Implementation Account Manager

Esper; Austin (TX); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Stock options

Health, dental & vision insurance

Disability & life insurance

Flexible vacation policy

Professional development

Job summary

Esper is seeking an Implementation Account Manager in Austin to drive rapid value delivery during onboarding. You will align deployment activities with client workflows and public policy goals, balancing technical guardrails with change management.

You will partner with Professional Services, Engineering, Product, and Customer Success to ensure smooth transitions and high-utilization accounts. The role requires 2+ years in implementation or delivery-focused PM in SaaS, strong EQ, and the ability

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in business, computer science, public administration, or equivalent experience.
• Minimum of 2 years of implementation management, consultative account management, or delivery-focused project management experience in a SaaS environment.
• Demonstrated experience mapping business processes, configuring workflows, and driving user adoption.
• Strong EQ and ability to discuss both product boundaries and executive-level business value.
• Ability to push back on out-of-scope requests while maintaining client relationships.

Responsibilities

• Drive Time-to-Value (TTV): establish deployment scope, milestones, and workflow mapping to achieve rapid value.
• Enforce Configuration Guardrails: manage deployments within a strict delivery lifecycle and mitigate scope creep.
• Navigate Change Management: act as the primary contact for executive sponsors during deployment.
• Track Delivery Rigor: monitor project health, timelines, and deliverables across teams to go live on schedule.
• Protect Technical Resources: coordinate cross-functional efforts and shield core engineering from unstructured requests.
• Strategic Handoff Leadership: evaluate project closure and handoff to Customer Success with clean documentation.
• Support Commercial Alignment: review SOWs and change orders, identifying upsell opportunities.
• Pre-Sales Scoping Validation: validate implementation scope and timelines for enterprise opportunities.
• On-Site Relationship Building: travel to government sites for kickoffs, workshops, or training.
• Methodology Contribution: contribute to Esper's delivery methodology and onboarding templates.
• Professional Services Rigor: log billable hours and maintain client status accurately.

Skills

Emotional intelligence

Consultative discovery

Organizational & communication skills

Stakeholder management

Deployment management

PSA and CRM tools

Government workflows knowledge

PM tools familiarity

Certifications (PMP/Prosci)

Delivery-focused SaaS PM experience

Education

Bachelor's degree in business, CS, public administration

Tools

Teamwork

Rocketlane

Jira

Asana

Job description

About Esper Esper was founded in 2018 with a mission to empower dynamic and responsive policymaking in government. We align existing data, stakeholders, and public policy goals to streamline the policymaking process at all levels of government. We imagine a world where policymaking is driven by data and insights from all stakeholders, transforming traditional bureaucracy into a dynamic and flexible system that encourages innovation and collaboration.

As a fast-growing GovTech company, Esper is at the intersection of two powerful forces: the modernization of government operations and the transformative potential of data-driven decision-making. Our customer base is expanding rapidly, and we are building the team that will define how public policy is shaped for decades to come.

Job Summary

As an Implementation Account Manager (IAM) within Esper's Professional Services team, you will play a pivotal role in driving customer adoption, time-to-value, and successful software delivery during the critical onboarding phase. Blending operational delivery rigor with strategic, consultative account leadership, you will act as a trusted business advisor to ensure that our platform directly maps to the client’s operational workflows and long-term public policy goals.

This role balances technical configuration guardrails with high-impact customer change management. The IAM establishes clear project boundaries, mitigates deployment risks, and navigates complex client environments from initial sales handoff through a flawless transition to the Customer Success team. The IAM partners closely with internal implementation and Engineering teams to transform new sales into active, high-utilization accounts.

