Director, Sales Compensation & Operations

Director, Sales Compensation & Operations

Cognite is seeking a highly skilled Director, Sales Compensation & Revenue Operations to serve a critical dual function within the Revenue organization.

The primary focus of this role is to be the end-to-end global owner for Sales Compensation, leading the design, governance, and administration of all incentive plans.

The secondary, but crucial, function is to act as a core Revenue Operations partner, assisting the VP of RevOps in executing critical "controller" type duties, specifically around GTM resource planning, financial control, and field productivity analytics.

The ideal candidate is a proven Sales Compensation leader from a high-growth B2B enterprise SaaS environment who is seeking to expand their scope into broader GTM operational and financial governance. This role demands rigorous execution on compensation paired with the systems thinking and executive presence required to influence C-suite leaders and Regional Presidents.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic incentive design and governance - End-to-end owner of global sales incentive strategy and execution.

Global compensation plan design & strategy : Lead the design, modeling, implementation, and administration of all commission, bonus, and incentive plans for all Revenue roles. Ensure direct alignment with Cognite's strategic profitability goals and market dynamics.

Incentive Compensation Management (ICM) : Lead the monthly commissions process. Champion automation and system governance within ICM tools (e.g. CaptivateIQ, QuotaPath) to ensure timely, highly accurate payouts, auditability, and compliance.

Field partnership & conflict resolution : Act as an empathetic and credible partner to the sales field, proactively addressing compensation challenges, maintaining trust, and dispute resolution with fairness, clarity, and strong documentation.

Revenue Operations execution and GTM financial support - This Director will be a working member of the RevOps team, taking ownership of critical operational processes that support the Revenue organization's resource control and efficiency.

GTM resource planning support : Partner with the VP of RevOps to support the annual planning cycle, including modeling and validating the deployment of the Revenue organization's headcount and operating budget.

Territory modeling : Execute and administer the global process for territory design and segmentation. Ensure equitable coverage, manage capacity, and maximize the ROI for Revenue resources.

Sales productivity analytics : Serve as the analytical engine to drive continuous productivity improvements. Develop, manage, and leverage key Revenue metrics (e.g. ARR per FTE, sales ramp efficiency, time to first sale, quota attainment %) to measure performance and recommend data-driven adjustments.

Strategic decision analysis : Conduct targeted, ad-hoc financial and operational analysis to guide executive decisions on resource allocation and major initiatives (e.g. pricing model changes, organizational restructuring).

Cross-functional liaison : Serve as a key operational partner within Revenue to Finance (budget, commissions), HR and Talent Acquisition (headcount management), and Legal (plan compliance).

Required Qualifications and Skills

Experience and technical expertise :

7+ years of progressive experience in Sales Compensation, Revenue Operations, Sales Operations, or GTM Finance within a complex, high-growth B2B Enterprise SaaS environment.

Incentive compensation leadership : Proven experience owning and leading the entire Sales Compensation function (design, execution, administration, and technology governance). Expertise in managing international / global compensation and GTM structures is highly desirable.

Tech stack : Direct experience managing and scaling ICM platforms (e.g. CaptivateIQ). Advanced proficiency in financial modeling, budgeting, and leveraging CRM / BI tools for data analysis (Salesforce, advanced Excel).

Leadership and behavioral competencies

Executive communication and influence : Exceptional ability to synthesize complex frameworks and data into clear, concise narratives for C-suite executives and Presidents with high credibility and influence.

Operational rigor : Highly organized, detail-oriented, and process-drivenessential for managing complex, concurrent, and high-stakes processes (compensation, budgeting, headcount) with extreme accuracy.

Intellectual curiosity : Demonstrated commitment to challenging assumptions, thinking systemically across functional silos, and identifying non-obvious solutions to complex GTM challenges.

Desirable

Experience in the Industrial software, AI / ML, or specialized B2B software space is highly desirable.

In addition to Revenue Operations, a background in Finance or Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A) is a plus.