approval - The annual compensation strategy recommendation is approved by Sales and Finance leadership ahead of board review, on schedule rather than against the deadline - Sellers and managers trust their attainment numbers and stop asking which version is right ## **Perks of Horizon3** - Inclusive Team: We value diversity and promote an inclusive culture where everyone can thrive. - Growth Opportunities: Be part of a dynamic and growing team with numerous career development opportunities. - Innovative Culture: Work in a collaborative environment that encourages creativity and out-of-the-box thinking. - Hybrid & Remote Work: We embrace a mix of remote and hybrid work models depending on role and location, including our Chicago office, where some roles require regular in-office presence. - Competitive Compensation: We offer competitive salary, equity and benefits. Our benefits include health, vision & dental insurance for you and your family, a flexible vacation policy, and generous parental leave. ## **Compensation and Values** At Horizon3, we believe that our people are our greatest asset, and our compensation philosophy reflects this core value. We are committed to fostering an environment where all employees feel valued, respected, and rewarded for their contributions. Our compensation structure is designed to be fair, competitive, and transparent, ensuring that every team member is recognized and compensated equitably across roles, levels, and locations. In accordance with various State’s transparency regulations, we provide the following salary range information for this position: - **Base salary range: $170,000 - $200,000 annually**. The exact salary will be determined based on the selected candidate’s location, qualifications, experience, and relevant skills. - Additional compensation: All full-time roles are eligible for an equity package in the form of stock options. ## **You Belong Here** Horizon3 is not just an equal opportunity employer - we are a community that values diversity, equity, and inclusion as fundamental principles of our culture and success. We are dedicated to fostering a workplace where everyone feels welcome and respected, regardless of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, hair length or any other legally protected status by law. Our commitment to diversity and inclusion means we strive to attract, develop, and retain a workforce that reflects the varied communities we serve. We believe that diverse perspectives drive innovation and strengthen our ability to create cutting-edge cybersecurity solutions. At Horizon3, every team member is valued and supported in an environment that encourages personal and professional growth. We welcome candidates from all backgrounds and experiences, and we encourage all qualified individuals to apply. Come be a part of Horizon3, where your unique contributions are recognized, and your potential is limitless. ## **Other Duties** Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice. ## **Application Note** In any materials you submit, you may redact or remove age-identifying information such as age, date of birth, or dates of school attendance or graduation. You will not be penalized for redacting or removing this information.