Technical Support Manager

American Innovations • Austin, TX

16h

About The Position

American Innovations builds the compliance technology oil & gas teams rely on to protect people and the environment—every day, in the field and in the office. As we roll out our next generation of products, we’re looking for a Technical Support Manager who will own the day-to-day health and performance of our support operation and raise the bar for how we serve customers. In this role, you’ll lead a team that’s measured by outcomes—SLA attainment, CSAT, backlog health, ticket quality, and disciplined incident response. You’ll use data (and AI-driven insights) to spot patterns, eliminate repeat drivers, strengthen Zendesk workflows, and build the operating rhythms that keep support predictable and reliable as volume and complexity grow. If you thrive on accountability, coaching, and continuous improvement—and you want a role where your leadership directly improves the customer experience—this is the opportunity for you! What we can offer you: Comprehensive health coverage to keep you at your best—Medical, Dental, and Vision, plus company-paid Life and Disability insurance. Paid parental leave —maternity and paternity leave available after one year of service. Strong financial benefits —401(k) with up to 4% company match and immediate vesting , plus access to financial education resources. Meaningful ways to give back —company-supported community involvement opportunities. A culture you’ll actually enjoy —supportive, collaborative teams, plus happy hours and events that bring people together. Real investment in your growth —professional development support, training opportunities, and regular Lunch & Learns. Purpose-driven work —a rewarding culture built on positive business practices and a commitment to protecting the environment. What you can offer us: Technical Support Performance and Accountability Own overall support performance outcomes, including SLA attainment, CSAT trends, backlog health, and ticket quality Use AI tools to identify patterns in support requests, surface root causes, and pinpoint operational deficiencies Set clear expectations and success metrics for the team and the broader organization Hold frontline TSR Leads accountable for execution, quality, reliability, and day-to-day results Identify systemic risks early and intervene through process changes, staffing adjustments, or leadership support Ensure consistent TSR team performance across key measures (CSAT, first response time, ticket accuracy) Serve as the primary escalation point and Incident Manager for major customer-impacting events and outages Ensure incidents follow a structured response process with clear ownership, customer communication, internal coordination, and follow-through Continuous Improvement (Operations, Knowledge, Systems, Processes) Own and mature support processes, standards, and operating rhythms to improve predictability and execution Ensure Zendesk workflows, ticket QA programs, and reporting are operating as designed and meeting team needs Identify and address inefficiencies, failure points, and repeat drivers at both the systems level and individual performance level Partner with the Director of Customer Success on tooling direction while owning day-to-day operational effectiveness Drive continuous improvement initiatives that reduce friction, rework, and manual effort across the support experience Own the standards and effectiveness of the Knowledge Base, ensuring it is current, accurate, and usable Prioritize KB work based on impact (ticket deflection, faster resolution, fewer repeat issues), not convenience People Management & Leadership Directly manage the TSR team, including 1:1s , coaching conversations, reflections, and performance check-ins Coach leaders and agents on prioritization, feedback, accountability, and consistent execution Own hiring, onboarding, development, and retention strategy for the support organization Identify and develop future leaders and maintain healthy bench strength Address underperformance consistently and decisively, using clear expectations and documented follow-through Reinforce alignment to company values and customer-centric behaviors across the team Capacity & Forecasting Planning Own staffing models, capacity planning, and workload forecasting to ensure stable queue performance Anticipate volume trends, seasonality, and risk periods and plan accordingly Ensure staffing strategies align with demand and SLA commitments Recommend proactive adjustments to staffing, schedules, and/or team structure as needed Cross-Functional Communication & Reporting Participate in customer meetings with Account Managers to address escalations, manage risk, and reinforce confidence in resolution plans Provide clear, concise reporting on support performance and operational health to leadership Proactively communicate trends, risks, and improvement plans before they become urgent issues Ensure cross-functional teams have the data and context required to make effective business decisions Represent support outcomes accurately and consistently across the organization, aligning stakeholders around facts and next steps Requirements What you need to succeed: Experience Requirements 4+ years in a customer support or technical support environment, with experience managing day-to-day support operations 2+ years leading a customer/technical support team, including setting expectations, coaching, feedback, and accountability 1–2 years in a formal people management role (performance management, development plans, addressing underperformance) Proven ability to own queue health, escalations, and backlog risk while consistently meeting SLA performance 2+ years of hands-on experience with Zendesk (or similar), including: Triggers, automations, views, and macros Queue monitoring and workload balancing Operational reporting and dashboards Experience serving as an escalation point and incident manager for customer-impacting issues, outages, and high-severity events Demonstrated ability to perform ticket quality reviews, identify trends, and deliver actionable coaching that improves outcomes Ability to jump into support tickets at a managerial level when needed (escalations, prioritization, removing blockers) without acting as the primary technical SME Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with a data-driven mindset Clear, professional written and verbal communication, including customer-facing communication during sensitive situations Ability to operate independently and balance hands-on execution with systems-level improvements Preferred Experience 5–8 years in a customer support or technical support environment 2–4 years managing a customer/technical support team 3–5 years of hands-on Zendesk experience 2+ years leading outage/escalation/incident response workflows end-to-end Advanced experience with Zendesk Explore (custom metrics, calculated fields, multi-dataset dashboards) Experience designing or maturing QA frameworks or review programs Exposure to incident response frameworks or on-call escalation models Experience supporting SaaS and/or hardware + software environments Familiarity with formal SLAs, KPIs, or compliance-driven support organizations Basic SQL and/or data analysis experience to enhance operational reporting Experience partnering with Account Management and/or Customer Success during escalations, recovery, or risk conversations Successful applicants must be eligible to work in the US (visa sponsorship is not provided at this time) and must be able to pass a pre-employment background and drug test. American Innovations is an Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, or protected veteran status and will not be discriminated against on the basis of disability.

