Startup Hiring Index · threadangellabs
Crusoe › Operations & People

Senior Variable Compensation Manager

Crusoe · San Francisco

Pay
Not listed
This company didn't publish a range
Posted
Sep 18, 2026
Tracked open for 39 days
Team
People
Full-time
Crusoe hiring
349 open roles
71 in operations & people
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Across all startups we track: $139K–$184K for operations & people roles (2,138 listed ranges).

About the role

Crusoe is on a mission to accelerate the abundance of energy and intelligence. As the only vertically integrated AI infrastructure company built from the ground up, we own and operate each layer of the stack — from electrons to tokens — to power the world's most ambitious AI workloads. When you join Crusoe, you join a team that is building the future, faster.

We're in the midst of the greatest industrial revolution of our time. The demand for AI compute is boundless, and power is a bottleneck. We're solving that — with an energy-first approach that makes AI infrastructure better for the world and faster for the people innovating with AI.

We're looking for problem-solving, opportunity-finding teammates with a sense of urgency, who believe in the scale of our ambition and thrive on a path not fully paved — people who want to grow their careers alongside a team of experts across energy, manufacturing, data center construction, and cloud services.

If you want to do the most meaningful work of your career, help our customers and partners advance their AI strategies, and be part of a high-performing team that believes in each other, come build with us at Crusoe.

About the Role:

As a Senior Variable Compensation Manager, you will play a key role on the Total Rewards team, specifically providing strategic and operational support across Crusoe’s variable compensation programs. You will work closely with the Director of Variable Compensation, VP of Total Rewards, CPO, as well as other senior leaders at Crusoe to help design and deliver data-driven solutions that help us attract and retain top talent. This is a highly visible, hands-on role for a proactive and self-starting professional who will thrive in a fast-paced startup environment. This is a unique opportunity to build incentive programs from inception to operationalisation. To be successful in this role, candidates must have the ability to contextualise ambiguous requests, leveraging advanced analytical and modeling skills, in order to produce simple and reliable data driven insights. Ability to think outside of the box and deliver custom solutions is a major core competency.

What You'll Be Working On:

  • Incentive Program Design

    • Participate in the strategy, design, implementation and ongoing improvement of traditional (GTM) and non traditional incentive programs.

    • Lead end-to-end administration and governance of incentive programs - drafting plan documentation, modeling, achievement calculations, validation, and payout execution.

    • Serve as a point of accountability for incentive plan accuracy, compliance, and operational integrity.

    • Ensure all employees on a variable plan have a signed plan document in a smooth and trackable fashion.

    • Analyze program effectiveness, cost, and performance outcomes; proactively surface insights and recommendations to leadership.

    • Work on market research and cost modeling in order to help design competitive incentive programs for non-direct sales groups.

    • Partner with Finance, Accounting, and RevOps to ensure accurate compensation forecasting, accruals, and budget management.

    • Collaborate with the Internal Communications and HR team to effectively roll out and educate managers and eligible employees on variable compensation programs.

  • Data and Analytics:

    • Deliver complex modeling of ambiguous plan design.

    • Navigate data integrity issues in order to produce reliable insights.

    • Partner with HRIS and People Analytics to design, build, and maintain compensation dashboards that enable quick review of market positioning for short and long term incentives and budget utilization needs.

    • Help improve data integrity and optimize HR tech stack functionality for incentives tracking and accuracy.

    • Explore and pilot AI and automation tools to streamline repetitive tasks and enhance predictive analytics capabilities

    • Develop measurable metrics to track incentive program performance.

What You'll Bring to the Team:

  • Experience: 7+ years of compensation experience, with a mix of start up and large tech company experience. Fast pace start up experience preferred.

  • Experience with end-to-end ownership of incentive programs including design, modeling, and administration is a strong plus.

  • Experience with presenting and influencing senior leadership preferred.

  • Preferred Experience: Modeling/forecasting experience is a key competency.

  • Core Competencies: Deep knowledge of incentive-based compensation programs.

  • Skills: Exceptional analytical skills with a proficiency in spreadsheet software and experience with large datasets. Ability to navigate data integrity issues effectively in order to produce reliable dashboards and analytics. Strong communication skills with the ability to simplify complex concepts and present recommendations to diverse audiences, including senior leaders.

  • A proven ability to work autonomously and manage multiple projects in a fast-paced environment.

  • Proficiency with HRIS systems (Rippling, Workday, Pave) preferred.

  • Strong project management skills with the ability to manage multiple concurrent initiatives

  • Experience working with senior leadership preferred

Benefits:

  • Competitive compensation and equity packages

  • Restricted Stock Units

  • Paid time off, paid holidays & leave of absence programs

  • Comprehensive health, dental & vision insurance

  • Employer contributions to HSA account

  • Paid parental leave

  • Paid life insurance, short-term and long-term disability

  • Professional development & tuition reimbursement

  • Mental health & wellness support

  • Commuter benefits (parking & transit)

  • Cell phone stipend

  • 401(k) Retirement plan with company match up to 4% of salary

  • Volunteer time off

  • Global travel insurance & emergency assistance

  • Daily meals allowance

  • Additional perks & programs specific to location

Compensation Range

Compensation will be paid in the range of up to $175,000 - $215,000 + Bonus. Restricted Stock Units are included in all offers. Compensation to be determined by the applicant's knowledge, education, and abilities, as well as internal equity and alignment with market data.

Crusoe is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, disability, genetic information, pregnancy, citizenship, marital status, sex/gender, sexual preference/ orientation, gender identity, age, veteran status, national origin, or any other status protected by law or regulation.

From Crusoe's careers page. First seen Sep 18, 2026, last verified Oct 26, 2026.

Crusoe hiring momentum

Open roles: 349, down 6 (-2%) over the last 13 days.

Oct 13, 2026 · 355Oct 26, 2026 · 349

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