Customer Success Lead

black.ai; New York (NY); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Instant is seeking a Customer Success Lead to shape and scale its global Customer Success function. You will own a portfolio of strategic ecommerce customers, crafting playbooks and processes to enable the wider CS team to succeed, while collaborating with Product, Sales and Engineering to boost retention and expansion.

You will be hands-on from day one, mentoring other CSMs, and partnering with leadership to shape hiring, team structure and CS standards as the function grows.

Qualifications

• Strong ecommerce / retail experience (industry knowledge)
• Proven experience as a Senior CSM, Strategic CSM or similar within B2B SaaS
• Track record of owning customer relationships and driving retention, adoption and expansion

Responsibilities

• Own portfolio of ecommerce customers, driving adoption, retention and expansion.
• Own key customer health metrics and understand numbers behind portfolio.
• Identify risks early and convert challenges into action plans.

Job description

The Role

Instant is looking for a Customer Success Lead to help shape and scale our global Customer Success function. This is an exciting opportunity for a high-performing Senior CSM or team lead who has mastered the individual contributor role and is ready to step into leadership, own a bigger piece of the customer journey, and help build the CS function from the ground up.

You’ll be hands‑on from day one - owning a portfolio of strategic customers while building the processes, playbooks and standards that enable the wider team to succeed. You’ll work closely with leadership, Product, Sales and Engineering to improve retention, drive adoption and unlock expansion across our growing customer base.

Ecommerce or ESP experience is essential. You’ll need to understand how ecommerce brands operate, what drives their growth, and the challenges they face across acquisition, conversion and retention.

What you’ll do

Own Customer Success:

• Manage and grow a portfolio of ecommerce customers, becoming a trusted partner and driving adoption, retention and expansion.
• Own key customer health, retention and expansion metrics and understand the numbers behind your portfolio.
• Identify risks early and turn customer challenges into clear action plans.

Help Build the CS Function:

• Create and improve playbooks across onboarding, adoption, engagement, renewal and expansion.
• Develop processes and operating rhythms that make the team more proactive and scalable.
• Help define what great Customer Success looks like at Instant — from customer engagement to product adoption and commercial outcomes.
• Use data to identify trends, diagnose problems and continuously improve the customer experience.

Step Into Leadership:

• Mentor and coach other CSMs, raising the bar on customer management and commercial thinking.
• Help onboard and develop new team members as the function grows.
• Partner closely with SLT & Founders to shape hiring, team structure and priorities.
• Become a key voice for the customer internally, working closely with Product, Sales, Marketing and Engineering.

What we’re looking for:

• Strong ecommerce / retail experience - you understand the industry, its commercial drivers and the challenges ecommerce brands face.
• Proven experience as a Senior CSM, Strategic CSM or similar within B2B SaaS.
• A strong track record of owning customer relationships and driving retention, adoption and expansion.
• You’re commercially minded and comfortable with metrics such as NRR, churn, expansion and customer health.
• You’re naturally proactive - you spot problems, diagnose them and come with a plan to solve them.
• You’re excited by the opportunity to build, not just maintain. You want more ownership and responsibility than your current role gives you.
• You enjoy mentoring others and are ready to take your first (or next) step into formal CS leadership.
• You’re comfortable working in a fast-moving environment where priorities change quickly and there’s plenty to build.

What success looks like:

Within your first 12 months, you’ll have:

• Built strong relationships with your customers and become a trusted ecommerce partner.
• Improved retention, adoption and expansion across your portfolio.
• Helped establish clear CS playbooks, processes and operating rhythms.
• Become a key mentor and leader within the CS team.
• Played a meaningful role in shaping how Instant scales Customer Success globally.