Requirements

• 4+ years in a customer support or technical support environment, with experience managing day-to-day support operations
• 2+ years leading a customer/technical support team, including setting expectations, coaching, feedback, and accountability
• 1–2 years in a formal people management role (performance management, development plans, addressing underperformance)
• Proven ability to own queue health, escalations, and backlog risk while consistently meeting SLA performance
• 2+ years of hands-on experience with Zendesk (or similar), including: Triggers, automations, views, and macros Queue monitoring and workload balancing Operational reporting and dashboards
• Experience serving as an escalation point and incident manager for customer-impacting issues, outages, and high-severity events
• Demonstrated ability to perform ticket quality reviews, identify trends, and deliver actionable coaching that improves outcomes
• Ability to jump into support tickets at a managerial level when needed (escalations, prioritization, removing blockers) without acting as the primary technical SME
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with a data-driven mindset
• Clear, professional written and verbal communication, including customer-facing communication during sensitive situations
• Ability to operate independently and balance hands-on execution with systems-level improvements

Nice To Haves

• 5–8 years in a customer support or technical support environment
• 2–4 years managing a customer/technical support team
• 3–5 years of hands-on Zendesk experience
• 2+ years leading outage/escalation/incident response workflows end-to-end
• Advanced experience with Zendesk Explore (custom metrics, calculated fields, multi-dataset dashboards)
• Experience designing or maturing QA frameworks or review programs
• Exposure to incident response frameworks or on-call escalation models
• Experience supporting SaaS and/or hardware + software environments
• Familiarity with formal SLAs, KPIs, or compliance-driven support organizations
• Basic SQL and/or data analysis experience to enhance operational reporting
• Experience partnering with Account Management and/or Customer Success during escalations, recovery, or risk conversations

Responsibilities

• Own overall support performance outcomes, including SLA attainment, CSAT trends, backlog health, and ticket quality
• Use AI tools to identify patterns in support requests, surface root causes, and pinpoint operational deficiencies
• Set clear expectations and success metrics for the team and the broader organization
• Hold frontline TSR Leads accountable for execution, quality, reliability, and day-to-day results
• Identify systemic risks early and intervene through process changes, staffing adjustments, or leadership support
• Ensure consistent TSR team performance across key measures (CSAT, first response time, ticket accuracy)
• Serve as the primary escalation point and Incident Manager for major customer-impacting events and outages
• Ensure incidents follow a structured response process with clear ownership, customer communication, internal coordination, and follow-through
• Own and mature support processes, standards, and operating rhythms to improve predictability and execution
• Ensure Zendesk workflows, ticket QA programs, and reporting are operating as designed and meeting team needs
• Identify and address inefficiencies, failure points, and repeat drivers at both the systems level and individual performance level
• Partner with the Director of Customer Success on tooling direction while owning day-to-day operational effectiveness
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives that reduce friction, rework, and manual effort across the support experience
• Own the standards and effectiveness of the Knowledge Base, ensuring it is current, accurate, and usable
• Prioritize KB work based on impact (ticket deflection, faster resolution, fewer repeat issues), not convenience
• Directly manage the TSR team, including 1:1s , coaching conversations, reflections, and performance check-ins
• Coach leaders and agents on prioritization, feedback, accountability, and consistent execution
• Own hiring, onboarding, development, and retention strategy for the support organization
• Identify and develop future leaders and maintain healthy bench strength
• Address underperformance consistently and decisively, using clear expectations and documented follow-through
• Reinforce alignment to company values and customer-centric behaviors across the team
• Own staffing models, capacity planning, and workload forecasting to ensure stable queue performance
• Anticipate volume trends, seasonality, and risk periods and plan accordingly
• Ensure staffing strategies align with demand and SLA commitments
• Recommend proactive adjustments to staffing, schedules, and/or team structure as needed
• Participate in customer meetings with Account Managers to address escalations, manage risk, and reinforce confidence in resolution plans
• Provide clear, concise reporting on support performance and operational health to leadership
• Proactively communicate trends, risks, and improvement plans before they become urgent issues
• Ensure cross-functional teams have the data and context required to make effective business decisions
• Represent support outcomes accurately and consistently across the organization, aligning stakeholders around facts and next steps

Benefits

• Comprehensive health coverage to keep you at your best—Medical, Dental, and Vision, plus company-paid Life and Disability insurance.
• Paid parental leave —maternity and paternity leave available after one year of service.
• Strong financial benefits —401(k) with up to 4% company match and immediate vesting , plus access to financial education resources.
• Meaningful ways to give back —company-supported community involvement opportunities.
• A culture you’ll actually enjoy —supportive, collaborative teams, plus happy hours and events that bring people together.
• Real investment in your growth —professional development support, training opportunities, and regular Lunch & Learns.
• Purpose-driven work —a rewarding culture built on positive business practices and a commitment to protecting the environment.

What This Job Offers

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