Customer Support Lead_TT

PulseRise Technologies; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

PulseRise Technologies in San Francisco seeks a hands-on Customer Support Lead to own the support function end-to-end for an early-stage consumer hardware and software company with 100k+ users. You’ll configure the helpdesk, optimize the AI support agent, and build a community advocacy program from scratch.

You’ll manage a distributed team, handle returns and warranties alongside software issues, and work closely with founders.

Qualifications

• 5+ years leading a customer support team at a consumer company.
• Experience shipping automation for support (AI agents, self-serve workflows) with measurable impact.
• Experience supporting both hardware and software products, incl. troubleshooting devices and returns.
• Based in or willing to relocate to San Francisco, CA for a full-time onsite role.
• Ideally, experience building community programs (ambassadors, power users, referrals) from scratch.
• Experience working in high-intensity, early-stage startup environments with founders.
• Willingness to handle unglamorous, hands-on work alongside strategic leadership.
• Clear, quantifiable outcomes tied to past support or community initiatives.

Responsibilities

• Take end-to-end ownership of the customer support function.
• Configure and optimize the helpdesk stack and support tooling.
• Optimize the existing AI support agent, including prompt writing, to improve deflection and cost metrics.
• Manage and coach a distributed support team, including QA and scheduling across time zones.
• Handle both hardware support (returns, warranties, device troubleshooting) and software bug escalations.
• Build a community advocacy program from scratch, turning the user base into active advocates.
• Act as the face of the community, engaging directly with power users.
• Partner directly with founders on support and community strategy in a fast-moving, early-stage environment.

Skills

Team management

AI automation

Hardware & software support

Community programs

Startup experience

Hands-on work

Measurable outcomes

Job description

We're looking for a hands-on Customer Support Lead to take end-to-end ownership of the support function at an early-stage consumer hardware and software company with over 100,000 users. You'll own everything from configuring the helpdesk stack to optimizing the existing AI support agent, all while building a community advocacy program from scratch. This role is built for someone who thrives in early-stage chaos: strategic enough to design systems and processes, but hands-on enough to jump into the queue, troubleshoot a physical device, or write the next prompt for the AI agent yourself. You'll manage a distributed support team, balancing the realities of hardware support like returns and warranties with software troubleshooting. Beyond the day-to-day, you'll act as the face of the community, turning a large and growing user base into engaged advocates. This is a builder's role for someone ready to do the unglamorous work alongside the strategic leadership.

Details

Schedule: Full time

Location: San Francisco, CA (Onsite)

Start: ASAP

Duration: Long-term

English: Fluent

Type of collaboration: Internal Employment

About the project

The company is an early-stage consumer hardware and software startup that has already reached over 100,000 users. Its product combines a physical device with software, which means support requests span everything from device troubleshooting and returns to software bugs and account issues. The company already runs an AI support agent to handle a portion of incoming volume, and there's real room to improve how it's configured and how much it can deflect. As the user base has grown, so has the opportunity to turn engaged users into a genuine community of advocates, something the company hasn't yet built out. The team works directly with founders in a fast-moving, early-stage environment where priorities shift quickly and ownership matters more than titles. This is a company where the support function is still being defined, giving whoever takes it on real latitude to build it the way they think it should work.

You have

• Managed a customer support team of 5 or more people at a consumer company
• Shipped support automation (e.g., AI agents, self-serve workflows) with measurable impact on deflection or cost metrics
• Experience supporting both hardware and software products, including troubleshooting devices, handling returns/warranties, and software bugs
• Based in or willing to relocate to San Francisco, CA for a full-time onsite role
• Ideally, experience building community programs (ambassadors, power users, referrals) from scratch
• Ideally, a track record of working in high-intensity, early-stage startup environments directly with founders
• A demonstrated willingness to handle unglamorous, hands-on work alongside strategic leadership
• Clear, quantifiable outcomes tied to past support or community initiatives

What to do

• Take end-to-end ownership of the customer support function
• Configure and optimize the helpdesk stack and support tooling
• Optimize the existing AI support agent, including prompt writing, to improve deflection and cost metrics
• Manage and coach a distributed support team, including QA and scheduling across time zones
• Handle both hardware support (returns, warranties, device troubleshooting) and software bug escalations
• Build a community advocacy program from scratch, turning the user base into active advocates
• Act as the face of the community, engaging directly with power users
• Partner directly with founders on support and community strategy in a fast-moving, early-stage environment