Senior Director, Services Consulting, AI

Zendesk, Inc.; Austin (TX); Hybrid; USD 270,000 - 406,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work model

Job summary

Zendesk, Inc. is seeking a Senior Director of AI Services Consulting to set global strategy and build a scalable organization. You will partner with Sales, Customer Success, Product, and Engineering to translate market insights into customer roadmaps and scalable priorities.

You will lead senior consultants to drive measurable outcomes, improve delivery quality, and sustain margin at scale, supported by a hybrid work model across geographies.

Qualifications

• 12+ years in Professional Services, Consulting, Technical Account Management, or related enterprise SaaS functions.
• 8+ years of people leadership experience, including leading through leaders and globally distributed teams.
• Senior-level go-to-customer and operating-model leadership in enterprise technology or SaaS.
• Demonstrated use of customer, adoption, delivery, and financial analytics to guide portfolio decisions.
• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Computer Science, Engineering, or related field; advanced executive credentials preferred.
• Demonstrated product and market expertise translating AI capabilities into differentiated services and outcomes.
• Proven executive influence with Product and Engineering; ability to translate field insight into strategy and investment decisions.
• Track record building scalable operating mechanisms, predictive insights, and improving adoption and margins.
• Exceptional executive communication and change leadership for global teams.

Responsibilities

• Define the AI Services Consulting service portfolio, engagement principles, delivery methodology, and governance to enable repeatable, scalable offerings.
• Forecast demand, shape capacity, balance utilization with customer outcomes, and manage staffing and investments.
• Establish an executive-level performance system, success metrics, and cadence to tie delivery to value and margin.
• Lead cross-functional alignment with Sales, Customer Success, Product, Engineering, Finance, and regional leaders to remove barriers and align investments.
• Develop leaders (directors, senior managers, and consultants) through clear expectations, coaching, and succession planning.
• Partner with executives to translate market insight into customer roadmaps and scalable product readiness.

Skills

People leadership

AI strategy

Operating model

Portfolio leadership

Customer value

GTM alignment

Job description

Job Description Why This Role? Why Now?

Customer experience is transforming through AI-driven innovation. At Zendesk, we don't just embrace this change - we lead it. Our Professional Services organization is building the capabilities, operating model, and executive partnerships required to help customers realize measurable value from AI at scale. As the Senior Director, you will set the global direction for AI Services Consulting and lead leaders and senior consultants who shape strategy, elevate delivery quality, and accelerate customer outcomes.

Mission

You will own the global strategy and operating model for AI Services Consulting, building a high-performing organization that consistently delivers fast, measurable customer outcomes on Zendesk AI. You will establish the portfolio strategy, standards, governance, and operating rhythm for AI engagements; ensure the organization is staffed and developed for the work ahead; and create the mechanisms that make delivery predictable, scalable, and commercially sound. You will serve as a senior partner to Sales, Customer Success, Product, Engineering, and executive customers, translating market and delivery insight into customer roadmaps, product priorities, and scalable growth. You will be accountable for continuous improvement in methodology, enablement, quality, and talent so we increase adoption, customer satisfaction, retention, expansion, and margin at scale.

Overarching Objective For The Role

Set the global direction and scale a high-performing AI Services Consulting organization: Build the organization, leadership bench, role architecture, capacity model, and career paths required to deliver at global scale. Own enterprise delivery performance and value realization: Establish the outcomes, quality standards, operating metrics, and executive escalation mechanisms that ensure AI engagements deliver measurable business impact, time to value, and sustainable margin. Shape a repeatable global AI go-to-customer motion: align Sales, Customer Success, Product, Engineering, and Services on customer roadmaps, packaging, handoffs, expansion paths, and investment priorities using customer and delivery insight.

How You’ll Make an Impact Strategic Responsibilities

Set the global AI Services Consulting strategy and operating model: Define the service portfolio, engagement principles, delivery methodology, standards, governance, and investment roadmap that make AI consulting repeatable, differentiated, and scalable across segments and geographies.

Own portfolio capacity, prioritization, and commercial performance: Forecast demand, shape capacity and coverage, balance utilization with customer outcomes, and make informed tradeoffs across staffing, scope, investment, and margin.

Create executive accountability for outcomes: Establish the performance system, success measures, and review cadence that connect AI delivery to customer value, retention, expansion, quality, and financial performance.

Lead senior cross-functional alignment and executive customer engagement: Partner with Sales, Customer Success, Product, Engineering, Finance, and regional leaders to resolve systemic barriers, align investment decisions, and create shared accountability for customer and business outcomes.

Build the leadership bench and AI consulting capability: Develop directors, senior managers, and consultants through clear expectations, coaching, succession planning, knowledge systems, and product readiness; create durable feedback loops from the field to improve product, tooling, and enablement.

