Manager of Customer Success

Kion is seeking a Manager of Customer Success to lead the post-sales motion for our most strategic and complex accounts — with a primary focus on U.S. Federal customers and high-value enterprise clients. This is a player-coach role: the Manager will directly own a small portfolio of named accounts while simultaneously building, managing, and developing the post-sales team, including Technical Account Managers and dedicated client TDMs.

We are at an inflection point. Our customer base is growing in complexity — deeper Federal relationships, dedicated enterprise engagements, and a post-sales motion that needs a single owner who operates at both the account level and the team level. We are not looking for a manager who watches from the sideline or an IC who has outgrown their scope. We are looking for someone who does both well — and finds energy in it.

The Manager of Customer Success will own renewal predictability, customer health, post-sales process design, and team development. They will partner with Sales to ensure account executives stay focused on new business, and with Product to translate field intelligence into roadmap input. This role reports directly to the Chief Customer Officer.

Responsibilities and Duties (day-to-day)

PLAYER-COACH: OWN STRATEGIC ACCOUNTS

• Carry a direct book of named, high-value accounts — including Federal customers and priority enterprise clients — as a hands-on post-sales owner, not a manager removed from the work
• Serve as the executive-level point of contact for key stakeholders within Federal agencies, system integrators, contractors, and government-adjacent organizations — building and maintaining trusted relationships at both operational and executive levels
• Develop and maintain account success plans that align customer goals with product adoption milestones and measurable renewal outcomes
• Own the renewal motion for your accounts with full pipeline accountability — including forecast accuracy, risk identification, and executive escalation when needed
• Navigate the unique compliance, contracting, and stakeholder complexity of regulated and Federal environments as a practitioner, not just a manager

TEAM LEADERSHIP: BUILD THE POST-SALES FUNCTION

• Directly manage Technical Account Managers, dedicated client TDMs, and future post-sales hires as the team grows — acting as the management layer between ICs and the CCO
• Establish a consistent post-sales operating cadence: QBRs, health scoring, renewal forecasting, escalation protocols, and customer onboarding handoff standards
• Create, document, and continuously improve the post-sales playbook — turning what works in individual accounts into repeatable, scalable processes across the team
• Coach, develop, and retain ICs through regular 1:1s, career pathing conversations, and real-time deal coaching on their most complex accounts
• Hire and onboard future post-sales team members as the portfolio expands to new named accounts

CROSS-FUNCTIONAL PARTNERSHIP

• Partner closely with Account Executives to ensure clean handoffs, shared account strategy, and full AE focus on net-new business — not renewals or ongoing customer management
• Collaborate with Technical Account Managers to align technical enablement, platform adoption, and issue resolution with broader customer success goals
• Serve as the authoritative voice of the customer internally — translating field intelligence into actionable product, engineering, and leadership feedback
• Provide CCO-level visibility into portfolio health, renewal pipeline, risk flags, and team capacity through regular reporting and executive updates
• Support pre-sales positioning on strategic deals where post-sales credibility and Federal account expertise are a competitive differentiator

Qualifications (Must Haves)

• 7+ years of experience in Customer Success, Strategic Account Management, or Post-Sales leadership in a B2B SaaS environment
• Prior people management experience — you have built or led a CS or TAM team, not just been an IC
• Experience supporting U.S. Federal customers, including DoD or civilian agencies — you understand contracting cycles, compliance constraints, and multi-stakeholder federal environments
• Demonstrated ability to manage a personal book of strategic accounts while simultaneously managing a team (true player-coach experience)
• Strong renewal ownership track record — you run renewals as a business motion, with pipeline hygiene, forecast accountability, and documented risk mitigation
• Experience in cloud, security, infrastructure, FinOps, or governance-related software
• Comfortable operating at executive level internally and externally — you can present to a CCO and a federal CIO in the same week

Wish List (nice-to-have)

• Experience at a company that grew from Series B to Series C+ — you understand what it means to build process in a scaling environment
• Familiarity with cloud financial management, FinOps, or multi-cloud governance platforms
• Experience managing dedicated client or embedded customer roles (TDMs, client-aligned CSMs)
• Background in GovCloud, FedRAMP-authorized products, or ITAR/CMMC-adjacent environments
• Experience with renewal forecasting tools and CS platforms (Gainsight, ChurnZero, Salesforce)
• A strong professional network within the Federal cloud or cloud governance ecosystem