Director of Customer Success

Steer offers a suite of software tools for today's automotive repair shop. We combine a mix of software tools that a repair shop needs to run a highly profitable shop, in one user-friendly, cost-effective platform. Through the Steer suite, we allow the shop owner to get back to focusing on what matters, and to stop worrying about marketing and customer retention. Steer began as an online directory for drivers to find a local mechanic. Fast forward to today, Steer has launched a complete Customer Relationship Management (CRM) marketing suite, complete with text messaging, email automation, direct mail integration, reputation management, appointment reminders, declined/recommended services, and many other features. We are always innovating and we are proud to be a leader in the automotive repair industry.  In August 2024 Steer acquired AutoOps - the leader in modern, intelligent, and fully integrated scheduling software for auto repair shops. AutoOps allows customers to smoothly schedule through a shop's website and Google Business Profile.  About the Role As the Manager of Customer Success, you will lead our team of 10 Customer Success Managers, overseeing a diverse portfolio that ranges from high-touch Enterprise partnerships to our high-volume Scaled segments. Reporting to the Director of Customer Success, you will be the bridge between personalized relationship management and digital-first automation. Your mission is to professionalize our CS operations by building a unified "Account Health" framework that works for every customer, regardless of size. You will lead a supportive, high-trust team and provide the strategic structure needed to turn "crowdsourced" Slack knowledge into repeatable, data-driven playbooks that drive global retention.   You Are * You understand that an Enterprise lead needs a different "touch" than a high-volume user, and you know how to build systems for both. * You don't wait for a clean dashboard; you dive into the data to find the trends, churn risks, and expansion opportunities yourself. * You can coach a CSM through a high-stakes executive presentation one hour and help them optimize an automated email sequence the next. * You thrive in the "grey area." You see messy data and ambiguous processes as a puzzle to solve rather than a roadblock. You Will * Segment the Strategy: Define and iterate on the engagement models for our Enterprise (high-touch) and Scaled (tech-touch) tiers to maximize efficiency. * Build the Health Engine: Develop a standardized Account Health Scoring system that identifies risk across the entire 1,000+ account base. * Operationalize the "Hive-Mind": Transition the team from informal Slack-based collaboration to a structured internal knowledge base and formal playbooks. * Drive Proactive Retention: Move the team away from reactive "firefighting" by using leading indicators to trigger outreach before a customer is at risk. * Mentor & Measure: Manage the day-to-day performance of the CS team, using clear KPIs to drive accountability and professional growth.   You Have Must Have: * Leadership Experience: 2+ years of experience managing a Customer Success team (or 4+ years as a Senior/Lead CSM ready for the next step). * Analytical Proficiency: Experience using data (CRM, BI tools, or Excel) to track health, predict churn, and report on team performance. * Systems Thinking: Ability to design processes that scale; you’ve successfully implemented a new tool, workflow, or playbook in the past. * High Emotional Intelligence: A coaching-first management style that fits our supportive, collaborative culture.   Nice to Have: * Technical Literacy: Ability to work with advanced data visualization tools. * CS Ops Familiarity: Experience selecting or implementing a CS Platform (e.g., Gainsight, Vitally, ChurnZero). * Experience with the automotive industry   Interview Process 1. Initial Screen - 30min 2. Hiring Manager Interview - 45min 3. Case Study Assessment - 45min 4. Cross-Functional Interview - 30min   Problem Solving Exercise - 60min *We also require completion of the Wonderlic Assessment before the end of the process.  This is done independently and takes about 20-30min.     We Offer * 100% remote work environment * Medical, Dental and Vision insurance within 30 days * 100% employer-paid medical insurance * Equity package * Flexible PTO with 15 days minimum * Generous Parental Leave * FSA and HSA options * 401(k) * Growth & Wellness Stipend * WFH Equipment * Chance to work with the latest technology * A collaborative, high ownership culture * Opportunities for development and career growth     Why Join Steer? At Steer, we align our mission of transforming the auto repair experience for shop owners and their customers with your passion for growth, innovation, and excellence.  Here, you’ll find opportunities to expand your skills, take on career-shaping challenges, and contribute to the future of the auto repair industry, all while enjoying comprehensive benefits and flexible work arrangements to support your well-being. Join Steer to be part of a forward-thinking, flexible, and collaborative culture where you are empowered to do meaningful and impactful work. We value diversity and believe that forming teams in which everyone can be their authentic self is key to our success. We welcome applications from those with diverse backgrounds and industries. Our hiring process looks beyond just credentials. The school you went to at 18 doesn't define your potential to thrive and enrich our culture. Even if you don't meet every requirement, we invite you to apply.

