Senior Director, Technical Support

Zendesk, Inc.; Kentucky; Hybrid; USD 174,000 - 260,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work model

Remote work flexibility

Job summary

Zendesk, Inc. is seeking a Senior Director to lead the Technical Support organization overseeing AI-enabled and human-assisted resolutions.

This leader will set the operating strategy, develop a strong technical leadership team, and drive efficiency and scalability across our support systems. You will guide a cultural and operational transition of human agents toward proactive, AI-aligned workflows, partnering with AI teams and cross-functional leaders to deliver exceptional customer outcomes

Qualifications

• 15+ years in technical or customer support leadership.
• Experience scaling global SaaS or enterprise teams.
• Proven ability to translate strategy into operating plans and measurable outcomes.
• Strong executive communication and stakeholder management.

Responsibilities

• Set strategy and operating model for Technical Support.
• Lead multi-layered organization through managers and directors.
• Balance AI-driven automation with human support for quality and efficiency.
• Define measures of performance and health for the team.
• Collaborate with Sales, CS, Product, Eng, and Finance.
• Plan global capacity, staffing, and escalation models.
• Represent customer interests in executive discussions.
• Stay current on AI/SaaS and service-delivery practices.
• Lead cultural and operational transition of human agents to AI-aligned workflows.
• Develop workforce management and align staffing with demand.
• Champion knowledge management and interlock across teams.

Skills

Leadership

Executive leadership

Strategic planning

Cross-functional collaboration

AI integration

Global scaling

Education

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent

Advanced degree

Job description

Job Description Role Overview

We are seeking an experienced, strategic Senior Director to lead our Technical Support organization, covering tickets that reach human agents post our AI tier. This leader will set the operating strategy, develop a strong technical leadership team, and ensure customers receive reliable, high-quality technical resolution while driving operational efficiency and scalability across our support systems. Crucially, this role will lead the evolution and transition of human support agents into a proactive workforce closely aligned with our AI teams, driving pivotal cultural and operational change across the organization.

Key Responsibilities

• Set the strategy and operating model for Technical support, translating company priorities into clear plans, outcomes, and accountabilities.
• Lead and develop a multi-layered organization through managers and directors; build a culture of trust, high performance, inclusion, and continuous learning.
• Own service performance across customer segments and channels, leveraging AI-driven tools and automation alongside human expertise to balance responsiveness, technical quality, proactive customer outcomes, and efficient use of resources.
• Define and evolve the measures that show Technical support’s value and health, including customer experience, resolution quality, service levels, capacity, and business impact.
• Partner with Sales, Customer Success, Product, Engineering, and Finance to align coverage and service commitments with customer needs, commercial strategy, and product priorities.
• Establish scalable global capacity planning, forecasting, staffing, and escalation models that support predictable coverage and responsible resource allocation.
• Guide the design and evolution of Technical support offerings, ensuring service commitments are clear, deliverable, and differentiated for the customers they serve.
• Use customer and operational insights to identify systemic product or process issues, influence prioritization, and improve outcomes across the company.
• Communicate performance, risks, investment needs, and opportunities to executive leadership with clear recommendations and options.
• Lead organizational change and continuous improvement, ensuring growth does not compromise employee experience or customer trust.
• Represent the customer and support organization in senior-level discussions, including complex escalations and strategic customer reviews.
• Stay current on support, SaaS, AI integration, and service-delivery practices, applying relevant insights and modern AI tools to enhance the organization’s operational strategy.
• Lead the cultural and operational transition of human support agents into a proactive, AI-aligned workforce, partnering closely with AI teams to reshape workflows and modern service delivery.
• Develop a deep understanding of workforce management and act as a key interlock to align staffing strategies with operational demand.
• Champion knowledge management practices and serve as an interlock across teams to ensure continuous sharing and capture of support insights.
• Evolve the human support workforce from a purely reactive model into a proactive organization, partnering closely with AI development and product teams to drive strategic change, refine human-AI workflows, and optimize service delivery.

Candidate Profile

• Extensive leadership experience (15+ years) in technical support, customer support, or service delivery within a high-growth SaaS or enterprise technology company.
• Proven track record as a senior executive leading leaders and scaling massive, complex global organizations through major growth phases and strategic transformations.
• Demonstrated success in setting long-term enterprise vision and translating strategy into high-impact operating plans and measurable business outcomes.
• Strong understanding of support operations, customer experience, capacity planning, service-level management, and performance metrics.
• Experience partnering across Sales, Customer Success, Product, Engineering, and Finance, including with senior executives.
• Deep commercial acumen and executive judgment to balance global customer commitments, premium service quality, workforce dynamics, and multi-million dollar operating budgets.
• Excellent communication, executive presence, and stakeholder-management skills, including the ability to explain trade-offs and recommend a path forward.
• Strong people leadership, talent development, and organizational design capabilities.
• Ability to lead distributed teams across regions and work effectively across time zones; flexibility may be needed for critical customer or business needs.
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent practical experience; advanced degree is a plus.
• Strong expertise and proven experience in integrating AI and automation into technical support operations, with a track record of driving cultural change and evolving agent roles toward proactive engagement.
• Strategic mindset and track record of evolving support organizations toward proactive service models and co-designing automated workflows with AI product teams.

The US annualized base salary range for this position is $174,000.00-$260,000.00. 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.

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.

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’ll experience flexibility and connection, collaboration, and learning with your team.

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.