Compensation Analyst

Wilson Sonsini is the premier legal advisor to technology, life sciences, and other growth enterprises worldwide. We represent companies at every stage of development, from entrepreneurial start-ups to multibillion-dollar global corporations, as well as the venture firms, private equity firms, and investment banks that finance and advise them. The firm has approximately 1,100 attorneys in 17 offices: 13 in the U.S., two in China, and two in Europe. Our broad spectrum of practices and entrepreneurial spirit allow exceptional opportunities for professional achievement and career growth.


The Compensation Analyst will partner with the Compensation Manager and Director of HR Operations in administering the firm's compensation programs and processes. This position will be the primary contact for business professional staff positions and advise managers on compensation matters; developing proposals for discussion and decision-making, ensuring compensation practices are equitable, compliant and aligned with organizational strategy and market practices.

The successful candidate will have a strong customer-service orientation, have the ability to prioritize their work and provide responsive, accurate, and thoughtful support to many different departments and individuals at all levels of the organization.

This role is available as a hybrid or virtual work schedule.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead the administration of the annual base pay and incentive programs for professional, administrative and legal support staff.
  • Partner with the Compensation Manager on building out the schedule, providing support to managers through the annual cycle and ensure schedule is adhered to.
• Support the Compensation Manager in developing annual budgets and forecasts for business professional staff.
• Collaborate with HR Business Partners in identify future compensation action items (such as promotions and job changes), gather relevant data for evaluation and maintain appropriate tracking to ensure timely implementation.
• Review upcoming and open job requisitions and for new and existing roles; provide recommendations on job titles, job levels, associated base pay ranges and FLSA status.
• Serve as primary contact for market pricing requests and provide support to managers, recruiters and HR Business Partners with respect to market data, internal equity and compensation guidelines.
• Manage participation in compensation surveys, analyzing survey data, maintaining job architecture and salary structures by functional role, job level and geographic location.
• Collaborate with Senior Compensation Analyst on special projects and during as needed.
• Handle Workday administration for supported populations.
  • Audit transactions in Workday to maintain the accuracy of job, salary grade, compensation, and organization information; ensuring that data is complete.
  • Participate in configuring and testing compensation and time off functions in Workday; report issues for remediation to ensure transactions have the correct payroll effect.
  • Monitoring Workday help case tickets and respond to compensation related inquiries.
  • Implement advanced compensation functionality to support base pay and incentives cycles for staff.
  • Work with the HRIS to evaluate and implement new Workday features for compensation; support analytics and dashboard projects requiring compensation data; ensure new configurations are accurately tested and integrated with payroll.
• Act as a liaison with our payroll department, coordinating compensation activities and business processes.
• Ensure compliance with applicable laws and regulations (e.g. pay equity, wage and hour, federal/state reporting obligations). Conduct regular compliance audits, maintain accurate documentation, and proactively monitor regulatory changes to reduce legal risk.
• Work on compensation projects and initiatives; assist with data collection and analysis; answer questions about programs and policies from managers and employees. Research and assemble workforce-related data to support a wide variety of firm initiatives, functions, and programs, including management presentations and exhibits.
• Manage compensation program documents within the firm's document management system; ensure that shared files are orderly and up to date; manage security access.
• Perform related duties as assigned or directed by supervisor.
• Maintain compliance with all firm policies and procedures.

Education and/or Work Experience Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent combination of related functional experience.
• Minimum of 3 years of experience in an employee compensation or total rewards role; law firm experience a plus.
• Experience with Workday compensation modules, business process, and reporting, is strongly preferred.
• Must possess a strong analytical ability, intellectual curiosity, organizational skills and creativity.
• Ability to work efficiently with managing and manipulating spreadsheets and large amounts of data as well as produce well-organized, timely, and accurate work.
• Advanced MS Excel skills.
• Experience with Global Compensation a plus.

The primary location for this job posting is in Palo Alto, but other locations may be listed. The actual base pay offered will depend upon a variety of factors, including but not limited to the selected candidate's qualifications, years of relevant experience, level of education, professional certifications and licenses, and work location. The anticipated pay range for this position is as follows:

Palo Alto, New York, San Francisco: $102,000 - $138,000 per year.Austin, Boston, Boulder, Century City, Delaware, Los Angeles, Salt Lake City, San Diego, Seattle, Washington, D.C., and all other locations: $91,800 - $124,200 per year.

The compensation for this position may include a discretionary year-end merit bonus based on performance. We offer a highly competitive salary and benefits package.


Benefits information can be found here. Equal Opportunity Employer (EOE).