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Associate, Sales Operations

Tempus AI · Chicago, IL · Full time

Posted Aug 5, 2026 · We last checked this listing on Oct 6, 2026

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Likely interview questions for this role

Written from this job description, not a generic list. Each one notes what the interviewer is really checking.

About your past

Tell me about a time you caught an error in a model before it went out. How did you find it?

What they are checking: Whether they have real checking habits that support the goal of clean numbers and no surprises.

How do you design an analysis so leadership gets an insight before they ask for it?

What they are checking: Whether they anticipate what commercial leaders will want rather than waiting for requests.

Tell me about a time you had to explain a complex calculation to someone without a numbers background.

What they are checking: Whether they can make payout logic understandable to field leaders who need to trust it.

What would you do

A sales rep disputes their payout and says their attainment is wrong. How do you handle it?

What they are checking: Whether they investigate calmly with data and treat reps fairly, since pay disputes damage trust fast.

Leadership asks for an answer by end of day, but the data is messy. What do you do?

What they are checking: Whether they deliver a useful answer on time while being honest about the data's limits.

You notice a plan rule creates an incentive for reps to behave in a way that hurts the business. What do you do?

What they are checking: Whether they think about how pay plans drive behavior and raise design issues with senior colleagues.

How do you handle confidential compensation data responsibly?

What they are checking: Whether they understand the sensitivity of pay data and keep it tightly controlled.

About the work

Walk me through how you would run an incentive compensation cycle from quota build to payout, and where errors most often creep in.

What they are checking: Whether they know the full IC cycle and where data handoffs create payout mistakes.

How would you build a quota model for field roles when territories have very different potential?

What they are checking: Whether they understand fairness in quota setting and can use data to adjust for territory differences.

What analytics would you build to explain why one region's test volume dropped this quarter?

What they are checking: Whether they can move from a number to its drivers instead of just reporting the drop.

What tools have you used for compensation or sales analytics, such as Excel, SQL or BI tools, and how deep is your skill in each?

What they are checking: Whether their hands-on skills match the model building and reporting this role owns.

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The full job description

As published by Tempus AI.

Passionate about precision medicine and advancing the healthcare industry? Recent advancements in underlying technology have finally made it possible for AI to impact clinical care in a meaningful way. Tempus' proprietary platform connects an entire ecosystem of real-world evidence to deliver real-time, actionable insights to physicians, providing critical information about the right treatments for the right patients, at the right time. Tempus AI is seeking an Associate to support the oncology and neuropsychiatry commercial leadership teams as a core operator on the incentive compensation and sales analytics engine. This role owns the execution of the incentive compensation cycle, spanning quota build, payout calculation, attainment reporting, and CEO Circle administration, for the somatic field organization (OCAE, CAA, and neuropsychiatry roles), and pairs it with the recurring analytics that explain field performance. You will turn raw data into answers commercial leadership can act on, working closely with the Senior Associate and Senior Manager on plan and quota design while taking full ownership of the cycles, models, and reporting that keep the field paid accurately and on time. Success in this role looks like clean numbers, no surprises, and insight delivered before it is asked for. Key Responsibilities 1. Incentive Compensation Design & Administration • Maintain the mechanics of incentive compensation plans — build and document the calculation logic, and model plan scenarios to show how design choices change field behavior and cost. • Help translate commercial strategy into incentive programs that are competitive, compliant, and clearly communicated, and build the field-facing materials that explain how each plan pays. • Gather market and competitor benchmarking inputs to support plan design decisions against life-science industry standards. • Partner with Finance, HR, and Legal to assemble the cost, eligibility, and compliance detail plans need before they go to the field. • Administer special incentive programs and the annual CEO Circle award, including eligibility tracking, standings updates, and selection support. • Build working knowledge of the plans deep enough to answer field and leadership questions on how any given number was produced, and flag design issues you find in the data. 2. Quota Setting & Territory Performance Targets • Build quotas for representatives and managers across the somatic and neuropsychiatry field teams using historical performance, market potential, and territory-level opportunity. • Maintain and run the data-driven allocation models that distribute the national goal down to area, region, and territory, and test the outputs for equity before release. • Process in-year quota adjustments for territory changes, market shifts, and business objectives, documenting the rationale for every change. • Produce the quota and attainment tracking the field sees, clearly enough that a rep can explain their own number. 3. Data-Driven Analytics & Reporting • Mine the warehouse and CRM to surface growth drivers, market trends, and emerging business risks, and raise what you find rather than waiting to be asked. • Translate raw data into clear, succinct narratives that provide the “so what” behind performance trends for a leadership audience. • Build and maintain BI dashboards covering product volume trends, account retention, and ordering-provider behavior that let leadership answer their own recurring questions. • Connect data across the warehouse, CRM, and finance sources to isolate performance drivers and quantify business impact. • Use CRM reporting (Salesforce) to turn around ad-hoc requests from field sales and commercial leadership. • Maintain the systems and reporting that track territory, product, and sales-team metrics as alignments and the portfolio change. 4. Operational Excellence & Cross-Functional Partnership • Execute the compensation cycles on schedule, with accuracy, transparency, and timely delivery to the field organization. • Run the payout process end to end: calculate incentive payouts against plan, reconcile and audit results each cycle, and resolve rep and manager inquiries. • Automate manual steps in the comp and reporting cycle to cut cycle time and reduce error rates. • Work directly with commercial leadership, finance, and operations to resolve operational issues and keep requests moving. • Audit and improve internal processes to minimize friction, enhance scalability, and maintain data integrity across CRM and sales systems. • Document your recurring deliverables and QC steps so they are repeatable and auditable by someone else. Qualifications • BA/BS in Finance, Economics, Business Administration, or related quantitative field. • 4+ years of experience as a Business Analyst, Financial Analyst, Operations Analyst, or in sales operations, including exposure to incentive compensation, quota setting, or sales performance analytics. Life-science or diagnostics experience preferred. • Strong analytical skills, with the ability to interpret complex data and draw actionable insights. • Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to build relationships and collaborate effectively with stakeholders at all levels. • Advanced Microsoft Excel skills, including building and maintaining models others rely on. • Experience working with BI tools such as Looker, Tableau, or Alteryx and/or proficiency in SQL, Python, or other analytical languages. • Experience working with CRM tools such as Salesforce. • Ability to work independently, owning a deliverable from request to finished answer, and as part of a team in a fast-paced, dynamic environment. • Strong attention to detail and commitment to accuracy with the judgment to know when a number is wrong before anyone else sees it. • Ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously and prioritize effectively. • Strong problem-solving skills and a proactive approach to identifying and resolving issues. • CHI: $80,000 - $95,000 The expected salary range may vary for other locations. Actual salary may vary based on qualifications and experience. Tempus offers a full range of benefits, which may include incentive compensation, restricted stock units, medical and other benefits depending on the position. We are an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.

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