Responsibilities

• Drive Time-to-Value (TTV): Establish deployment scope, technical configuration milestones, and workflow mapping to ensure customers achieve rapid, meaningful business outcomes from the Esper platform
• Enforce Configuration Guardrails: Manage a portfolio of deployments within a strict, time-bound delivery lifecycle, aggressively mitigating scope creep by balancing client business needs against standard product capabilities
• Navigate Change Management: Act as the primary strategic point of contact for executive sponsors and operational business owners during the high-stakes deployment phase, guiding them through institutional friction and adoption challenges
• Track Delivery Rigor: Monitor and manage project health, timelines, and implementation deliverables in Teamwork to ensure accounts go live on schedule and within contract boundaries
• Protect Technical Resources: Coordinate cross-functional efforts across Professional Services, Engineering, Product, and Customer Success to align technical configurations and shield core engineering teams from unstructured custom requests
• Strategic Handoff Leadership: Formally evaluate project closure and drive a flawless post-launch handoff to the long-term Customer Success Manager (CSM), passing along clean workflow documentation to eliminate early-stage churn risk
• Support Commercial Alignment: Review Statements of Work (SOWs) and change orders, identifying potential upsell, expansion, or expert/managed services opportunities during onboarding to pass to the Sales and CS teams
• Pre-Sales Scoping Validation: Participate in the sales process as needed to validate implementation scope, timeline constraints, and delivery frameworks for incoming enterprise opportunities
• On-Site Relationship Building: Occasionally travel to government customer sites to conduct executive kickoffs, process mapping workshops, or user training sessions to solidify client trust
• Methodology Contribution: Contribute to Esper's evolving Professional Services delivery methodology, configuration templates, and onboarding best practices to improve deployment margins and scalability
• Professional Services Rigor: Log billable hours and account status accurately and on time to meet core operational metrics

Requirements And Preferred Experience

• Bachelor's degree in business, computer science, public administration, or a related field (preferred), or equivalent experience
• Minimum of 2 years of implementation management, consultative account management, or delivery-focused project management experience in a SaaS environment
• Demonstrated experience navigating business process mapping, workflow configuration, and user adoption strategies
• Strong emotional intelligence (EQ) and consultative discovery skills, with an ability to speak fluently about both technical product boundaries and executive-level business value
• Strong organizational and communication skills, both verbal and written, with the ability to firmly push back on out-of-scope requests while maintaining positive client relationships
• Ability to manage multiple complex deployments, prioritize competing internal and external demands, and work under tight deadlines
• Technical aptitude and proficiency with Professional Services Automation (PSA) and CRM tools
• Ability to adapt to a rapidly evolving product and respond strategically to customer operational needs
• Knowledge of government operational concepts, regulatory frameworks, or policymaking processes is a strong plus
• Familiarity with project management and collaboration tools (e.g., Teamwork, Rocketlane, Jira, Asana)
• PMP, CAPM, or change management certifications (e.g., Prosci) are a plus
• A genuine interest in public policy and how technology can transform how government operates

Why Esper?

At Esper, public service is personal. We are passionate about our mission to empower dynamic and responsive policymaking in government—government that operates efficiently, adapts to change, and strengthens public trust. We are here to support our civil servants and the private sector by creating a policymaking lifecycle that is more data-driven, transparent, and accessible.

Opportunity to Innovate

The next great wave of innovation is unfolding with AI, and it will impact everything—from the way we work to the way governments interact with their constituents. Join a trusted team with the passion, technology, and expertise to drive innovation and bring AI to government policymaking. We are building the team that will define how public policy is shaped for decades to come.

A Team of Passionate, Driven People

This isn't your typical 9-to-5 job. We operate in a fast-paced, results-driven environment where impact matters. Our team is hands-on, willing to pitch in, and takes pride in helping each other succeed regardless of department. We strive for open and honest communication with our customers, colleagues, partners, and prospects. We get things done and proactively solve problems at the individual and team level.

A Place to Make Your Mark

We pride ourselves on a performance-based culture where every employee is encouraged to take action and help us improve. If you have a great idea, we want to hear it. Excellent performance is recognized and rewarded, and we love to promote from within.

Benefits That Work For You

• Competitive salary and stock option packages
• Top-tier health, dental, and vision insurance
• Short and long-term disability, life insurance, and an optional FSA account
• Office setup allowance and a monthly stipend for utilities
• Flexible vacation policy and paid company holidays
• Professional development and growth opportunities
• A collaborative hybrid environment with our Austin, TX team

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses and identifying potential inconsistencies or verification signals in application materials based on available information. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.