Federal Customer Success Manager

NightDragon Acquisition Corp.; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 120,000 - 165,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Inclusive Team

Growth opportunities

Innovative culture

Hybrid & Remote Work

Competitive compensation

Job summary

Horizon3.ai is seeking a Cleared Federal Customer Success Manager to drive post-sales growth, adoption, and retention across high-value government agencies. You will serve as a strategic advisor, working directly with technical operators and business leaders to maximize value from NodeZero and ensure compliance.

This role requires a strong cybersecurity background and a consultative mindset to build relationships internally and with customers.

Qualifications

• U.S. citizenship is a prerequisite.
• Active/recent Top Secret or Secret clearance is required.
• 4+ years in Customer Success, Technical Account Management, Client Services within a SaaS cybersecurity environment or related roles.
• In-depth cybersecurity practices and principles; relevant certifications (e.g., OSCP, CEH, GPEN, CISSP, CCNA, SANS) preferred.
• Deep understanding of enterprise security, IT, cloud, or offensive security.
• Strong customer acumen and ability to align solutions to business priorities for technical/executive stakeholders.
• Experience managing a book of business with focus on ARR/NRR/GRR growth.
• Startup or high-growth experience; comfortable in fast-paced environments.
• Proficiency with CRM and sales tools like Salesforce, Gainsight, Zendesk and JIRA.

Responsibilities

• Own and manage a portfolio of federal civilian, Department of War, and DIB customers, guiding NodeZero adoption for compliance.
• Navigate government agency processes to ensure successful NodeZero value realization.
• Provide guidance on integrating NodeZero into unclassified and classified environments.
• Conduct regular check-ins and business reviews focused on compliance, security posture, and federal mandates.
• Collaborate with IT and Security teams to interpret pentest results and guide offensive security strategy.
• Identify customer needs and challenges; propose solutions to improve cybersecurity posture.
• Work with Federal sales/renewals to drive retention and growth and streamline renewals.
• Advocate for customers by communicating feedback to internal teams for product evolution.
• Lead strategic check-ins to secure executive buy-in and demonstrate business outcomes.

Skills

Customer Success

Cybersecurity

Enterprise security

Customer empathy

Account management

Startup experience

CRM tools

Tools

Salesforce

Gainsight

Zendesk

JIRA

Job description

Get to Know Us

Horizon3.ai is a fast-growing, remote cybersecurity company dedicated to the mission of enabling organizations to proactively find and fix and verify exploitable attack vectors before criminals exploit them. Our flagship product, the NodeZeroTM platform, delivers production-safe autonomous pentests and other key assessment operations that scale across the largest internal, external, cloud, and hybrid cloud environments. NodeZero has been adopted by organizations of all sizes, from small educational institutions to government agencies and Global 100 enterprises. It is used by ITOps/SecOps teams, consulting pentesters, and MSSPs and MSPs.

We are a fusion of former U.S. Special Operations cyber operators, startup engineers, and formerly frustrated cybersecurity practitioners. We're committed to helping solve our common security problems: ineffective security tools, false positives resulting in alert fatigue, blind spots, checkbox security culture, cybersecurity skills shortage, and the long lead time and expense of hiring outside consultants. Collectively, we are a team of learn it alls, committed to a culture of respect, collaboration, ownership, and results.

Summary:

As a Cleared Federal Customer Success Manager, you'll play a foundational role in growing and shaping our post-sales experience. You will serve as the strategic advisor to a book of high-value agencies and organizations across various government verticals —working directly with technical operators and business leaders to drive adoption, value realization, retention, and expansion.

This role requires a strong background in cybersecurity and someone who is consultative and eager to build relationships both internally and across customer segments. You’ll partner closely with Sales, Product, Engineering, and Support, while helping shape the long-term vision for Customer Success in a dynamic and fast-growing market.

Responsibilities

• Own and manage a portfolio of federal civilian, Department of War, and Defense Industrial Base (DIB) customers requiring compliance with various frameworks including CMMC and FedRAMP, providing expert guidance on leveraging NodeZero for achieving and maintaining compliance

• Navigate the complexities of working with government agencies, understanding their specific requirements and processes, and ensuring successful adoption and value realization of NodeZero within their unique environment

• Provide guidance on integrating NodeZero into unclassified and classified environments, adhering to relevant security protocols and procedures

• Conduct regular check-ins and business reviews, tailored to the unique needs and requirements of federal customers, focusing on compliance, security posture, and alignment with federal mandates.

