Leader, Optimization Services

Benchling•San Francisco, CA

5d•Hybrid

About The Position

We are rebuilding biotech for the AI era. When a breakthrough is delayed, the world waits. Getting a molecule from discovery to patients, or a crop from lab to field, involves thousands of slow, manual, disconnected steps. AI has the potential to change this, compressing decades of R&D work into years. But that only happens when clean, structured scientific data and AI are built into how science gets done. Benchling is the AI platform for biotech R&D. Scientists use Benchling to design experiments, capture structured data, and run AI agents and models directly in their workflows. Over 200,000 scientists around the world trust Benchling to power their most important work, from academic labs to Sanofi, Moderna, and more than half of the world's top 50 biopharma. ROLE OVERVIEW Benchling’s Optimization Services team is adding a new Team Lead to support our growing post-implementation business. This is a player-coach role: you will directly manage a team of 3-6 Technical Account Managers while simultaneously carrying a small portfolio of key customer engagements yourself. You’ll set the bar for delivery quality, develop your team’s product and consulting skills, and serve as the primary escalation point when projects need senior judgment. This role requires someone who has operated at the intersection of technical depth, customer relationship management, and team leadership. You will be responsible not only for your team’s performance but for helping shape and evolve the OS offerings and processes as Benchling’s product and customer base continue to grow. The OS Team Lead sits within Benchling’s Customer Experience organization and works closely with Customer Success, Professional Services, Sales, Product, and Support to ensure our customers receive maximum value from their Benchling investment post-go-live.

Requirements

3+ years of hands-on experience in the Benchling product, with a background in Customer Experience, Solutions Consulting, or a comparable post-sales technical role at Benchling; demonstrated strong performance in prior Benchling roles required.
Experience working across multiple customer segments and solution areas (e.g. startups, enterprise, Ab Discovery, Gene Therapy, etc.)
Excellent judgment in prioritizing customer and team needs based on urgency, account health, contract value, and renewal timing.
Strong written and verbal communication skills – able to communicate clearly and credibly across functions and levels, including with customers, account teams, and senior internal leadership.
A track record of mentoring and coaching peers toward deeper Benchling expertise and stronger delivery practices.
Demonstrated ability to analyze complex problems, identify root causes, and drive systemic improvements.
Flexible, action-oriented, and comfortable operating independently in a fast-paced, distributed team environment.

Nice To Haves

Previous formal management or team lead experience is a plus.
Experience supporting Benchling sales processes, including scoping, SOW generation, or field enablement, a plus.
A leadership role on a significant customer project or internal cross-functional work is a plus.

Responsibilities

Develop, coach, and grow a team of 3-6 Technical Account Managers – setting clear expectations, providing regular feedback, managing performance, and investing in career development.
Serve as the first escalation point for project issues, engaging with composure and a bias toward resolution; own accountability for team-level project outcomes across all customer segments.
Set and uphold standards for delivery quality, customer communication, and OS operational excellence; lead process improvement initiatives with measurable outcomes.
Own and report on OS team metrics including utilization, renewal rates, project margins, and staffing levels, using data to drive decisions and surface voice-of-customer insights for Product, CS, and CX leadership.
Evolve OS offerings (accelerators, training formats, delivery models) as Benchling’s product and customer base continue to grow; contribute to tooling and process improvements that elevate the TAM delivery experience.
Support the commercial process by scoping Success Packages and drafting Sales Orders in partnership with Sales and CS; enable the Field team to position and sell OS offerings at scale.
Participate in customer-facing renewal and expansion conversations, EBRs, and strategic account reviews as a credible, senior delivery leader.
Collaborate cross-functionally with Customer Success, Professional Services, Account Management, Product, Engineering, and Support to coordinate on customer issues and drive resolution.
Maintain a direct TAM delivery role on a subset of key accounts, modeling best-in-class delivery practices for the team.
Partner with the Head of Optimization Services to shape and execute the OS strategy, contributing insights on delivery model, team structure, and enterprise readiness.