Compensation and Benefits Lead (Total Rewards)

🌟 Your Impact at Lila

This role is designed for a builder—someone who thinks deeply, designs intentionally, and moves with conviction. As Compensation and Benefits Leader at Lila, you’ll own the design and delivery of our total rewards approach, partnering closely with the VP of Human Resonance to shape how compensation works in a company operating at the edge of what’s possible.

You’ll architect frameworks for base pay, equity, performance, and benefits that reflect our values, scale with our growth, and support long-term trust and clarity across our team. You’ll blend strategy with execution, modeling with communication, and systems-thinking with deep human consideration.

This is your chance to shape the way compensation feels in a company building the future of science. You’ll help architect the experience behind one of the most exciting missions in AI today—creating systems that support clarity, trust, and long-term human growth.

You’ll work with people who care deeply, move quickly, and believe that how we work is as important as what we’re working on.

This is an M3/M4 individual contributor role, with meaningful visibility and a clear growth path into people leadership as we scale. It’s based in Cambridge, MA, with three days per week in-office as part of our hybrid working rhythm.

We believe compensation should be fair, transparent, and tied to the impact people make over time. For this role, the expected base salary range is $185-$210K. Total compensation also includes equity, benefits, and growth opportunities designed to support meaningful, high-ownership work.

🛠️ What You'll Be Building 

Design and Lead Total Rewards Strategy

• Architect a compensation and benefits philosophy that aligns with Lila’s mission, values, and velocity.
• Own frameworks across cash, equity, bonus, and benefits—designing systems that are competitive, equitable, and sustainable.
• Translate vision into structure, policies, and experiences that support how we grow and retain talent.

Operationalize with Precision and Agility

• Lead compensation cycles from end to end—including merit, bonus, and equity review—alongside HRBPs and business leaders.
• Design tools and templates that help managers make informed, consistent, human-centered decisions.
• Ensure compliance and internal alignment across systems, functions, and geographies.

Model, Analyze, and Iterate

• Build models and run scenarios to guide decision-making and headcount planning.
• Analyze internal trends and external benchmarks to ensure our approach is both competitive and true to Lila’s values.
• Use data to tell clear, actionable stories—then act on them.

Collaborate Across the Organization

• Partner with the VP of Human Resonance, HRBPs, BU leaders, Finance, Legal, and Talent to align compensation strategy with business goals.
• Help shape the connective tissue between compensation, performance, and progression.

Think Long-Term, Build for Now

• Design for scale while staying deeply attuned to the experience of today’s employees.
• Help define what it means to build a compensation approach that fuels performance, creates clarity, and reflects what we truly value.

🧰 What You’ll Need to Succeed 

• Compensation Design Experience: You’ve built—or rebuilt—compensation programs from scratch. You think beyond mechanics, designing systems that support culture, performance, and trust.
• Strategic and Operational Range: You move fluidly between strategy and execution, zooming out to spot patterns and zooming in to make it all work. You know when to rethink the system and when to ship the spreadsheet.
• Analytical Confidence: You’re fluent in modeling and comfortable building frameworks that drive insight and decision-making. You don’t need to be a traditional comp expert—but you do bring clarity, rigor, and a strong point of view.
• Builder Mentality: You’re not here to maintain. You’re here to make, improve, and shape. You take ownership from first draft to full launch—and do it while collaborating with others building in parallel.
• Organizational Agility: You understand how startups evolve and how to build systems that can stretch, flex, and grow. You’ve worked in dynamic environments and know how to get things done even when things shift midstream.
• No Formal Prerequisites: We care most about how you think and what you’ve built. No specific degree, certification, or title required. We welcome people with unconventional paths and high-impact outcomes