Lead, Product Strategy & Operations - AI Agents

Job Description

Zendesk is transforming customer service through AI, and our AI Agents organization is at the center of that transformation. We’re looking for an experienced Lead, Product Strategy & Operations to join the Product Strategy and Operations team and serve as a strategic operating partner to AI Agents Product leadership. This role will work closely with the AI Agents Product Development team and cross-functional partners, including Go-to-Market teams, to drive operational excellence, cross-functional alignment, data-informed product strategy, and continuous process improvement.

This is a highly cross-functional, strategic individual contributor role. You'll work alongside Product leaders to connect customer insights, product priorities, and business initiatives into a clear, actionable view that enables better decision-making across the organization.

Rather than building new operational processes from scratch, you'll help the team get the most value from existing Product Development programs, improve how they work for AI Agents, and ensure Product teams can effectively engage with customers and cross-functional stakeholders.

• Partner with Product leadership to create a clear, integrated view of AI Agents priorities, customer-impacting initiatives, dependencies, and strategic decisions and translate that view into executive-ready recommendations and communications.

• Connect customer insights and data to product strategy by working with the broader Product Strategy and Operations team to ensure customer feedback, Early Access Programs, product data, and other signals inform product planning and prioritization.

• Drive cross-functional alignment across Product Development, Customer Experience, Go-to-Market, Data, and other partners through clear operating rhythms, ownership, and follow-through.

• Optimize Product Development programs by helping AI Agents teams get greater value from existing planning, discovery, launch, and customer-engagement processes and driving focused improvements with program owners.

• Drive operational excellence and continuous improvement by identifying friction and process gaps, developing actionable recommendations with the Product Strategy and Operations team, and measuring the impact of agreed improvements

• Several years of experience in Product Strategy & Operations, Product Operations, Product Management, Chief of Staff, or similar strategic operational roles within B2B SaaS.

• Experience partnering with senior Product, Design, or Engineering leaders in a complex, fast-moving product organization.

• Strong understanding of Product Development processes, customer discovery, product planning, and cross-functional execution.

• Exceptional organizational and operational skills, with a record of improving processes and bringing clarity to ambiguous, high-complexity environments.

• Strong analytical skills and experience translating customer feedback, product data, and business priorities into actionable recommendations and measurable outcomes.

• Excellent communication, stakeholder-management, and influencing skills, with the ability to engage executives and move complex work forward without formal authority.

• Experience working on AI-powered or SaaS products.

• Familiarity with Product Development frameworks, Jira Plans, PDLC, or similar planning methodologies.

• Experience partnering with Customer Experience, Sales, Marketing, or Customer Success organizations.

• Experience improving product feedback loops, Early Access Programs, or customer engagement initiatives.

• Experience working across globally distributed Product Development and go-to-market teams.

• Shape how one of Zendesk's fastest-growing AI organizations makes product decisions.

• Work directly with Product leadership on strategic initiatives.

• Influence Product, Engineering, Customer Experience, GTM, and executive stakeholders.

• Improve how customer insights translate into better AI products.

• Build a durable Product Strategy and Operations capability for AI Agents while influencing outcomes across one of Zendesk’s most strategically important product areas.

#LI-MK12

The…