CSM Manager, Public Sector - Build CS Function at Chainguard

Chainguard; United States; Remote; USD 149,000 - 182,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Stock options with 10 years to execute

100% covered health insurance

Remote-friendly culture

Unlimited flexible time off

18 weeks paid parental leave

Job summary

Chainguard is seeking a CSM Manager for US Public Sector to build and lead a new Customer Success function. This high‑impact role combines strategic design with hands‑on customer management across government accounts, reporting to the Sr. Manager of Customer Success.

The ideal candidate has 3+ years in leadership, strong people skills, and a background in cybersecurity or DevOps, with USPublic Sector experience and a passion for scale.

Qualifications

• 3+ years in a leadership role with people management.
• Experience in Cybersecurity, DevOps, or adjacent space.
• Experience working with US Public Sector customers and procurement requirements.
• Bachelor's degree in a relevant field; advanced degree preferred.
• Based in the United States.

Responsibilities

• Lead and mentor a team of CSMs, fostering a high‑performance culture.
• Partner with cross‑functional leaders to define the CSM strategy and scale processes.
• Oversee adoption, retention, and account expansion plans; mitigate churn risk.
• Build executive-level client relationships and voice customer feedback for product insights.
• Drive renewal forecasting with GTM, Product, and Engineering teams; project 6–month outlook.
• Implement scalable operational processes to improve efficiency and impact.

Skills

Leadership

People management

Cybersecurity

DevOps

Public sector

Executive relationships

Education

Bachelor's degree

Job description

CSM Manager, Public Sector - Build CS Function at Chainguard in Newark

A High-Impact Leadership Role at a Well-Funded Cybersecurity Startup

Chainguard is backed by Sequoia, Kleiner Perkins, and IVP — a top-tier investor roster signaling serious growth ambitions. This Manager role sits at the intersection of two hot markets: open-source supply chain security and AI infrastructure compliance. These are skills that will remain in high demand for years.

Compensation Context: At up to $165,000 base + bonus, this is competitive but on the lower end for a CSM Manager in cybersecurity at a Series B/C-stage startup in high-cost metros. If you're in a lower cost-of-living area or negotiating from an enterprise background, there may be room to push. The 10-year stock option exercise window is a genuinely rare and employee‑friendly benefit worth factoring in.

• Building a CSM function from scratch gives you rare org-design and operational leadership experience.
• Public Sector expertise (FedRAMP, government procurement cycles) is a niche, highly transferable skill set.
• Direct exposure to executive-level relationship management and cross‑functional GTM collaboration.

Green Flags: Remote‑first culture, strong values alignment around transparency and autonomy, and a category‑defining product (open source security). Watch for: The role requires both strategic building AND active customer management simultaneously — a heavy dual mandate that may stretch bandwidth for a first‑time manager.

Chainguard is the trusted source for open source. By delivering hardened, secure, and production‑ready builds of all the open source software engineers and AI agents rely on, Chainguard helps organizations build faster, stay compliant, and eliminate risk.

Our customers include Fortune 500 enterprises and global industry leaders, including Anduril, Canva, Fortinet, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, OpenAI, Snap Inc., and Snowflake.

Chainguard is venture‑backed by leading investors, including Amplify, IVP, Kleiner Perkins, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Mantis VC, Redpoint Ventures, Sequoia Capital, and Spark Capital.

The Role, in a Nutshell:

The Manager of Customer Success Management (CSM), US Public Sector will report to the Sr. Manager of Customer Success (Enterprise US East & Public Sector), working collaboratively to achieve the company's goals and enhance customer success initiatives.

As a key leadership role within the Customer Success organization, the Manager of CSM will partner closely with other Customer Success leaders in building and shaping the function. The successful candidate will demonstrate strong people management skills, experience building out a CSM function (i.e. customer engagement, account management and retention strategies), and a mindset of driving operational excellence and scale.

