Customer Success Director, NYPD – SafetySmart Platform Solutions

SoundThinking, Inc.•New York, NY

43d•$125,000 - $140,000•Hybrid

About The Position

SoundThinking is seeking a Customer Success Director (CSD) with expertise in customer success and an understanding of law enforcement to act as a trusted partner in delivering value to their customers. The CSD will be the strategic lead for the NYPD account, responsible for achieving customer outcomes, securing recurring revenue, and increasing the value customers derive from the SafetySmart Platform. The ideal candidate should have strong experience in customer-facing solution delivery, excellent interpersonal and communication skills, and a readiness to adopt advanced technologies, including AI tools for enhanced productivity and customer experience. CSDs function as trusted advisors to law enforcement leaders, city officials, and community stakeholders, translating technological performance into measurable public safety improvements that foster long-term partnerships.

Requirements

BA/BS degree or higher, preferably in Criminal Justice, Public Administration, Business, or a related field required.
Must reside in or within commuting distance of New York City.
3+ years of customer success, account management, or customer-facing solution experience required, ideally supporting technology or SaaS platforms in the public safety, government, or law enforcement sector.
Direct experience working with or for the NYPD or a top-5 U.S. city police department (e.g., Chicago PD, LAPD, Houston PD, Philadelphia PD) required.
Demonstrated ability to manage the full customer lifecycle — onboarding, adoption, value realization, renewal, and retention — with a track record of meeting or exceeding retention targets.
Experience successfully collaborating with and influencing cross-functional stakeholders, political leaders, community advocates, and executive decision-makers.
Ability to build trusted relationships at multiple levels, from frontline users to Chiefs, Mayors, and City Council members, with strong empathy for customer challenges and goals.
Comfort with data analysis, account health metrics, and translating operational data into compelling business narratives. Results-oriented with a focus on process improvement and efficiency.
Experience with AI tools and platforms, or a strong interest in learning and applying AI to drive customer engagement, account intelligence, and workflow efficiency.
Excellent verbal, written, and presentation skills, with the ability to present to executive audiences and public forums.
Team-oriented, resourceful, with strong critical thinking, troubleshooting, and problem-solving skills.

Nice To Haves

Experience in the public safety technology industry (gunshot detection, ALPR, real-time crime centers, or related domains).
Familiarity with government procurement processes, grant funding mechanisms (e.g., VCIF, ARPA, COPS, Byrne JAG), and municipal budget cycles.
Experience with Salesforce CRM and customer success platforms.
Track record of successfully defending accounts against competitive displacement.

Responsibilities

Own and manage the SoundThinking NYPD account across the full customer lifecycle — from onboarding and adoption through value realization, renewal, and expansion.
Build and maintain multi-level relationships across the account, from frontline patrol officers and analysts to Chiefs of Police, City Managers, Mayors, and elected officials.
Serve as the primary point of contact and trusted advisor for the NYPD account, proactively identifying risks and opportunities.
Drive contract renewals by continuously demonstrating and documenting the business case value of SoundThinking technologies.
Monitor account health indicators — including operational performance, product adoption, NPS scores, community sentiment, and competitive threats — to proactively mitigate churn risk.
Develop and execute account-level retention strategies, including competitive defense plans when alternative vendors are actively pursuing SoundThinking customers.
Partner with customers to define, measure, and communicate outcome metrics resulting from SoundThinking technology use (e.g., response time improvements, crime reduction, case clearance rates, lives saved).
Educate and coach city and law enforcement officials on outcomes data for the purpose of validating ROI and supporting budget approvals, council presentations, and public narratives.
Coordinate and lead Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs) and Annual Account Reviews, delivering data-driven insights and actionable recommendations.
Drive adoption of operational best practices across the SafetySmart Platform, including new AI-powered capabilities.
Identify underutilized products and features within accounts and develop adoption plans to increase platform engagement and daily active usage.
Leverage SoundThinking’s AI-powered tools to generate account intelligence, prioritize actions, and scale customer engagement.
Partner with the Sales team on cross-sell and upsell opportunities, renewal negotiations, and execution of client retention strategies.
Collaborate with Customer Support to efficiently resolve customer issues and escalations, ensuring a seamless customer experience.
Serve as the internal voice of the customer, representing product feedback, service requests, and market intelligence to Product, Marketing, and Leadership teams.
Work with Marketing and Community Engagement to monitor and respond to community sentiment, media coverage, and political dynamics that impact account health.
Partner with and seek opportunities to collaborate with industry entities such as ATF, Police Foundation, Urban Institute, IACP, and state-level grant programs to support customer engagement and funding strategies.
Participate in and practice positive Net Promoter Score (NPS) strategies to drive customer satisfaction, retention, and advocacy.
Represent SoundThinking at industry conferences, customer events, and community forums as needed.