Senior Variable Compensation Manager

About Anthropic

Anthropic’s mission is to create reliable, interpretable, and steerable AI systems. We want AI to be safe and beneficial for our users and for society as a whole. Our team is a quickly growing group of committed researchers, engineers, policy experts, and business leaders working together to build beneficial AI systems.

About the role:

We are seeking an experienced Senior Variable Compensation Manager to design, implement, and manage Anthropic's variable compensation programs. As our first dedicated variable compensation professional, you will shape how we incentivize and reward performance across our rapidly growing organization. This role will start as a senior individual contributor with the opportunity to build and lead a team as our compensation programs scale with organizational growth.

You'll partner closely with executive leadership, People Operations, Finance, and department heads to create compensation strategies that align individual and team performance with Anthropic's mission of building safe, beneficial AI systems. Your work will be instrumental in ensuring our compensation philosophy attracts top talent while driving the behaviors and outcomes critical to our success.

Responsibilities:

• Design and implement comprehensive variable compensation strategies that align with Anthropic's business objectives, values, and growth trajectory
• Partner with executive leadership to gain alignment on plan design principles, structures, and payout methodologies
• Draft detailed compensation plan documents, communicate program changes, and ensure clear understanding across all stakeholders
• Lead the selection, implementation, and ongoing management of incentive compensation management systems and tools
• Collaborate with Finance to establish budgeting processes and expense forecasting models
• Work with People Operations to integrate variable compensation into broader total rewards strategy and performance management processes for GTM team members
• Analyze market trends and compensation data to ensure our programs remain competitive and effective
• Develop governance frameworks and approval processes for plan modifications and special circumstances
• Create reporting and analytics to measure program effectiveness and inform future design decisions
• Build scalable processes and documentation to support organizational growth and eventual team expansion

You may be a good fit if you:

• Have 5+ years of experience in variable compensation design, administration, or related field, preferably in high-growth technology companies
• Have deep expertise in GTM incentive plan design principles, including sales compensation, executive incentives, and broad-based variable pay programs
• Are skilled at translating business strategy into actionable compensation frameworks that drive desired behaviors
• Have experience with incentive compensation management systems (such as CaptivateIQ, Xactly, or similar platforms)
• Excel at building relationships and influencing stakeholders at all levels, from individual contributors to executive leadership
• Are comfortable working in ambiguous, fast-paced environments and can bring structure to complex challenges
• Have strong analytical skills and experience with data analysis, financial modeling, and reporting
• Possess excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to explain complex compensation concepts clearly
• Are detail-oriented with strong project management skills and ability to manage multiple priorities simultaneously
• Care about ensuring that advanced AI systems are developed safely and are excited about contributing to our mission

Strong candidates may also have:

• Experience building variable compensation programs from the ground up in startup or scale-up environments
• Familiarity with international compensation considerations for global teams
• Experience leading and developing teams, with interest in building a variable compensation function over time
• Understanding of AI/technology industry compensation trends and practices

Deadline to apply: None. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. 

The expected salary range for this position is:

Annual Salary:$190,000—$270,000 USD

Logistics

Education requirements: We require at least a Bachelor's degree in a related field or equivalent experience.

Location-based hybrid policy: Currently, we expect all staff to be in one of our offices at least 25% of the time. However, some roles may require