As the Principal II, Compensation, you are a strategic subject matter expert on Rocket's Total Rewards team, drawing on a wide range of skills and deep functional expertise to solve Rocket's most complex compensation challenges - partnering directly with business leaders and People Business Partners on senior hires, promotions, org design, and internal equity. Rather than executing an established process, this role provides thought leadership and expert guidance on how Rocket approaches pay, and supports the design and execution of Rocket's annual compensation programs, including merit, bonus, and equity cycles. Reporting to the VP, Compensation, this role is a trusted advisor on compensation approach across the business.
About the role Compensation Consulting
- Serve as a compensation advisor to senior business leaders and People Business Partners, providing data-driven recommendations on promotions, internal equity, offers, and pay exceptions.
- Partner with Talent Acquisition and hiring leaders to structure competitive offers for senior-level candidates, including base, bonus, and equity.
- Lead job evaluation and leveling reviews, calibrating roles consistently against Rocket's job architecture and external market benchmarks.
- Advise on the compensation implications of org design changes, reorganizations, and role redesigns, partnering with People Business Partners and business leaders throughout.
- Lead market pricing analysis while translating market data into clear, actionable pay recommendations.
- Advise on compensation approach for AI and other emerging technical roles, and evaluate how AI tools can be applied to improve compensation modeling, market pricing, and pay equity analysis.
- Act as a subject matter expert on pay equity, compensation philosophy, and compensation approach, resolving complex, first-of-a-kind issues for which no established process or precedent exists.
- Mentor and provide technical guidance to compensation analysts, raising the rigor and consistency of consulting work across the team.
- Represent Compensation on cross-functional initiatives such as M&A, or business restructuring, assessing pay implications and recommending an integration approach.
Annual Compensation Programs
- Support the design and execution of Rocket's annual merit, bonus, and equity review cycles, including modeling, budget guidance, and manager enablement materials.
- Partner with Compensation leadership to build and adjust annual salary structures, geographic differentials, and range movements based on market trends.
- Lead year-end compensation planning and calibration sessions, helping ensure consistent, defensible pay decisions across the business.
- Conduct pay equity analysis as part of each annual cycle, identifying disparities and partnering with People Business Partners and business leaders to resolve them before decisions are finalized.
- Prepare program outcome summaries and recommendations for senior leadership, highlighting spend, market positioning, and areas of risk.
- Identify and lead process or tooling improvements that help annual compensation programs scale as the business grows.
About you Minimum Qualifications:
- Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business, Finance, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience
- 10+ years of progressive compensation experience, including substantial experience in a compensation consulting or advisory capacity
- Strong working knowledge of job architecture, market pricing methodology, and compensation survey data (e.g., Radford, Mercer)
- Advanced Excel and financial modeling skills, with the ability to translate data into clear recommendations
- Strong executive presence and communication skills, with the ability to advise senior leaders confidently and influence pay decisions
- Proven ability to manage multiple concurrent projects and competing priorities in a fast-paced, dynamic environment
- Sound judgment and discretion when handling sensitive and confidential compensation data
- Demonstrated expertise applying AI tools and techniques to compensation modeling, market pricing, and pay equity analysis
- Demonstrated experience advising on compensation matters in M&A, or business integration transactions
Preferred Qualifications:
- Certified Compensation Professional (CCP) certification
- Experience in fintech, financial services, or the mortgage industry
- Experience with compensation and HRIS platforms (e.g., Workday, PayScale, Radford)
- Experience partnering with senior leadership in a fast-paced, matrixed organization
- Familiarity with SQL or other data querying tools to support compensation analytics
- Experience navigating pay transparency and pay equity regulations across multiple states or jurisdictions
- Global compensation experience, particularly supporting Canada and India
What you'll get Our team members fuel our strategy, innovation and growth, so we ensure the health and well-being of not just you, but your family, too! We go above and beyond to give you the support you need on an individual level and offer all sorts of ways to help you live your best life. We are proud to offer eligible team members perks and health benefits that will help you have peace of mind. Simply put: We've got your back. Check out our full list of Benefits and Perks.
This job description is an outline of the primary responsibilities of this position and may be modified at the discretion of the company at any time.
