Head of Deployment Strategy

Kira • New York City, NY

3d • Onsite

About The Position

Kira is hiring its first Head of Deployment Strategy to lead the team responsible for successfully implementing the company’s AI-powered education platform across large customers, including governments, global education enterprises, and universities. This is a player-coach role: the Head will personally own a portfolio of large, complex accounts, beginning with a multimillion-dollar partnership with a university in London, while managing and coaching Deployment Strategists responsible for other strategic accounts. The role will build the team’s processes and operating model from the ground up in collaboration with Kira’s co-founders and product and go-to-market teams.

The Head will lead high-priority deployments from contract signature through launch, adoption, measurable impact, renewal, and expansion. They will build relationships with senior customer stakeholders, facilitate executive reviews and alignment workshops, and spend extended periods on-site to understand customer operations and identify important problems to solve. The role also partners with product and engineering to shape solutions based on customer needs, evaluate product configurations, prototype solutions using AI tools, translate technical capabilities into business outcomes, and remain hands-on in Kira’s product.

The role manages and develops Deployment Strategists, establishes deployment playbooks, SOPs, quality metrics, and operating rhythms, and supports the team during high-stakes customer situations. It is based in Kira’s Tribeca, New York City office, with in-person attendance four days per week and significant international travel to the UK, including an extended on-site launch period and regular trips afterward.

Requirements

• At least 8 years of experience, including significant experience leading complex, high-value client relationships.
• A record of earning trust with C-suite and owner-level stakeholders on demanding, politically complex accounts.
• Hands-on experience doing the work personally and the ability to coach others through it.
• Experience managing, coaching, or developing people, formally or through leadership of client engagement teams.
• Experience building processes and teams from scratch and creating structure amid ambiguity while remaining hands-on.
• Fluency with complex products and comfort working alongside engineers to scope and deploy solutions.
• Extensive hands-on experience using AI tools in day-to-day work and a record of helping others adopt AI-native ways of working.
• Comfort operating in ambiguity and confidence pushing back on customers and internal teams to clarify priorities.
• Willingness to travel internationally, including extended on-site periods in the UK.
• Ability to work in person at Kira’s Tribeca, New York City office four days per week.

Nice To Haves

• Prior experience as a founder or as a core member of an early-stage, fast-growing company.

Responsibilities

• Personally own a portfolio of large, complex enterprise accounts, beginning with a multimillion-dollar university partnership in London.
• Lead high-priority customer rollouts from contract signature through go-live, adoption, measurable impact, renewal, and expansion.
• Build trusted relationships with senior customer stakeholders, including executives, owners, investors, and academic and operational leaders.
• Manage competing stakeholder interests and lead executive business reviews and workshops to build alignment.
• Spend extended periods on-site with customers, including in the UK, to understand their operations and identify problems worth solving.
• Partner with product and engineering to shape Kira’s development in response to real customer needs and help prioritize work.
• Evaluate customer contexts and determine the best version or configuration of Kira for each account.
• Build prototypes using AI tools to test and validate solutions before full development.
• Translate technical capabilities into clear business outcomes for customers and executives.
• Work hands-on in the product by configuring organizations, building AI-generated courses, and defining workflows.
• Manage and coach Deployment Strategists, developing their ability to lead senior executive relationships independently.
• Create and refine deployment playbooks, SOPs, quality metrics, and team operating rhythms from scratch.
• Support the team during high-stakes situations such as executive escalations, renewals, scope negotiations, and difficult conversations.
• Build a scalable deployment approach that supports successful launches and growth across Kira’s largest accounts.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, vision, and life insurance, including a medical insurance plan with 100% coverage of the employee.
• Daily lunch credit through DoorDash when in the office and free DashPass for work or personal use.
• Company-paid Wellhub membership, including access to gym networks, wellness apps, and one-to-one coaching.
• 401(k) matching.
• Pet-friendly office.
• Salary of $205,000–$240,000 plus variable compensation and meaningful equity.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: No Education Listed