Head of Customer Operations

Kaizen Labs•New York, NY

21d•Hybrid

About The Position

We're seeking a Head of Customer Operations to own the bridge between our customers and our Engineering, Product, and Design organizations. This is a high-stakes, customer-facing leadership role responsible for leading complex government deployments, building a proactive customer success function, and establishing the support infrastructure that ensures our customers consistently realize value from our platform. You'll embed with our most strategic customers across Local, State, and Federal government to lead mission-critical software launches, translate operational challenges into product requirements, and build trusted relationships with government executives navigating digital transformation. This role requires equal parts technical execution, strategic thinking, and team leadership. You'll be deploying software, standing up customer success and support functions, and scaling how we deliver impact as Kaizen grows.

Requirements

8+ years in software implementation, customer success, solutions architecture, technical consulting, or post-sales leadership roles with direct customer engagement
Proven track record leading complex, high-stakes software rollouts and driving long-term customer outcomes, ideally in government, healthcare, or industries with legacy systems and regulatory constraints
Experience building or scaling customer success and/or support functions, including defining processes, metrics, and team structures from the ground up
An experienced builder with high proficiency in the latest generation of AI tools, like Claude Code, CoWork, GPT, and others
Strong technical fluency: you understand software architecture, data pipelines, system integrations, and can work alongside engineers to solve deployment and support challenges
Ability to translate ambiguous customer problems into structured technical requirements and influence product roadmaps through clear, data-informed feedback
Exceptional communication skills across all levels, from frontline government staff to company leadership, with proven ability to present technical concepts to non-technical audiences
High agency and ownership: you spot problems, propose solutions, and get things done without needing to be managed
Mission-driven: you care deeply about public institutions and believe great software can help them better serve communities
Comfortable with regular travel and on-site customer work (up to 30% depending on deployment cycles)

Responsibilities

Lead High-Stakes Customer Deployments
Own end-to-end delivery of complex, mission-critical customer launches from scoping through go-live and sustained adoption
Embed with government teams to deeply understand workflows, identify relevant datasets, and map critical operational questions to software solutions
Serve as the primary technical and strategic point of contact for our highest-priority accounts during deployment
Manage technical setup, data integration, workflow configuration, and stakeholder alignment across multiple simultaneous implementations
Navigate ambiguous, fast-moving contexts where you define the direction and execute the work
Systematize the Deployment Function
Develop repeatable deployment playbooks, technical documentation, and training materials that enable our deployment team to scale
Identify patterns across customer implementations and codify learnings into scalable processes and tools
Establish metrics, reporting frameworks, and best practices to track deployment health, customer outcomes, and team efficiency
Maximize AI tools to build internal capabilities that improve how we scope, sequence, and execute deployments as the team grows
Build and Scale the Customer Success and Support Function
Own customer retention, health, and expansion, establishing the frameworks, cadences, and metrics that ensure customers consistently realize value post-launch
Stand up and scale support operations from the ground up, including triage workflows, SLAs, escalation paths, and self-service resources appropriate for government clients
Build feedback loops between support, success, and product so customer insights and recurring issues drive systemic improvements to the platform
Serve as the strategic voice of the customer internally, translating operational challenges into clear, data-informed feedback that shapes the product roadmap
Develop Team and Organizational Capability
Mentor deployment strategists, customer success managers, and other team members on technical configuration, customer strategy, and operational excellence
Support onboarding and knowledge transfer for new hires joining the customer operations function
Model high execution standards, systems thinking, and customer-centric problem solving
Contribute to building a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement

Benefits

Comprehensive Health Coverage
We offer Gold, and Platinum PPO plans through Oxford (United), with 85% of premiums covered for employees on the Platinum plan, with a $0 premium option
Dental, Vision & Financial Wellness
You’re covered with Guardian PPO dental and Beam vision plans - Kaizen pays 99% of premiums for employees and 50% for dependents.
Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA & Dependent Care FSA)
$100,000 in fully paid life insurance
401(k) access through Guideline
Parental Leave That Supports Families
16 weeks fully paid for birthing parents and 10 weeks paid for non-birthing parents
$50/month toward your commute
One-time setup stipend (up to $750) for your home or NYC office
$100/month for wellness or productivity
$250/year for recreation - because fun matters
$500/year for professional development - because growth does too
Expensed lunch three days a week when you're in the office
Company-provided laptop
Unlimited PTO
All federal holidays off
A company-wide winter break during the week of Christmas