Tech Compensation Strategy Lead

Airbnb was born in 2007 when two hosts welcomed three guests to their San Francisco home, and has since grown to over 5 million hosts who have welcomed over 2 billion guest arrivals in almost every country across the globe. Every day, hosts offer unique stays and experiences that make it possible for guests to connect with communities in a more authentic way.The Community You Will Join: The Total Rewards Compensation team serves as a strategic advisor to business leaders, managers, and employees across Airbnb. We are compensation experts with a deep understanding of our stakeholders, problem solvers who use data and insights to drive value, and partners who build the tools, models, and frameworks that support sound compensation decision-making across the company. This role sits within the Compensation function and will work closely with the Technology organization and cross-functional partners including Talent Directors, Recruiting, People Analytics, Finance, and Legal. The Difference You Will Make: We are looking for a Senior Compensation Partner to own Airbnb's compensation strategy for the Technology organization, covering functions such as Engineering, Infrastructure, ML/AI and Data Science. You will be the primary Total Rewards advisor to Technology leadership and the compensation point of contact for Talent Directors and Recruiting, defining how Airbnb competes for AI, ML, and frontier engineering talent. Working alongside our regional Total Rewards Partners, you will hold a global view of how we pay technical talent across all markets. Beyond your client group, you will contribute to the design and strategy of complex global programs, lead core Total Rewards priorities, and build the models and tools the broader Compensation team relies on. You are equally credible advising our most senior technical leaders and in the data behind the recommendation. A Typical Day: Serve as the senior compensation advisor to Technology leadership across functions such as Engineering, Infrastructure, ML/AI, and Data Science, owning the organization's most consequential decisions: contested offers, retention actions, annual equity awards, and precedent-setting leveling exceptions Provide direction and counsel to multiple Talent Directors and their teams, and carry recommendations to senior leadership and cross-functional executives across Talent, Finance, and Legal Own Airbnb's market positioning for technical talent and the frameworks behind it: benchmarking methodology that supplements survey data with recruiting signals and real-time sources, role evaluation that weights AI expertise, research impact, and scarce skills, and survey participation strategy for technical benchmarks Help build the design, strategy, and execution of complex global compensation programs — carrying accountability for cost, budget, and return on investment — and shape the adjacent Total Rewards programs beyond your client group, including pay equity, job architecture and leveling, pay transparency, and workforce planning Construct the financial models that project the long-term implications of compensation strategy and inform executive and board-level planning Partner with regional Total Rewards Partners across EMEA, APAC, and India to maintain a consistent global view of technical compensation, resolving cases where regional market dynamics and global consistency conflict Lead compensation cycle strategy for Technology end-to-end, from budget modeling and exception frameworks through manager enablement and executive rollups Cultivate the external network across survey providers, consultancies, and peer companies that surfaces what surveys miss, and translate it into proactive recommendations for leadership and the decisions needed to close priority candidates Build the compensation models, tools, and frameworks the broader Compensation team relies on, including AI-powered benchmarking, offer generation, and workflow automation, and partner with Talent Operations, Talent Systems, and People Analytics on the dashboards that put market data and offer guidance directly in the hands of recruiters, hiring managers, and Talent Directors Champion technical compensation expertise across the team, mentoring partners and analysts and building the enablement materials that help tech leaders apply Airbnb's compensation philosophy with confidence Your Expertise: 12+ years of compensation or analytics experience, ideally supporting the technical side of the business at a high-growth technology company in a fast-paced, global environment, with familiarity with the AI/ML talent market Proven track record as the primary compensation advisor to executive or C-level technical leaders, with ownership of the highest-stakes compensation decisions and the ability to provide direction and counsel to Talent Directors, recruiters, and senior business leaders Demonstrated ownership of the design and strategy of complex, global compensation programs, including financial accountability for program cost and budget, and experience leading cross-functional initiatives in ambiguous, fast-moving environments Breadth across the full compensation discipline — base pay structure design, equity and incentive design, job architecture and leveling, and pay equity — ideally spanning both business partner and programs or analytics roles Expert knowledge of third-party survey methodologies (Radford/Mercer/WTW), with the ability to define benchmarking methodology and to build and validate pay structures across geographies and functions; recognition in the broader compensation community through peer networks, industry forums, or survey advisory groups is a plus Expert analytical skills including advanced Excel/Google sheets and working proficiency in tools like SQL, Python, or R to build models, tools, and data products across large, complex data sets; experience with Workday Advanced Compensation, Tableau, or comparable BI and compensation platforms Actively leverages AI tools and technologies to accelerate workflows and improve decision quality, ideally including hands-on experience building AI-powered tools or data products such as LLM-based applications, automated reporting systems, or compensation technology prototypes Strong communication skills with a proven ability to influence and negotiate with senior stakeholders internally and externally, and to present complex compensation analysis to senior business and technical audiences in a way that informs executive and board-level decisions Bachelor's or advanced degree in a quantitative field such as Engineering, Economics, Statistics, or Data Science, or equivalent experience Your Location: Due to the nature of this position, the successful applicant will need to be based in San Francisco, California to be able to conduct their work. If your position is employed by another Airbnb entity, your recruiter will inform you what states you are eligible to work from. Our Commitment To Inclusion & Belonging: Airbnb is committed to working with the broadest talent pool possible. We believe diverse ideas foster innovation and engagement, and allow us to attract creatively-led people, and to develop the best products, services and solutions. All qualified individuals are encouraged to apply. We strive to also provide a disability inclusive application and interview process. If you are a candidate with a disability and require reasonable accommodation in order to submit an application, please contact us at: View email address on click.appcast.io. Please include your full name, the role you’re applying for and the accommodation necessary to assist you with the recruiting process. We ask that you only reach out to us if you are a candidate whose disability prevents you from being able to complete our online application.How We'll Take Care of You: Our job titles may span more than one career level. The actual base pay is dependent upon many factors, such as: training, transferable skills, work experience, business needs and market demands. The base pay range is subject to change and may be modified in the future. This role may also be eligible for bonus, equity, benefits, and Employee Travel Credits. Pay Range$204,000—$255,000 USD Reasonable Accommodations: We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations throughout the recruitment process for applicants with disabilities. If you need assistance, or an accommodation, please let your recruiter know once you are contacted about a role. A Note on Recruiting Scams: Scammers sometimes pose as Airbnb recruiters to get money or personal information from candidates. A few things that will always be true for Airbnb’s hiring process: our open roles are posted on Airbnb’s Career’s Page at careers.airbnb.com, and our recruiters correspond only from @airbnb.com or @ext.airbnb.com email addresses. Our recruiters will never ask for your Social Security number, bank account details, passport, or payment app information while you are interviewing. We’ll also never ask you to pay a fee, send money, deposit or cash a check, or purchase work-related equipment (such as a company laptop) during the interview process. We encourage candidates to remain vigilant of these recruiting scams and not share sensitive information if you do not believe an individual is actually affiliated with Airbnb.

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