Principal Customer Success Manager

BlackLine Systems, Inc.; Los Angeles (CA); Hybrid; USD 142,000 - 178,000; Full time

Job summary

BlackLine Systems, Inc. is seeking a Customer Adoption Expert (ACE) to partner with Customer Success Managers to accelerate product adoption and expansion, reduce attrition, and enrich the customer experience.

You will apply your BlackLine expertise and process optimization skills to deliver tailored solutions and strategic sessions that drive digital transformation. You’ll design and deliver proactive guidance, create how-to content, and coach colleagues while maintaining strong relationships

Qualifications

• 8+ years of combined experience in accounting, auditing, process optimization, internal controls, financial analysis, invoice-to-cash, or intercompany operations.
• 5+ years in at least two of: accounting, invoice-to-cash, intercompany operations, or consolidations.
• 6+ years of customer-facing experience (internal or external).
• 3+ years of hands-on BlackLine experience.

Responsibilities

• Partner with Customer Success Managers and Account Managers on adoption strategies to drive expansion and reduce churn.
• Motivate customers to pursue digital transformation by articulating value of optimized solutions.
• Listen to customers, translate challenges into BlackLine solutions, and document processes for optimization.
• Deliver product expertise and optimization solutions through strategic use cases and campaigns.
• Provide coaching and guidance to colleagues on complex process optimizations.

Skills

Customer adoption strategies

Stakeholder management

Process optimization

Accounting knowledge

Intercompany operations

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Economics, Information Systems, or Business Administration

Job description

Make Your Mark: The Customer Adoption Expert (ACE) plays a crucial role in ensuring our customers are successfully and effectively utilizing our products to achieve their business goals. The primary focus is to support Customer Success Manager with their customer portfolio by increasing adoption and expansion of BlackLine, preventing attrition and churn, and continually enriching the customer experience. ACE leverages their BlackLine expertise; their process optimization expertise; their accounting and internal controls, financial analysis, and/or intercompany operations experience; as well as their professional judgment, to provide leading practice optimization strategies, insights, and deliverables. These deliverables include original, innovative solutions for complex customer challenges, consulting services, process redesign and transformation, solution architecture specific to the customers’ challenges, one to many thought leadership, executive touch points and strategy sessions, and recommendations to accelerate customer’s digital transformation journey. Most importantly, ACE must be confident in the unknown as many customers require assistance in understanding their own processes before considering optimization with BlackLine. All facets of the ACE role are designed to drive customer adoption and a successful digital transformation journey.

You’ll Get To:

• Customer Strategy & Adoption Partner with Customer Success Managers and Account Managers on adoption strategies that can also lead to ACV expansion and customer reference ability while mitigating churn.
• Motivate customers to pursue digital transformation by articulating the value and benefits of optimized solutions.
• Listen to customers to understand their needs and translate business challenges into actionable BlackLine solutions.
• Ensure customers are aware of all complimentary and billable services available to support their journey.

Solution Design & Delivery

• Deliver product expertise and optimization solutions to customers through strategic use cases and video adoption campaigns.
• Analyze and document customer processes, even when undefined, to develop tailored optimization solutions based on leading practices.
• Design original, innovative solutions for complex customer challenges where no standard solution currently exists.
• Provide consultative guidance as customers pursue digital transformation, ensuring they realize the full value of the platform.

Enablement & Expertise

• Maintain and elevate expert-level knowledge of BlackLine products, process optimization, accounting, internal controls, and other relevant domains.
• Develop and deliver thought leadership to customers through how-to videos, webinars, and other one-to-many events.
• Document process optimization use cases for internal use and knowledge sharing across BlackLine.
• Provide coaching, mentoring, and guidance to colleagues on complex process optimizations.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

What You’ll Bring:

Experience:

8+ years of combined experience in accounting, auditing, process optimization, internal controls, financial analysis, invoice-to-cash, or intercompany operations. 5+ years of experience in at least two of the following domains: accounting, invoice-to-cash, intercompany operations, or consolidations. 6+ years of customer-facing experience (internal or external). 3+ years of hands‑on BlackLine experience.

Education:

Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Economics, Information Systems, or Business Administration.

Skills & Abilities:

• Strong interpersonal skills with a proven ability to build lasting relationships.
• Strategic focus with the ability to create and execute actionable plans.
• Proven ability to navigate ambiguity and solve complex problems with incomplete information.
• Excellent listening and empathy skills with a passion for solving customer challenges.
• Strong verbal and written professional communication skills.
• Highly process-oriented mindset with an aptitude for dissecting processes and delivering optimized solutions.
• Strong presentation skills, including content creation and delivery in various settings (live, virtual, and recorded).
• CPA, CIA, or other relevant professional certifications.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Advanced knowledge of BlackLine solutions and experience architecting solutions to optimize complex processes.
• Demonstrated ability to clearly communicate business value and tie solutions to customer challenges.
• Proven leadership skills and experience mentoring others.

Self‑motivated:

• Self‑motivated, proactive team player with a natural curiosity and passion for learning.
• Excellent prioritization and time management skills.

Thrive at BlackLine Because You Are Joining:

A technology-based company with a sense of adventure and a vision for the future. Every door at BlackLine is open. Just bring your brains, your problem-solving skills, and be part of a winning team at the world's most trusted name in Finance Automation!

A culture that is kind, open, and accepting. It's a place where people can embrace what makes them unique, and the mix of cultural backgrounds and varying interests cultivates diverse thought and perspectives. A culture where BlackLiner's continued growth and learning is empowered. BlackLine offers a wide variety of professional development seminars and inclusive affinity groups to celebrate and support our diversity.

BlackLine is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, gender identity or expression, race, ethnicity, age, religious creed, national origin, physical or mental disability, ancestry, color, marital status, sexual orientation, military or veteran status, status as a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking, medical condition, genetic information, or any other protected class or category recognized by applicable equal employment opportunity or other similar laws.

Candidates who live within a reasonable commute to one of our offices will work in the office at least 3 days a week.

Salary Range:

$142,000.00-$178,000.00

Pay Transparency Statement:

Placement within this range depends upon several factors, including the applicant's prior relevant job experience, skill set, and geographic location.

In addition to base pay, BlackLine also offers short-term and long-term incentive programs, based on eligibility, along with a robust offering of benefit and wellness plans.

For roles that include variable incentive components such as an Incentive Compensation Plan (ICP) or On-Target Earnings (OTE), the compensation structure may follow a split model – for example, a 50/50, 70/30, or 60/40 ratio between base salary and variable incentive.

Accommodations:

BlackLine is committed to creating an inclusive and accessible experience for all candidates. If you require a reasonable accommodation that would better enable your success during the application or interview process, please complete this form.

Wondering what it’s like to work at BlackLine?

Don’t take our word for it. We’ve been voted Best Place to Work by Inc. Magazine four years in a row. Built in LA ranks us in their top 100 Best Places to Work in LA. Reviewers on Glassdoor say we have “smart and kind people,” “phenomenal culture,” and “good work/life balance.”

At BlackLine, we follow a comprehensive recruitment process which is undertaken by our talent acquisition team.

We conduct personal interviews of all potential job seekers and do not follow practice of making employment offers based solely on a candidate’s resume.

We do not solicit any payment under the name of security deposit and/or visa/work-permit processing fee, etc., either refundable or non-refundable, at any stage of the recruitment process.

Openings at BlackLine are listed on our career webpage in addition to being advertised in job portals. Job seekers are requested to be vigilant of any fraudulent or suspicious activities in protection of their interest.

BlackLine shall not be held liable for any loss or damage, direct or indirect, incurred as a result of this act.