Geared toward candidates with hands-on experience in building comp functions and a background in GTM operations, comfortable with designing incentive plans and managing commission payouts across integrated systems.
Derived from job-description analysis by Serendipath's career intelligence engine.
Original posting from Profound via Ashby
Profound is the fastest-growing AI marketing platform, used by 15% of the Fortune 500 including Comcast, Estée Lauder, and Walmart, and innovators like Ramp, MongoDB, and Figma. It is where marketing teams do the work: research, briefs, content, campaigns, reporting, all in one place, alongside agents that carry the load with them.
Built on 2B+ real user prompts and growing, Profound’s data shows you what people ask AI and what the models say back. Profound's AI Marketer joins that data with deep context about our customers to find the opportunities worth acting on, and then puts agents to work: automating reporting, drafting content, auditing pages for readability, running competitive research. It measures what works and gets better every day.
As our Compensation Manager, you will own how Profound pays and motivates its go-to-market team. Sitting within GTM Operations, you will partner with Sales and Post-Sales leadership to design incentive plans that drive the right behavior, and you will run the comp engine behind them: calculations, systems, and payouts. You will work very closely with our Payroll team so every rep is paid accurately and on time, and with Finance so plans are modeled, budgeted, and accounted for correctly. This is a 0-to-1 role: you will build the comp function's systems, processes, and controls as our GTM team scales.
What you’ll do
Incentive design
- Own incentive plan design across GTM roles, including Account Executives, SDRs, Account Managers, Engagement Managers, and other Post-Sales and Sales roles
- Partner with Sales and Post-Sales leadership to translate GTM strategy (new logo, expansion, retention) into plan mechanics: pay mix, rates, accelerators, ramps, and SPIFs
- Partner with GTM Ops on quota setting, capacity, and territory alignment so targets, coverage, and plans fit together each planning cycle
- Partner with Finance to model plan cost, attainment scenarios, and earnings distribution, and to keep comp within budget
Comp operations and payouts
- Run the commissions cycle end to end: crediting, calculations, review, approvals, and payout
- Partner very closely with Payroll on payout files, timing, and reconciliation so commissions and SPIFs are paid accurately and on schedule
- Own plan documents, participant acknowledgments, and the comp calendar
- Communicate plans and changes to the field clearly and simply, and be the go-to resource for comp questions
- Run a consistent process for inquiries, disputes, and exceptions, and flag recurring exceptions as plan-design issues rather than one-off fixes
Systems, reporting, and compliance
- Build and own our comp systems, including selecting, implementing, and administering a commission platform integrated with Salesforce, HRIS, and payroll
- Partner with Revenue Systems and GTM Engineering to keep bookings, roster, and crediting data clean and in sync across systems
- Build reporting and dashboards on attainment, payout cost, and plan effectiveness for reps, leaders, and Finance
- Partner with Accounting on monthly commission accruals, with documentation and controls that hold up to audit
- Use AI and automation to remove manual work, such as data validation, discrepancy checks, and payout estimates for reps
WHO YOU ARE
- 3 to 5+ years of experience in sales compensation, GTM or revenue operations, or FP&A, with hands-on ownership of both plan design and comp operations
- Deep understanding of incentive mechanics, including quotas, accelerators, ramps, draws, clawbacks, and SPIFs, across both new business and post-sales roles
- Strong Salesforce knowledge, especially how opportunity and booking data flows into commission calculations
- Track record partnering with Payroll and Finance to deliver accurate, on-time payouts and clean month-end close
- Highly analytical, with advanced Excel or Sheets modeling skills; SQL experience is a plus, not required
- A natural business partner who builds trust quickly with sales leaders and reps and can explain comp mechanics simply
- Exceptional attention to detail and sound judgment handling confidential pay data
- Thrives in ambiguity with a 0-to-1 mindset, and is energized by building structure, processes, and tools where none exist yet
- Practical AI fluency: you have used AI assistants or automation tools to reduce manual effort and improve accuracy
NICE TO HAVE
- Experience standing up a comp function or commission platform at a fast-growing, early-stage SaaS or AI company
- Experience with HRIS and payroll integrations, and with multi-country or international comp plans
LOCATION
NYC preferred; remote or other locations (SF, Boston, London) considered. This role is for builders who thrive on speed, iteration, and meaningful impact.
For this role, the expected base salary range is $200,000 to $220,000 (US) and £100,000 to £140,000 (UK). Profound’s total compensation package is designed to be competitive and includes base salary, equity, and a full range of benefits and perks. Final compensation will depend on factors such as your skills, experience, qualifications, and location, and will be determined during the interview process. Our recruiting team will share more details about the full compensation package and benefits as you move through hiring.
Note: All official communication from Profound will come from a @tryprofound.com email address. If you're contacted by anyone using a different domain, please disregard and report it as spam.
Source: Profound careers (Ashby)