Senior Compensation & Equity Analyst

K2 is building the largest and highest-power satellites ever flown, unlocking performance levels previously out of reach across every orbit. Backed by over $1 billion in total funding from leading investors including Altimeter Capital, ICONIQ, Kleiner Perkins, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Redpoint Ventures, and T. Rowe Price — and with over $1 billion in signed contracts across commercial and US government customers, we're mass-producing the highest-power satellite platforms ever built for missions from LEO to deep space.

The rise of heavy-lift launch vehicles is shifting the industry from an era of mass constraint to one of mass abundance, and we believe this new era demands a fundamentally different class of spacecraft. Engineered to survive the harshest radiation environments and to fully capitalize on today's and tomorrow's massive rockets, K2 satellites deliver unmatched capability at constellation scale and across multiple orbits.

With multiple launches in 2027 and plans to scale to 100 satellites a year, we're Building Bigger — helping develop the solar system and build toward a Kardashev Type II (K2) civilization. If you are a motivated individual who thrives in a fast-paced environment and you're excited about contributing to the success of a high-growth Series D-funded company, we'd love for you to apply.

The Role

In this role, you will own compensation and equity strategy for a rapidly scaling organization, translating market data and internal equity considerations into clear, defensible pay decisions. You will manage our equity administration in Carta, build the analytical infrastructure that helps the People team and company leadership make data-driven workforce decisions, and champion the thoughtful adoption of AI tools across the People function. This role combines rigorous technical work — market benchmarking, equity mechanics, compensation modeling — with the judgment to communicate recommendations clearly to stakeholders at every level, including founders. If you enjoy working at the intersection of data, compensation design, and business strategy, this is the role for you.

Responsibilities

• Compensation Strategy & Administration
  • Own end-to-end compensation processes, including offer reviews, promotion and merit recommendations, and market benchmarking across all job families
  • Manage compensation survey participation (e.g., Radford), including data submission, job mapping, and results interpretation
  • Build and maintain compensation frameworks — pay bands, leveling, and specialized frameworks (e.g., clearance premiums, hard-to-fill technical roles)
  • Partner with recruiters and hiring managers to validate offer memos against internal equity, peer set data, and compensation floors ahead of founder approval
• Equity Program Management
  • Own equity administration in Carta, including grant tracking, cap table reconciliation, and data accuracy for internal and external reporting
  • Support equity program design, including new-hire grants, refresh cycles, and promotion-related equity, in partnership with People Ops leadership
  • Model equity scenarios (dilution, option pool sufficiency, grant timing) to inform program decisions
• People Analytics
  • Build and maintain workforce dashboards and reporting (headcount, attrition, pacing, compensation trends) for People Ops and leadership audiences
  • Partner with People team leadership on data pulls supporting workforce planning, location strategy, and other business-critical analyses
  • Ensure data integrity across HR systems (Rippling, Carta) to support accurate, timely reporting
• AI Adoption & Enablement
  • Lead evaluation and rollout of AI tools that improve People Ops efficiency, from compensation modeling to recruiting operations
  • Develop internal guidelines and training to support responsible, effective AI use across the People function
• Business Partnership
  • Act as a proactive partner to People Ops leadership on matching headcount and compensation investment to business initiatives
  • Provide backup support on workforce planning, location strategy, and ad hoc leadership requests (e.g., board materials, investor-facing analyses) as needed

Qualifications

• 4+ years in compensation, HR analytics, or a related quantitative HR function, with a track record of translating data into clear recommendations for leadership
• Direct experience with compensation benchmarking and survey participation (e.g., Radford, Option Impact, or similar)
• Working knowledge of equity mechanics (vesting, dilution, option pools); experience with an equity administration platform such as Carta is a plus
• Strong Excel/Google Sheets modeling skills; comfort building and maintaining dashboards and forecasting tools

Nice to Have

• Background in aerospace, hardware, or other technical-hiring-heavy industries
• Experience supporting board-level or investor-facing People analytics

Compensation and Benefits:

• Base salary range for this role is $120k– $170k + equity in the company
• Salary will be based on several factors including, but not limited to: knowledge and skills, education, and experience level
• Comprehensive benefits package including paid time off, medical/dental/vision coverage, life insurance, paid parental leave, and many other perks

If you don’t meet 100% of the preferred skills and experience, we encourage you to still apply! Building a spacecraft unlike any other requires a team unlike any other and non-traditional career twists and turns are encouraged!

If you need a reasonable accommodation as part of your application for employment or interviews with us, please let us know.

Export Compliance

As defined in the ITAR, “U.S. Persons” include U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents (i.e., Green Card holders), and certain protected individuals (e.g., refugees/asylees, American Samoans). Please consult with a knowledgeable advisor if you are unsure whether you are a “U.S. Person.”

The person hired for this role will have access to information and items controlled by U.S. export control regulations, including the export control regulations outlined in the International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR). The person hired for this role must therefore either be a “U.S. person” as defined by 22 C.F.R. § 120.15 or otherwise eligible for a federally issued export control license.

Equal Opportunity

K2 Space is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with K2 Space is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.