Compensation & Equity Expert – Total Rewards

Mercor

. Advise Mercor's People team as it builds its compensation and equity foundation from scratch .

Posted 9/30/2026contractRemote • United StatesMid-LevelSenior💰 $50 - $200 per hourWebsite

Core Competencies

Role fit

Core Competencies

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Demonstrates expertise in compensation design and architecture, including building salary bands, leveling frameworks, and equity program management. Proficient in communicating equity value and managing compensation cycles effectively within a venture-backed environment.

Highest-signal resume keywords

Compensation DesignEquity Program ManagementSalary Band DevelopmentBenchmarking Methodology409A Valuations

ATS Keywords

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Applicant Tracking System Keywords

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Hard Skills

Compensation PhilosophyEquity GrantsIncentive Structure DesignJob ArchitectureMerit PlanningBonus ProgramsEquity RefreshVesting StructuresGrant AdministrationPay Equity

Soft Skills

CollaborationCommunication

Tools & Technologies

HRISCompensation Tooling

Industry Keywords

Pay TransparencyExecutive CompensationPlan GovernanceGlobal Workforce CompensationVenture-Backed Company

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Advise Mercor's People team as it builds its compensation and equity foundation from scratch
Address live compensation and equity questions through scoped engagements
Participate in a short screening process followed by a paid conversation if background fits
Work on projects involving compensation philosophy, leveling across functions, equity grants, and explaining equity value
Collaborate on projects focused on training and enhancing AI systems using human expertise

Requirements

What you’ll need

Depth in compensation design and architecture and/or equity program management
Built salary bands, leveling frameworks, and job architecture from the ground up
Owned an annual compensation cycle, including merit planning, promotion decisions, bonus programs, and equity refresh
Benchmarked against a peer set and defended the benchmark to an executive team
Designed incentive structures that are simple, credible, and behavior-changing
Designed option and RSU programs, including grant guidelines, pool planning, vesting structures, and refresh philosophy
Worked through 409A valuations, plan governance, and grant administration at a venture-backed company
Built modeling and communication to explain equity value to candidates and employees
Experience with compensation philosophy, benchmarking methodology, pay equity, and pay transparency is valuable
Experience with compensation design for a global or contractor workforce at scale is valuable
Experience with benefits program design, HRIS and compensation tooling is valuable
Experience with executive compensation, plan governance, or equity through IPO readiness is valuable
Must be able to work as an independent contractor
H1-B and STEM OPT candidates are not supported

Benefits

Comp & perks

Paid conversation, whether or not anything follows
Fully remote work
Flexible schedule / work on your own schedule
Weekly payments via Stripe or Wise based on services rendered
Potential project extensions
Competitive pay
Collaboration with leading researchers
Work helping shape the next generation of AI systems