Director, Global Scaled CS

About the role

Kong is seeking a leader to design and manage a digital-first customer success strategy for our global commercial segment. You will oversee a team focused on one-to-many engagement models, utilizing automation and AI to drive product adoption and retention. In this capacity, you will be responsible for defining the end-to-end customer experience, ensuring that our scaled approach delivers measurable value without sacrificing quality. The role requires a strategic mindset that balances operational efficiency with the nuanced needs of a diverse global customer base. You will act as the architect of our one-to-many success motions, translating high-level business goals into repeatable, automated processes. This position is pivotal in bridging the gap between product adoption and long-term customer loyalty. The ideal candidate will leverage data and technology to remove friction from the customer journey. Ultimately, you will own the narrative of scalable success for Kong in the commercial market.

Key facts

What you'll do

• Direct a global team of Customer Success Managers to promote technical proficiency and proactive advocacy.
• Develop and implement a one-to-many customer success framework that prioritizes automation over manual tasks.
• Create automated onboarding and adoption workflows to shorten the time to value for a large user base.
• Integrate AI tools and workflows to deliver personalized experiences at scale.
• Manage a content strategy that includes self-service hubs, webinars, and interactive documentation.
• Analyze customer health data to address value gaps and ensure technical usage leads to business results.
• Collaborate with the Renewals Manager to produce accurate retention and expansion forecasts.
• Design standardized playbooks that govern the lifecycle of a digital-first customer.
• Partner with Product and Engineering to close the loop between customer feedback and the roadmap.
• Establish governance processes to maintain quality across a growing portfolio of automated workflows.
• Optimize the customer journey map to reduce drop-off points and increase feature utilization.
• Lead cross-functional initiatives that align customer insights with commercial strategy.
• Monitor key performance indicators to ensure scalability does not compromise engagement quality.
• Serve as the internal champion for the customer, ensuring their voice is heard at the highest levels of the organization.

Requirements

• Minimum 10 years of professional experience in Customer Success, Account Management, or Professional Services within SaaS or infrastructure sectors.
• At least 5 years of experience managing and growing high-performing teams, specifically in remote or global settings.
• Ability to analyze complex data to build retention strategies and financial forecasts.
• Proven history of developing automated customer journeys and using platforms like Gainsight, Totango, or ChurnZero.
• Demonstrated expertise in managing large-scale customer portfolios with a focus on digital adoption.
• Strong understanding of subscription metrics, including ARR, NRR, and gross dollar retention.
• Experience working with enterprise-level stakeholders and influencing without direct authority.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills to articulate strategy to diverse audiences.
• A track record of building scalable processes that can be replicated across markets and time zones.
• Comfort navigating ambiguity and making decisions with incomplete information in a fast-paced environment.
• Commitment to fostering an inclusive and collaborative culture across distributed teams.
• Willingness to mentor team members and contribute to the professional growth of peers.
• Alignment with Kong's mission to power the API economy and the tools that enable it.

Nice to have

• Background leading Technical Account Manager or technical Customer Success functions.
• Familiarity with API management, microservices, and cloud infrastructure.

Skills & tools

• Gainsight
• Totango
• ChurnZero
• API management
• Microservices
• Cloud infrastructure
• Data analysis
• Forecasting

Practical notes

Kong encourages applicants to apply even if they do not meet every listed criterion. The company values candidates who demonstrate strength in several areas and a willingness to learn others.