What You’ll Need to Succeed Strategic Skills & Expertise

Enterprise people leadership & organization building: Proven ability to lead through leaders, build inclusive high-performing organizations, set clear performance expectations, develop succession pipelines, and design roles and career paths for a scaling business.

AI, product, and services authority: Deep fluency in AI-enabled customer service workflows, integrations, data readiness, adoption, and responsible implementation practices, with the judgment to guide enterprise solution strategy and resolve systemic escalations.

Operating model and performance management: Experience defining global playbooks, governance, KPIs, quality standards, and executive operating rhythms that create a single source of truth for delivery, risk, capacity, and financial performance.

Portfolio and transformation leadership: Expertise overseeing complex, multi-region or multi-workstream portfolios, with strong judgment in scoping, resourcing, risk, change, operating-model evolution, and executive stakeholder communication.

Customer value and executive advisory: Skilled at translating enterprise customer strategy into AI services, measurable value cases, and actionable roadmaps; able to advise executives and influence decisions in complex environments.

Enterprise influence and GTM alignment: Ability to align senior leaders across Sales, Customer Success, Product, Engineering, Finance, and Services; use market and delivery insight to improve packaging, forecasting, product feedback, and growth motions.

Qualifications

12+ years in Professional Services, Consulting, Technical Account Management, Solutions Consulting, or a related enterprise SaaS function; significant experience leading AI-related services, transformation, or product adoption.

8+ years of people leadership experience, including leading through leaders and building globally distributed, customer-facing organizations.

Senior-level experience in go-to-customer and operating-model leadership within enterprise technology or SaaS, spanning Professional Services/Consulting, Customer Success, Technical Account Management, Solutions Engineering, or related functions.

Demonstrated experience using customer, adoption, delivery, and financial analytics to shape portfolio decisions, anticipate risk, and improve retention, expansion, customer value, and margin.

Bachelor’s degree in Business, Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field; advanced degree or relevant executive, AI, consulting, or program leadership credentials preferred.

Demonstrated product and market expertise: ability to translate generative AI capabilities, integrations, technical requirements, and responsible-use considerations into differentiated services and business outcomes.

Proven executive influence with Product and Engineering; experience turning customer and field insight into product strategy, prioritization, and investment decisions.

Track record of building or scaling operating mechanisms and predictive insights that improve adoption, delivery performance, customer health, commercial outcomes, and organizational productivity.

Exceptional executive communication and change leadership; ability to distill complex AI concepts into clear decisions, align senior stakeholders, and mobilize global teams.

The US annualized OTE (On Target Earnings) range for this position is $270,000.00-$406,000.00 with a pay mix of 80/20 (base/commission). This position may also be eligible for bonus, benefits, or related incentives. While this range reflects the minimum and maximum value for new hire salaries for the position across all US locations, the offer for the successful candidate for this position will be based on job related capabilities, applicable experience, and other factors such as work location. Please note that the compensation details listed in US role postings reflect the base salary only (or OTE for commissions based roles), and do not include bonus, benefits, or related incentives.

Hybrid: In this role, our hybrid experience is designed at the team level to give you a rich onsite experience packed with connection, collaboration, learning, and celebration - while also giving you flexibility to work remotely for part of the week. This role must attend our local office for part of the week. The specific in-office schedule is to be determined by the hiring manager.

The intelligent heart of customer experience Zendesk software was built to bring a sense of calm to the chaotic world of customer service. Today we power billions of conversations with brands you know and love. Zendesk believes in offering our people a fulfilling and inclusive experience. Our hybrid way of working, enables us to purposefully come together in person, at one of our many Zendesk offices around the world, to connect, collaborate and learn whilst also giving our people the flexibility to work remotely for part of the week.

As part of our commitment to fairness and transparency, we inform all applicants that artificial intelligence (AI) or automated decision systems may be used to screen or evaluate applications for this position, in accordance with Company guidelines and applicable law.

Zendesk is an equal opportunity employer, and we're proud of our ongoing efforts to foster global diversity, equity, & inclusion in the workplace. Individuals seeking employment and employees at Zendesk are considered without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, medical condition, ancestry, disability, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. We are an AA/EEO/Veterans/Disabled employer. If you are based in the United States and would like more information about your EEO rights under the law, please click here. Zendesk endeavors to make reasonable accommodations for applicants with disabilities and disabled veterans pursuant to applicable federal and state law. If you are an individual with a disability and require a reasonable accommodation to submit this application, complete any pre-employment testing, or otherwise participate in the employee selection process, please send an e-mail to [e-mail] with your specific accommodation request.

Zendesk is on a mission to simplify the complexity of business and make it easy for companies and customers to create connections. Our customer experience software unlocks the power of billions of interactions, enabling businesses to build rich, meaningful relationships with their customers.

What’s it like to work here? Our offices reflect the global cities we call home, and have spaces for collaboration, quiet, and events. With our hybrid approach, you will experience flexibility and connection, collaboration, and learning with your team.