Senior Benefits Manager

About the Job: LaunchDarkly is seeking a Senior Benefits Manager to design, run, and continuously improve the health, wellness, and financial benefits programs that support our growing, distributed workforce. You will be the senior subject matter expert on benefits within People Operations, owning the strategy and delivery of our programs end to end, managing carrier and vendor relationships, and ensuring our offerings are competitive, compliant, and cost-effective. This is a senior individual contributor role. You will work independently on complex, ambiguous problems, influence decisions across People, Finance, Legal, and IT, and serve as a trusted advisor to the Chief People Officer and other senior leaders. You will not have direct reports, but you will guide and coach teammates and external partners through your expertise. We are looking for someone who pairs deep technical benefits knowledge with sound business judgment, a bias for operational excellence, and a genuine commitment to the employee experience. Responsibilities: • Own the benefits strategy and roadmap, covering medical, dental, vision, life and disability, FSA/HSA, 401(k), leave of absence, mental health and wellness, and global/international offerings, and recommend changes backed by data and market benchmarking. • Lead the annual benefits renewal and open enrollment cycle: plan design analysis, funding and cost modeling, carrier negotiation, communications, system configuration, and post-enrollment audits. • Manage broker, carrier, PEO/EOR, and third-party administrator relationships, holding vendors accountable to service levels, pricing, and employee experience standards. • Partner with Finance to forecast, budget, and report on benefits spend, and identify cost containment and plan optimization opportunities without compromising employee value. • Ensure compliance with ACA, ERISA, HIPAA, COBRA, FMLA, state and local leave laws, and non-discrimination testing; own required filings, notices, and audits, partnering with Legal and outside counsel as needed. • Administer and optimize benefits technology (HRIS, benefits administration platform, and carrier feeds), including integrations, data accuracy, and reconciliation of invoices and eligibility. • Serve as the escalation point for complex employee benefits, leave, and accommodation cases, and coach People Operations teammates on resolution. • Design and deliver clear, engaging benefits communications and education that help employees make informed choices. • Evaluate benefits for new geographies and acquisitions, and support the integration of new employee populations. • Build scalable processes, documentation, and metrics (participation, cost per employee, utilization, satisfaction) and report insights to People leadership. • Stay current on regulatory changes, market trends, and emerging benefits solutions, and proactively bring recommendations to the team. Qualifications: • 8+ years of progressive benefits experience, including significant ownership of renewals, open enrollment, and vendor management in a high-growth technology or similarly fast-paced environment. • Deep working knowledge of US benefits regulations (ACA, ERISA, HIPAA, COBRA, FMLA, and state/local requirements) and of health plan funding models, including fully insured and self-funded arrangements. • Demonstrated ability to analyze plan data, build cost models, and turn them into clear recommendations for senior stakeholders. • Experience with benefits administration platforms and HRIS systems (for example, Workday, Rippling, or similar) and with managing carrier and eligibility integrations. • Strong negotiation and vendor management skills, with a track record of improving cost, service, or employee outcomes. • Excellent written and verbal communication, with the ability to explain complex topics simply to employees and executives alike. • Proven ability to work independently, prioritize competing demands, and drive projects to completion with minimal oversight. • High standards for accuracy, confidentiality, and sound judgment with sensitive employee information. • Comfortable working with a highly distributed team across time zones. Nice to Have: • Experience supporting benefits for a multi-country workforce or through M&A integration. • Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business, Finance, or a related field. • Professional certification such as CEBS, SHRM-CP/SCP, or PHR/SPHR. • Experience with equity and broader total rewards programs. Pay: Target pay ranges based on Geographic Zones* for Level 4: • Zone 1: San Francisco/Bay Area or NYC Metropolitan Area, Boston, Seattle - $136,000 - $187,000* • Zone 2: Irvine, LA, Monterey, Santa Barbara, Santa Rosa, Austin, Portland, Philadelphia, Chicago - $122,000 - $168,000** • Zone 3: All other US locations - $116,000 - $159,000** LaunchDarkly operates from a place of high trust and transparency; we are happy to state the pay range for our open roles to best align with your needs. Exact compensation may vary based on skills, experience, and location. *Within the United States, our geographic pay zones are defined by counties surrounding major metropolitan areas. **Restricted Stock Units (RSUs), health, vision, and dental insurance, and mental health benefits in addition to salary. About LaunchDarkly: Modern software delivery was supposed to be the foundation for a thriving digital business but reality has proven otherwise. Slow, inefficient development cycles, costly outages, and fragmented customer experiences are preventing developers from building their best software. The LaunchDarkly platform helps developers innovate on new features faster while protecting them with a safety valve to instantly rewind when things go wrong. Developers can target product experiences to any customer segment and maximize the business impact of every feature. And by gradually rolling out new application components, they escap