Customer Support Escalations Specialist

Kikoff; Phoenix (AZ); On-site; USD 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

Kikoff, a profitable fintech powering financial security, is hiring a Tier 3 Customer Support Specialist in Phoenix. You will own the most complex escalations, working at the intersection of customer empathy and operational excellence, handling cases beyond Tier 1/2 and guiding improvements across our processes.

This role emphasizes QA, root-cause analysis, and mentoring Tier 1/2 agents, with 2–5 years in customer support and familiarity with Zendesk. It is an onsite role in Arizona.

Qualifications

• 2–5 years of experience in customer support with time in escalations or complex case management
• Strong written communication in customer responses and internal escalations
• High ownership: see cases through to resolution and don’t miss details
• Able to work within a structured ops team with minimal direction

Responsibilities

• Investigate, manage, and resolve the most complex customer escalations via email
• Adhere to complaint management policies with defensible resolution and real-time de-escalation
• Perform root-cause analysis on escalations and surface findings to leadership
• Share escalation trends with Operations and drive process improvements
• Audit Tier 1 and Tier 2 queues for quality and escalation behavior
• Own internal documentation for complex case types and SOPs
• Support training to close knowledge gaps and reduce escalations

Skills

Escalations handling

Written communication

Ownership

Team collaboration

Customer support

Tools

Zendesk

Job description

Kikoff: The Fintech Powering Financial Security at Scale
Kikoff is a profitable, pre-IPO fintech company on a mission to empower everyone to achieve financial security. With record revenue growth in 2025 and a unicorn valuation, we've built a suite of products that help millions of people build credit, access liquidity, and save money.
We're scaling fast. Join us if you want to build something meaningful and help millions of people move forward financially.

Why Kikoff:

This is a consumer fintech startup, and you will be working with serial entrepreneurs who have built strong consumer brands and innovative products. We value extreme ownership, clear communication, a strong sense of craftsmanship, and the desire to create lasting work and work relationships. Yes, you can build an exciting business AND have real-life real-customer impact.

About This Role

As a Tier 3 Customer Support Specialist, you will own Kikoff's most complex and sensitive customer escalations — the cases that go beyond what frontline and Tier 2 agents can resolve on their own. This role sits at the intersection of customer empathy and operational excellence.

Just as importantly, you will help the broader org improve and scale: auditing ticket quality, documenting resolution paths, and identifying fixes and improvements in our processes.

This is a high-ownership role for someone who thrives in complexity and wants their work to matter — both to the customers they serve and to the team around them.

Role & Responsibilities

• Investigate, manage, and resolve the most complex customer escalations via email — cases that go beyond what Tier 1 and Tier 2 agents can handle independently
• Adhere to Kikoff's complaint management policies and regulatory frameworks, with a focus on thorough, defensible resolution and real-time de-escalation
• Perform root-cause analysis on escalations, distinguishing systemic failures from one-off errors, and surface findings to Customer Operations leadership to reduce future volume
• Work closely with our broader Operations team to share escalation trends and align on process improvements

Quality & Auditing

• Conduct regular QA reviews and audits of Tier 1 and Tier 2 ticket queues — across both our BPO and chatbot — to assess resolution quality, accuracy, and appropriate escalation behavior
• Identify patterns in misrouted or mishandled tickets and flag them with clear documentation and recommendations
• Contribute to QA rubrics and scoring frameworks that help the broader Customer Operations team raise its baseline

Knowledge & Process

• Own internal documentation for complex case types — keeping resolution paths, SOPs, and escalation decision trees current and accessible
• Serve as a subject matter expert for Tier 1 and Tier 2 agents, supporting training and closing knowledge gaps that drive unnecessary escalations

Expertise & Experience Required

• 2–5 years of experience in customer support, with meaningful time in escalations, complex case management, or a Tier 2/3 role
• Strong written communication — your case notes, customer responses, and internal escalations are clear, accurate, and defensible
• High ownership: you follow cases through to resolution and don't let things fall through the cracks
• Able to work within a structured ops team without needing heavy direction

Nice to have:

• Background in a consumer fintech, neobank, or credit-adjacent startup — you understand how financial products work and what's at stake when they don't
• Comfortable navigating compliance-adjacent issues: consumer disputes, FCRA, fraud claims, or regulatory complaints
• Experience contributing to QA programs, SOPs, or internal documentation
• Experience with Zendesk, or similar ticketing platforms

Base Range

$60,000 - $80,000 USD

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

Kikoff Inc. is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to complying with all federal, state, and local laws providing equal employment opportunities and considers qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, creed, gender, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, marital status, pregnancy, sex, gender expression or identity, sexual orientation, citizenship, or any other legally protected class.

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