Customer Support Manager

The Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre; Cambridge; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

The Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre (CCDC) is seeking a Customer Support Manager to lead delivery and development of customer support across our product portfolio, ensuring global users receive responsive, high-quality support for our scientific software, data, and services.

You will manage a team of technical support specialists, work with science and data teams, and report to the Head of Technology and Product.

Qualifications

• Experience leading technical, scientific, software or customer support teams in complex product environments.
• Proven ability to develop and motivate a team and ensure service quality.
• Experience defining and monitoring KPIs and reporting on support performance.
• Familiarity with data protection, GDPR-aware handling and knowledge bases.

Responsibilities

• Lead the delivery and ongoing development of customer support across the product portfolio.
• Manage a team of technical support specialists and coordinate with science and data teams.
• Shape customer support strategy and scale services with product evolution.
• Define escalation mechanisms for complex technical queries and communicate changes to customers.
• Ensure support processes align with customer expectations and governance requirements.

Skills

Team leadership

Customer support

Cross-functional collaboration

KPI tracking

Job description

The CCDC is looking for a Customer Support Manager to lead the delivery and ongoing development of customer support services across our product portfolio, ensuring our diverse global user base receives responsive, high-quality support for our scientific software, data, and services.

This is an opportunity for you to contribute to the advancement of science in a meaningful way by helping academic institutions, pharmaceutical companies, and industrial research organisations get the best from CCDC products—spanning cloud-hosted and on-site deployments, scientific tooling, data access, licensing, and API/Python-based solutions.

Working within our Technology & Product function, you will be accountable for both the strategic direction and day-to-day health of CCDC's support function. You will manage a team of technical support specialists, oversee support provided by our expert science and data teams, and work closely with the Head of Technology and Product and senior leadership to ensure support processes operate smoothly, efficiently, and in line with customer expectations.

You may already have several years' experience leading technical, scientific, software, or customer support teams in a complex product environment. You will demonstrate strong people leadership skills, the ability to develop and motivate a team, and the operational judgement needed to maintain effective cover, continuity, and service quality across support processes.

You will be confident shaping customer support strategy, improving processes, and scaling services as product portfolios evolve. You will have experience defining and monitoring KPIs, reporting on support performance, maintaining support tools and self-service resources, and using customer insight to drive continuous improvement in satisfaction and efficiency.

You will enjoy working cross-functionally with Software Development, Product Management, Product Owners, Commercial, Science, and Data teams to ensure customer feedback and recurring issues are understood and acted upon. You will be comfortable helping teams prepare for new features and releases, communicating changes to customers, and establishing clear escalation mechanisms for complex scientific or technical queries.

Experience with customer support governance, data protection, GDPR-aware customer data handling, knowledge bases, customer portals, or online support communities would be advantageous. Most importantly, you will bring a customer-centred approach, excellent communication skills, and a commitment to CCDC's values of quality, innovation, passion, community, collaboration, integrity, agility, diversity, and customer centricity.

Please look at the CCDC website to see how this is an opportunity for you to contribute to the advancement of global structural science.

Closing date for applications 30 October 2026.