WHO WE ARE Lightning AI is the company behind PyTorch Lightning. Founded in 2019, we build an end-to-end platform for developing, training, and deploying AI systems—designed to take ideas from research to production with less friction. Through our merger with Voltage Park, a neocloud and AI Factory, Lightning AI combines developer-first software with cost-efficient, large-scale compute. Teams get the tools they need for experimentation, training, and production inference, with security, observability, and control built in. We serve solo researchers, startups, and large enterprises. Lightning AI operates globally with offices in New York City, San Francisco, Seattle, and London, and is backed by Coatue, Index Ventures, Bain Capital Ventures, and Firstminute. THE WAY WE WORK The people who thrive here are builders who move fast, communicate openly, take ownership, and continuously improve themselves, their teams, and our company. Here's what that looks like in practice: * Move with Urgency: We move quickly, make thoughtful decisions, and keep momentum. We value action over perfection and learn by shipping. * Take Ownership: We own outcomes, not just our individual work. We make decisions that move the company forward and follow through. * Communicate Openly: We communicate directly, seek to understand, and create clarity for others. Honest conversations help us move faster together. * Build Great Teams: We lead by example, empower others, and create healthy teams where people can do their best work. * Raise the Bar: We're always improving ourselves. We learn from feedback, consistently challenge ourselves to grow, and focus on the work that matters most. * Think Long-Term: We design for what's next. We create scalable systems, simplify complexity, and use AI and automation to amplify our impact.   WHO WE LOOK FOR The people who thrive at Lightning AI are builders who move with urgency, communicate openly, take ownership, and continuously raise the bar for themselves and their teams. We value leaders who create clarity in complex environments, stay close to customers and the work, and build systems that scale without introducing unnecessary processes. ABOUT THE ROLE We are looking for a Director of Customer Experience to build and lead the organization responsible for helping Lightning AI customers realize meaningful value from our platform. You will own the strategy, operating model, and execution of our customer experience function, leading a team of Technical Account Managers and Customer Experience Managers supporting customers across the AI lifecycle—from initial onboarding and workload migration through production adoption, optimization, and expansion. This role sits at the intersection of customers, engineering, product, sales, and infrastructure. You will be accountable for ensuring customers can successfully build and operate AI workloads on Lightning AI while receiving clear, proactive, and technically credible guidance throughout the relationship. The right leader will combine strong customer judgment with technical depth and operational rigor. You should be comfortable getting into the technical details enough so that you understand where customers are blocked, influencing product priorities, and advising executives on retention, risk, adoption, and account health. This is a highly visible leadership role with the opportunity to define what world-class customer experience looks like for a developer-first AI platform and infrastructure company. WHAT YOU’LL DO * Define and own Lightning AI’s customer experience strategy across onboarding, implementation, adoption, technical success, support coordination, retention, and expansion. * Build, lead, and develop a high-performing global team of Technical Account Managers and Support Engineers. * Establish account-health frameworks that combine product usage, platform reliability, workload performance, customer sentiment, support activity, and commercial risk. * Create clear escalation and incident-management processes that provide customers with fast response times, strong ownership, seamless internal coordination, and proactive communication. * Define and track the metrics that matter, including time to value, activation, platform adoption, workload growth, retention, expansion, customer health, resolution time, and customer satisfaction. * Turn customer conversations and usage patterns into actionable insights for product and engineering. * Scale the function thoughtfully, balancing high-touch customer engagement with automation, self-service resources, and repeatable programs. WHAT YOU’LL NEED * 10+ years of experience across customer experience, customer success, technical account management, solutions architecture, professional services, or a related customer-facing function. * Growth-stage, enterprise SaaS, developer platform, cloud infrastructure, or AI infrastructure environment preferred, but not required * A proven track record of building or scaling customer experience organizations supporting technically complex products. * Strong technical fluency and the ability to engage credibly with engineering leaders, ML engineers, AI researchers, infrastructure teams, and enterprise platform organizations. * A record of improving customer adoption, retention, account health, and operational execution through clear systems and measurable goals. * Strong judgment during high-pressure customer escalations, including the ability to create clarity, align internal teams, and communicate directly with senior stakeholders. * Excellent written and verbal communication skills. You can move comfortably between a technical incident review, an executive customer conversation, an internal product discussion, and a team operating review. * Strong cross-functional influence, particularly with Product, Engineering, Infrastructure, Sales, and Finance. * A high bias for action and comfort operating in an ambiguous, fast-moving environment with limited process and significant ownership. * The ability to think strategically while remaining close to customers, team execution, and operational details. BONUS POINTS * Familiarity with PyTorch, distributed training, model serving, inference, Kubernetes, Slurm, GPU clusters, or modern AI development workflows. * Experience supporting both product-led and enterprise sales motions. * Experience building global or follow-the-sun customer coverage models. * Experience developing AI-powered customer operations, automation, self-service tooling, or customer intelligence systems. LOCATION This role is based in New York City, with an expectation of working from the office at least two days per week and participating in occasional team and company offsites. We are committed to offering competitive compensation that reflects the value each team member brings to our mission. Final offers are based on factors such as experience, skills, geographic location, and role expectations. In addition to base salary, our total rewards package for eligible roles includes a discretionary bonus, a meaningful equity component, and comprehensive benefits. The anticipated annual base salary range for this role is: $155,000—$220,000 USD BENEFITS AND PERKS We offer a comprehensive and competitive benefits package designed to support our employees’ health, well-being, and long-term success: * Comprehensive Health Coverage: Medical, dental, and vision coverage for employees and eligible dependents. * Meaningful Equity: RSUs that give employees a stake in the company's long-term success. * Retirement Savings: 401(k) matching (U.S.) and pension contributions (U.K.). * Flexible Time Off: Unlimited PTO, company holidays, and floating holidays to support work-life balance. * Company-Wide Winter Break: Two weeks of company closure each winter to disconnect and recharge. * Paid Parental & Family Leave: Paid leave to support you and your family through life's important moments. * Professional Development: Annual learning and development allowance to support your professional growth. * Wellness Benefits: Wellness and work-from-home stipends to support your physical and mental well-being. * Sabbatical Program: Four weeks of paid sabbatical leave after four years of service. * Flexible Work: Flexible schedules and a hybrid work model for our office-based teams. * In-Office Meals: Complimentary meals at our office hubs. Benefits may vary by location, team, and role.   At Lightning AI, we are committed to fostering an inclusive and diverse workplace. We believe that diverse teams drive innovation and create better products. We provide equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other protected characteristic. We are dedicated to building a culture where everyone can thrive and contribute to their fullest potential.