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Kong is seeking a Staff Customer Success Manager to set the standard for excellence in the customer success organization. This is a strategic, high-impact individual contributor role that blends technical expertise with executive-level business acumen.
In this role, you will own the complete customer post-sales lifecycle, directly driving adoption, expansion, and risk mitigation for Kong's API and AI platform. You'll develop comprehensive success plans aligned with customer business outcomes, guide customers through value-based engagement models, and quantify Kong's impact on their operations.
Key responsibilities include:
- Developing and executing strategic success plans covering use cases, roadmaps, and measurable business outcomes
- Mapping customer organizations to identify champions, decision-makers, and expansion opportunities
- Leveraging partner ecosystems to uncover new personas and expand stakeholder alignment
- Using data and analytics tools (Tableau, Salesforce, Clari, Hex) to monitor customer health, identify risks, and extract actionable insights
- Running impactful quarterly and executive business reviews with an executive mindset, clearly articulating Kong's platform value
- Confidently articulating the unique value of Kong's components: Dedicated Cloud Gateway, API Gateway, AI Gateway, Mesh Manager, and others
- Collaborating with account teams to manage renewals, validate timelines, surface cross-sell opportunities, and maintain Salesforce hygiene
You bring customer obsession, resilience, and grit—the ability to bounce back from setbacks and relentlessly pursue customer goals. You're deeply curious with strong active listening and probing skills, able to ask layered questions that uncover root causes. You thrive in collaborative environments, prioritizing shared company goals over individual wins. You excel at managing multiple customers simultaneously while maintaining attention to detail across expansion, satisfaction, adoption, and retention initiatives.
Requirements:
- Demonstrated experience as a Customer Success Manager or similar post-sales role managing multiple enterprise customers
- Strong understanding of SaaS renewal cycles, expansion strategies, and customer health metrics
- Proficiency with CRM platforms (Salesforce) and analytics/visualization tools
- Ability to communicate technical platform value to executive stakeholders
- Experience navigating complex organizational structures and building stakeholder alignment
- Customer obsession with proven ability to drive adoption and expansion outcomes
