Vice President of Total Rewards and Operations, Cockroach Labs
$267-353.4k
+ Stock Options
More information about location
3 days a week in office
Distributed SQL for always-on customer experiences
Open for applications
Distributed SQL for always-on customer experiences
501-1000 employees
Open for applications
$267-353.4k
+ Stock Options
More information about location
3 days a week in office
501-1000 employees
Company mission
To simplify how businesses build and operate world-changing applications.
Role
Who you are
- 10+ years of experience leading Total Rewards in a global, high-growth technology or SaaS company; public company and IPO experience preferred
- Deep expertise in compensation strategy, including market positioning, incentive design, equity, and executive compensation
- Proven ability to scale global teams and programs with strong leadership and mentorship skills
- Hands-on experience in HRIS implementation, automation, and analytics, with a data-driven mindset
- Expertise in payroll operations and regulatory compliance across global markets
- Strong financial acumen with experience analyzing compensation data and preparing materials for executive stakeholders and Compensation Committees
- Ability to influence executive leadership and Boards with clarity and confidence
- Proven ability to think strategically and execute tactically, balancing big-picture vision with operational detail
- Strong problem-solving skills and the ability to operate in dynamic, fast-paced environments
- Advanced Excel skills and familiarity with AI-driven HR tools
- Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Economics, Human Resources, or a related field required
What the job involves
- The Vice President of Total Rewards and Operations is a global senior leadership role responsible for developing and executing a comprehensive strategy that ensures Cockroach Labs remains a competitive, equitable, and efficient employer
- This role oversees all aspects of compensation, benefits, HR technology, people analytics, compliance, and payroll. It requires deep partnership with People, Finance, Legal, and Engineering stakeholders to drive strategic and operational excellence
- Success in this role is measured by the delivery of a forward-looking total rewards strategy, underpinned by insightful analytics, scalable systems, and strong governance
- Build and lead the Total Rewards and People Operations functions, encompassing Compensation & Equity, Benefits & Wellness, HR Technology, People Analytics, Compliance, and Payroll
- Develop and execute a global total rewards strategy that includes compensation, equity, and benefits, ensuring alignment with company goals, SEC compliance, and talent retention
- Partner with the CPO and Finance to develop Compensation Committee materials and provide strategic recommendations on executive compensation and equity programs
- Oversee global payroll operations to ensure accuracy, compliance, and scalability for a rapidly growing workforce
- Lead HR compliance efforts, aligning with global labor laws and partnering with internal risk and compliance teams to ensure proper controls and role clarity
- Direct the HRIS and People Analytics functions, using data to optimize workforce planning, compensation strategies, and operational efficiency
- Manage vendor relationships and contracts across compensation, benefits, and HR systems, ensuring cost effectiveness and service quality
- Leverage AI-driven tools and analytics to enhance total rewards strategy, employee experience, and organizational efficiency
- Mentor and scale a high-performing team with a culture of collaboration, innovation, and accountability
- In your first 30 days, you will gain understanding by conducting a comprehensive review of compensation structures, benefits offerings, HR systems, payroll processes, and compliance frameworks at Cockroach Labs. You will meet with key stakeholders across the People, Finance, and Legal teams to align on immediate priorities and long-term strategic goals
- Additionally, you will assess current market positioning for compensation and benefits to ensure Cockroach Labs remains competitive as it scales
- Establishing strong relationships with internal partners and gaining a deep understanding of company culture, business objectives, and global expansion plans will be critical in shaping your strategy
- By day 60, you will begin implementing foundational improvements in compensation, benefits, and HR technology. You will refine Cockroach Labs’ total rewards philosophy, ensuring alignment with business growth and industry benchmarks, while also evaluating opportunities to optimize pay equity and incentive structures
- Simultaneously, you will assess compliance risks and implement necessary frameworks to ensure regulatory alignment across multiple geographies
- During this phase, you will also outline a roadmap for HR technology enhancements, ensuring systems are scalable, integrated, and capable of supporting an expanding workforce
- By day 90, your focus will shift toward executing long-term initiatives that drive scalability and efficiency. You will formalize and roll out a comprehensive global compensation structure, standardizing salary bands, equity guidelines, and incentive programs across regions
- In collaboration with internal partners, you will refine and launch a global benefits strategy, ensuring market competitiveness while maintaining cost-effectiveness
- As you establish your team and refine operations, success will be measured by the seamless execution of Total Rewards programs, increased employee engagement, and a scalable HR infrastructure that supports Cockroach Labs’ rapid expansion
Our take
Cockroach Labs was founded by a team of ex-Google employees who wanted to build a database management system similar to Google’s Spanner. The result is CockroachDB, an open-source, distributed SQL database that delivers familiar SQL, strong consistency, and near-indestructible fault tolerance. Designed to scale locally or globally and deployed on any cloud or on-prem setup, it keeps mission-critical applications running even through hardware failures or full data-center outages.
A major milestone in the company's growth is its partnership with IBM ,which integrates CockroachBD into IBM's hybrid infrastructure. This makes it far easier for long-standing mainframe users to modernize without rewriting massive amounts of code. Running CockroachDB on systems like LinuxONE, Linux on Z, Power Systems, and Red Hat OpenShift helps organizations adopt cloud-native architectures while staying in environments they trust. At the same time, enterprise demand is surging and the company is boasting significant year-on-year growth in new customers, ARR, and cloud adoption.
As applications become more global, always-on, and increasingly AI-driven, businesses need databases built for scale, resilience, and zero downtime. And CockroachDB was engienered for exaclt ythat. With a decade of innovation, expanding enterprise traction, and a leadership team experienced in scaling high-growth tech companies, Cockroach Labs is set to power the next generation of mission-critical applications.
Steph
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Insights
11% employee growth in 12 months
Company
Funding (last 2 of 7 rounds)
Dec 2021
$278m
SERIES F
Jan 2021
$160m
SERIES E
Total funding: $633.2m
Company benefits
- Competitive Health Insurance Coverage
- Paid Parental Leave
- Flexible PTO
- Learning & Development
- Relocation Support
- Employee Referral Bonus
Company HQ
Chelsea, New York, NY
Leadership
Spencer Kimball
(Co-Founder & CEO)Worked at WeGo Systems as CTO for 3 years before joining Google as a Software Engineer for almost 10 years. Also, previous CTO of Viewfinder and Engineer at Square.
Peter Matiss
(Co-Founder & CTO)Previously a Software Engineer at Square, Co-Founder at Viewfinder and a Software Engineer at Google.
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