Sr. Compensation Manager, R&D
Posted by employer 8 months ago
First seen on Joblaze 5 months ago
Last verified on the company career page 8 hours ago
Skills & Technologies
Not disclosed in this posting: years of experience, visa sponsorship.
Benefits
Joblaze summary
In this role, the Sr. Compensation Manager at Databricks will develop and implement compensation models tailored to attract and retain top technical talent within the R&D organization. The position requires expertise in compensation frameworks, market pricing, and data analysis, with a strong emphasis on collaboration with leadership to address business needs. Ideal candidates will have a solid background in tech compensation practices and the ability to navigate complex organizational dynamics. Databricks emphasizes innovative solutions and operational excellence in its compensation strategies.
Joblaze insights
- Listed about 5 months ago — first seen on Joblaze April 14, 2026. Last confirmed on Databricks's careers page September 24, 2026.
- Salary band is above the typical range for comparable tech roles (median ~$127,000).
- Starts above 96% of 234 comparable senior other roles in United States that list Python we track (median $151,000 across 52 companies). See Python salary trends
- Python appears in 16.8% of 2168 comparable senior other roles in United States; Compensation appears in 0.1% of 2168 comparable senior other roles in United States.
Quick facts
- Is the Sr. Compensation Manager, R&D role remote?
- It's hybrid — Databricks expects some on-site time in Mountain View, California; San Francisco, California.
- What's the salary range?
- Databricks lists $217,800–$299,550 for this role.
- Where is the role based?
- Databricks is hiring for this position in Mountain View, California; San Francisco, California.
- What's the tech stack?
- Joblaze extracted these technologies from the posting: Compensation, Data Analysis, Excel, Gsheets, Python, SQL.
- What seniority level is this role?
- Databricks targets senior candidates for this position.
- Is this full-time or contract?
- Full-time for this Sr. Compensation Manager, R&D role at Databricks.
From the original posting
GAQ127R143
Databricks is building the future of data and AI and world-class engineering requires world-class talent solutions. We are looking for a strategic, technical Compensation Lead to partner directly with our R&D founders, and Engineering VP leadership. In this role, you won't just execute traditional pay practices; you will design first-principles equity and cash strategies to attract, retain, and motivate the sharpest systems, platform, and AI engineers on the planet.
Reporting to the Director of Compensation, you will bridge deep quantitative analysis with high-stakes executive advisory, ensuring our compensation philosophy reinforces an owner mindset across our core technology and product teams.
Scope of the role
• R&D Solutioning & Strategic Advisory (40%): Co-create custom incentive models, specialized technical compensation structures, and high-impact retention frameworks tailored specifically to hyper-competitive R&D skill sets.
• Lifecycle Compensation Management (30%): Own the end-to-end execution of merit, refresh equity, and promotion cycles across global engineering cohorts, serving as the primary advisor for strategic executive hires and key retention scenarios. Build and leverage automation and AI solutions to efficiently support complex and nuanced cases.
• Enterprise Framework Development (30%): Scale Databricks’ global compensation structure, refining market pricing models, pay-for-performance mechanics, and equity strategies.
What you'll bring
R&D Compensation Mastery
• Technical Domain Depth: Deep understanding of the competitive landscape for core engineering, infrastructure, and AI/ML talent—including aggressive startup equity structures, tech-sector refresh strategies, and specialized software compensation models.
• First-Principles Thinking: Ability to look beyond standard survey data to build custom, business-aligned compensation solutions from scratch.
• Advanced Analytics: Mastery of Excel/Google Sheets required. Hands-on experience with SQL, Python, Tableau, or AI-driven analytics tools is a strong plus.
Executive Partnership & Scale
• Trusted Advisory: Confidence and credibility to partner directly with technical founders and executive leadership on high-stakes, sensitive pay decisions, M&A integrations, and critical offers.
• Scalable Operations: Experience building scalable compensation solutions and operationalizing comp programs across complex systems without sacrificing speed or precision.
Pay Range Transparency
Databricks is committed to fair and equitable compensation practices. The pay range(s) for this role is listed below and represents the expected salary range for non-commissionable roles or on-target earnings for commissionable roles. Actual compensation packages are based on several factors that are unique to each candidate, including but not limited to job-related skills, depth of experience, relevant certifications and training, and specific work location. Based on the factors above, Databricks anticipates utilizing the full width of the range. The total compensation package for this position may also include eligibility for annual performance bonus, equity, and the benefits listed above. For more information regarding which range your location is in visit our page here.
About Databricks
BenefitsStandard company text repeated across Databricks's postings is omitted here.