Director, AI Success Strategist, Customer Success

Location: New York

##

Job Description As Zendesk scales AI across the market, we need leaders who can convert product innovation into predictable, company-level outcomes. The Director will lead multiple teams of AI Success Strategists, setting strategy and operational rigor for AI adoption across a large portfolio. This is a strategic, high-impact role: you’ll partner with senior Product and GTM leaders and own org-level outcomes that directly affect revenue, retention, and product roadmaps.##

Mission You will own strategy, operations, and outcomes across a broader AI Success organization (~15–30 people; managers reporting in). You’ll ensure the organization scales repeatable, measurable AI programs, drives product adoption at scale, and provides executive-level forecasting and risk management that informs company strategy.## Overarching Objective For

The Role:

* Define and deliver org‑level strategy for ~15–30 people that translates product innovation into market outcomes — accelerate product adoption at scale, drive measurable improvements in retention and expansion (GRR/NRR), and increase portfolio ROI on AI investments
* Build forecasting, predictive health models and executive reporting that materially improve forecast accuracy, lower portfolio churn, and enable data‑driven product and GTM prioritization — so leadership can make investment decisions with confidence
* Architect the people, governance and cross‑functional playbooks (including responsible‑AI guardrails) that let managers scale repeatable, measurable AI programs — reducing deployment risk, standardizing executive engagements, and creating scalable motion for revenue and product roadmap influence###
** How You’ll Make an Impact**## Strategic Responsibilities
* Org leadership & people strategy:
Own hiring, org design, and talent development for the AI Success org (~15–30). Scale managers, build clear career frameworks and learning programs, and track employee satisfaction, promotion velocity, and retention.
* Strategic product partnership & roadmap influence:
Be the voice of the customer by turning portfolio signals into prioritized product and GTM investments. Partner with Product to accelerate measurable adoption.
* Operational ownership & cross‑functional coordination:
Define playbooks and KPIs to ensure consistent delivery  handoffs and tooling across Sales, Services, Product, Partners, Legal, and Finance so teams can context‑switch quickly and execute reliably.
* Executive engagement & external relationships:
Own C‑level relationships for strategic customers and represent Zendesk in various events. Standardize executive briefings and coach managers to run scalable, outcome‑focused C‑suite interactions.
* Portfolio‑level risk forecasting & business insight:
Build top‑down forecasting and predictive health signals that aggregate trends across portfolios and regions. Surface prescriptive mitigations to senior leadership and own improvements in forecast accuracy and churn reduction.
* Commercial outcomes & growth:
Set and own team‑level targets for adoption, GRR/NRR, and expansion velocity. Partner with Sales, Finance, and Rev Ops on quota targets, renewal plays, and ROI-driven scaling or pivot decisions.
* Responsible AI governance & policy guidance:
Define practical guardrails for safe, explainable, and compliant AI deployments. Operationalize requirements with Product, Legal, and Security, and ensure ongoing training/certification across the org.###
** What You’ll Need to Succeed**## Strategic Skills & Expertise
* Product partnership track record:
Demonstrable experience turning portfolio adoption signals into prioritized roadmap investments, pilots, or betas with Product/Prod Dev.
* Forecasting & risk management outcomes:
Implemented forecasting/predictive health models and executive reporting that improved forecast accuracy or materially reduced churn.
* Operational scale experience:
Defined/play booked KPIs, SLAs and tooling for cross‑functional delivery across Sales/Services/Product/Partners.
* Executive presence:
Regularly advised C‑suite customers and presented board‑quality trend/forecast analysis to senior leadership.
* Commercial impact:
Proven…