• Partner closely with IT and Security teams (SOC, red/blue teams, AppSec, etc.) to help interpret pentest results, prioritize remediation, and guide long-term offensive security strategy

• Proactively identify customer needs and potential challenges, suggesting solutions that improve their experience and enhance their cybersecurity posture

• Collaborate closely with Federal sales and renewals teams to drive retention and growth by identifying expansion opportunities, aligning on account strategy, and ensuring a seamless renewal process

• Act as a customer advocate, relaying customer feedback and technical issues to our internal teams to help drive the evolution of our product and services

• Conduct purposeful check-ins and regular business reviews to drive strategy, secure executive buy-in, and showcase business outcomes, rapidly leading to each customers “Aha” moment

• Contribute to documentation, training materials, repeatable playbooks, and SOPs to scale technical success

• Maintain detailed records of customer health and touchpoints using internal CS platforms, to rapidly identify, promote, and execute next best courses of action

Qualifications

• U.S. citizenship is a prerequisite

• Active/recent Top Secret or Secret clearance is required

• 4+ years in Customer Success, Technical Account Management, Client Services, within a SaaS cybersecurity environment or a combination of 4+ years in a customer facing or cybersecurity technical operator role, preferably in support of federally focused engagements

• In-depth experience of cybersecurity practices and principles; possession of relevant cybersecurity or offensive certifications (e.g., OSCP, CEH, GPEN, CISSP, CCNA, SANS) is preferred

• Deep understanding of enterprise security, information technology, cloud, or offensive security

• Strong customer acumen and emotional intelligence, able to align solutions to business priorities and communicate clearly and confidently to both technical and executive stakeholders

• Experience managing a book of business, hyper focused on exceeding revenue targets (ARR, NRR, GRR)

• Startup or high-growth company experience is preferred; you must thrive in fast-paced, ambiguous environments

• Comfortable with CRM and sales tools like Salesforce, Gainsight, Zendesk and JIRA; must be detail-oriented and organized

Other duties

Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

Travel:

This is a remote position, but successful execution of the job may require up to 20% of travel. The ideal candidate is located in the DC, Maryland, or Northern Virginia area and available for ad-hoc or semi-permanent travel to customer sites or local H3 office locations.

Perks of Horizon3.ai

• Inclusive Team: We value diversity and promote an inclusive culture where everyone can thrive.

• Growth Opportunities: Be part of a dynamic and growing team with numerous career development opportunities.

• Innovative Culture: Work in a collaborative environment that encourages creativity and out-of-the-box thinking.

• Hybrid & Remote Work: We embrace a mix of remote and hybrid work models depending on role and location, including our Chicago office, where some roles require regular in-office presence.

• Competitive Compensation: We offer competitive salary, equity and benefits. Our benefits include health, vision & dental insurance for you and your family, a flexible vacation policy, and generous parental leave.

Compensation and Values

At Horizon3, we believe that our people are our greatest asset, and our compensation philosophy reflects this core value. We are committed to fostering an environment where all employees feel valued, respected, and rewarded for their contributions. Our compensation structure is designed to be fair, competitive, and transparent, ensuring that every team member is recognized and compensated equitably across roles, levels, and locations.

In accordance with various State’s transparency regulations, we provide the following salary range information for this position:

• On-Target Compensation: $120,000 - $165,000 OTE annually (80/20 split). The exact salary will be determined based on the selected candidate’s location, qualifications, experience, and relevant skills.

• Additional compensation: All full-time roles are eligible for an equity package in the form of stock options.

You Belong Here

Horizon3 is not just an equal opportunity employer - we are a community that values diversity, equity, and inclusion as fundamental principles of our culture and success. We are dedicated to fostering a workplace where everyone feels welcome and respected, regardless of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, hair length or any other legally protected status by law.

Our commitment to diversity and inclusion means we strive to attract, develop, and retain a workforce that reflects the varied communities we serve. We believe that diverse perspectives drive innovation and strengthen our ability to create cutting-edge cybersecurity solutions. At Horizon3, every team member is valued and supported in an environment that encourages personal and professional growth.

We welcome candidates from all backgrounds and experiences, and we encourage all qualified individuals to apply. Come be a part of Horizon3, where your unique contributions are recognized, and your potential is limitless.

Other Duties

Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

Application Note

In any materials you submit, you may redact or remove age-identifying information such as age, date of birth, or dates of school attendance or graduation. You will not be penalized for redacting or removing this information.