What You'll Do:

• Leadership and People Management:
  • Build, lead, and mentor a team of CSMs, fostering a collaborative and high‑performance culture.
  • Provide guidance and support for career development, performance management, and skill enhancement within the team.
• Strategic Planning, Building, and Execution:
  • Collaborate with the CSM and Professional Services leaders to develop and execute the overall strategy for Customer Success at Chainguard.
  • Drive the creation of customer engagement strategies to meet adoption, retention, and growth targets.
  • Develop processes in the lens of value and customer experience. Institute scale and automation in order to accomplish more with less over time.
• Customer Management:
  • Ensure a thorough grasp of adoption metrics across the customer base and collaborate with CSMs to devise actionable plans for mitigating churn risk and promoting account expansion.
  • Conduct account deep dives to drive adoption and account level objectives.
  • Stay informed about escalated accounts, take charge in resolving issues, offer leadership support to the team and customers as needed, and provide regular updates to senior leadership.
• Client Engagement and Advocacy:
  • Work closely with customers to understand their unique requirements and challenges.
  • Build strong client relationships at the executive level to understand their workflow, prioritize Chainguard engagements, drive customer satisfaction, and position account growth.
  • Serve as the voice of the customer within the organization, providing insights and feedback to drive product improvements and innovations.
• Retention and Growth:
  • Collaborate with GTM, Product, and Engineering teams to drive adoption, customer retention, and growth.
  • Utilize insights from customer adoption data to develop precise renewal forecasts. Collaborate closely with the sales team to generate a weekly forecast aggregation, projecting at least six months into the future.
• Implement and refine operational processes to enhance efficiency and effectiveness within the CSM team and engagement model.
• Monitor industry trends and best practices to stay ahead of market demands.

What We're Looking For:

• At least 3+ years of proven experience in a leadership role, with a strong background in people management.
• Experience in Cybersecurity, DevOps, or an adjacent space.
• Experience working with US Public Sector customers and the unique regulatory, compliance, and procurement requirements of the segment.
• Bachelor's degree in a relevant field; advanced degree preferred.
• Demonstrated success in building and scaling CSM functions.
• In‑depth knowledge of project management methodologies and practices.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to engage with both internal teams and external clients and executive‑level personas.
• We are remote friendly, but this role needs to be based in the United States.

Compensation: Up to $165,000 base salary + bonus

About Us

We live and breathe our company values:

• We are customer obsessed — We focus on delivering solutions to our customers that create value and make their lives better.
• We have a bias for intentional action — We prioritize, plan, try things, and fail fast.
• We don't take ourselves too seriously (but we do serious work) — We are solving an important problem which takes focus, but we also like to enjoy the journey.
• We trust each other and assume good intentions — We're transparent with decisions to empower team members to make well‑informed decisions.

A Few of the Benefits We Offer:

• Flexible & Remote‑First Culture: Work remotely with team meetup opportunities, bi‑annual destination summits, and a monthly stipend for coworking spaces, phone, and internet costs.
• Our Approach to Equity: Receive stock options upon hire and promotion. Plus, you can participate in secondary offerings and have 10 years to exercise your options (yes, you read that correctly: 10 years!).
• 100% Covered Health Insurance: We cover 100% of your health, vision, and dental insurance premiums for you and your dependents. Nothing comes out of your paycheck.
• Unlimited Flexible Time Off: Take the time you need — to do our best work, we need to recharge and reset.
• 18 Weeks Paid Parental Leave: We offer 18 weeks for birthing parents and 12 weeks for non-birthing parents, with the option to use it all at once or throughout your child's first year.

If your experience is close but doesn't fulfill all requirements, please apply. We're building the best team in technology and are focused on hiring "Chainguardians" with unique backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences.

Chainguard is an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate based upon race, religion, color, national origin, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, reproductive health decisions, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, genetic information, political views or activity, or other applicable legally protected characteristics. We also consider qualified applicants with criminal histories, consistent with applicable federal, state and local law.

Is this Customer Success Manager role fully remote? Yes, Chainguard is remote-friendly, but candidates must be based in the United States. The company provides a monthly stipend for coworking spaces, phone, and internet to support remote work. What is the compensation for this CSM Manager role? The role offers up to $165,000 base salary plus a performance bonus. Employees also receive stock options at hire and promotion, with an unusually generous 10-year exercise window. What experience is required for the US Public Sector CSM Manager position? You need at least 3+ years in a leadership or people management role, experience in cybersecurity or DevOps, and demonstrated knowledge of US public sector regulatory and procurement requirements. Does Chainguard offer health insurance for this role? Yes, Chainguard covers 100% of health, vision, and dental insurance premiums for employees and their dependents, with nothing deducted from your paycheck. What does the team structure look like for this role? The Manager of CSM, US Public Sector reports to the Sr. Manager of Customer Success (Enterprise US East & Public Sector) and is responsible for building and leading a team of Customer Success Managers focused on government and public sector accounts.

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