Vice President, Global Customer Experience & AI-Powered Support

Zendesk; San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; USD 289,000 - 433,000; Full time

Job summary

Zendesk, a global leader in AI-powered CX, seeks a transformational CX leader to run the AI-powered support model at scale. You will govern an enterprise-wide program across email, messaging, voice, and self-service, shaping strategy with Product, Engineering, Sales, Customer Success, Renewals, and Finance.

You’ll lead a 24/7 global advocacy organization, drive escalation and resolution governance, and use predictive analytics to anticipate needs.

Qualifications

• 20+ years of progressive leadership in enterprise SaaS or technology.
• Experience leading global, multi-functional teams.
• Proven track record with AI-powered support and transformation.
• Experience owning revenue-generating support/Premier business and P&L.

Responsibilities

• Lead global AI-powered support operations across channels.
• Define AI-to-human escalation strategies and governance.
• Drive 24/7 technical support excellence for enterprise customers.
• Align CX with product, engineering, and finance outcomes.

Skills

AI leadership

Global leadership

P&L ownership

Knowledge operations

AI governance

Tools

Zendesk

Job description

Location: San Francisco, California, United States of America | Remote, New York, United States of America | Austin, Texas, United States of America

Requisition ID: R35519

Position_Type: Full time

Join us at Zendesk, where we're on a mission to power exceptional service for every person on the planet. We're accelerating that ambition by building products rooted in AI, automation, and intelligent customer experiences, because behind every interaction lies an opportunity to make a human connection.

The Opportunity

Lead Zendesk’s global customer support organization as we define the future of AI-powered customer experience.

This is not a traditional support leadership role. You will build and govern a global, AI-orchestrated support model that combines intelligent automation, expert human support, knowledge operations, and premium services to deliver exceptional customer outcomes, improve retention, and establish Zendesk as the industry benchmark for AI-native CX.

As a senior member of the Global CX leadership team, you will operate at the intersection of Product, Engineering, Sales, Customer Success, Renewals, and Finance. You will transform our highest-volume customer touchpoint into a strategic source of customer intelligence, product insight, and commercial value.

What You'll Own

AI-Powered Support & Operational Transformation

Own the performance and evolution of Zendesk’s AI-powered support model across email, messaging, voice, and self-service.

You will:

• Drive autonomous resolution, deflection quality, CSAT, FCR, SLA performance, and cost-per-resolution.
• Define effective AI-to-human escalation strategies and seamless handoffs.
• Establish AI quality, risk, and governance frameworks, including response standards and hallucination mitigation.
• Build feedback loops that turn resolution failures and escalation patterns into improvements to AI, workflows, and knowledge.
• Use predictive analytics and operational telemetry to identify emerging support needs, customer risks, and opportunities for proactive resolution.
• Partner with Product and Engineering to provide production-scale evidence that informs AI capabilities, configuration, governance, and roadmap priorities.

Global Technical Support & Customer Escalations

Lead a 300+ person global advocate organization delivering 24/7 technical support across segments, channels, and regions.

You will:

• Evolve the organization from volume-based support to complexity-based, specialist-led resolution.
• Build career paths, competency frameworks, and operating models for an AI-augmented workforce.
• Maintain high standards for customer outcomes, quality, SLA performance, and enterprise escalations.
• Establish modern AI-assisted quality and coaching frameworks focused on resolution effectiveness rather than procedural compliance.
• Design segment-calibrated service models that balance efficient AI-first support with high-touch expertise for Commercial and Enterprise customers.
• Serve as the executive authority for high-sensitivity customer escalations and critical customer moments.

Premier Support & Commercial Performance

Own the strategy, operations, and P&L for Zendesk’s monetized Premier support business.

You will:

• Define differentiated support offerings and value propositions for enterprise customers.
• Drive revenue growth while maintaining world-class service delivery.
• Establish pricing, capacity, and commercial operating models in partnership with Finance, Sales, Renewals, and Customer Success.
• Develop outcome-based metrics demonstrating the relationship between premium support, adoption, retention, and customer ROI.
• Equip Sales and Solutions Consulting with validated operational proof points that strengthen the enterprise sales motion.

Knowledge, Intelligence & Zendesk on Zendesk

Build the knowledge and intelligence infrastructure required to support AI at scale and make Zendesk our most credible customer reference.

You will:

• Establish Knowledge Operations as a disciplined, performance-managed function.
• Create governance for taxonomy, semantic structure, content quality, and freshness.
• Use AI interaction and escalation data to identify and remediate knowledge gaps.
• Partner with Product and Engineering to optimize retrieval and AI consumption of knowledge.
• Lead Zendesk’s internal Center of Excellence, using our own platform in production to validate capabilities and generate evidence-based product feedback.
• Turn operational learnings and measurable results into implementation playbooks and customer-facing proof points.

Cross-Functional Leadership & Business Performance

Create a unified operating model across Customer Experience and the broader business.

You will:

• Partner with Product and Engineering to translate customer interaction data into roadmap priorities and systemic product improvements.
• Work with Customer Success and Renewals to connect support performance to retention and NRR.
• Partner with Sales to strengthen the commercial value proposition of premium support.
• Work with Finance to optimize investment across AI and human resolution models and maintain disciplined P&L management.
• Establish clear operating cadences, dashboards, KPIs, and accountability mechanisms that drive continuous improvement.
• Represent Zendesk externally as a practitioner and thought leader in AI-powered CX.

Who You Are

You are a transformational operator who combines deep customer support expertise with AI, commercial, and organizational leadership.

Required Experience

• 20+ years of progressive leadership experience in enterprise SaaS, technology, or consulting, including 10+ years leading global, multi-functional teams.
• Proven experience leading large-scale transformation within complex, enterprise customer support environments.
• Experience operating and optimizing AI-powered support or service systems at production scale, including resolution, escalation, quality, and feedback mechanisms.
• Deep expertise leading global, 24/7 technical support organizations serving complex enterprise customers.
• Direct experience owning or scaling a revenue-generating support/Premier business, including P&L, commercial strategy, and capacity planning.
• Strong understanding of knowledge operations and how knowledge architecture influences AI resolution quality.
• Demonstrated success leading organizational transformation, role redesign, reskilling, and workforce evolution.
• Strong commercial and financial fluency, including NRR, cost-per-resolution, deflection, and support economics.
• Executive-level influence with the ability to align Product, Engineering, Sales, Success, Renewals, and Finance without relying on formal authority.
• Hands-on familiarity with Zendesk and AI-enabled support technologies, analytics, and operational intelligence.

Preferred Background

We value demonstrated impact over specific titles. Relevant backgrounds may include leaders who have:

• Transformed global support organizations through AI and automation.
• Built and scaled monetized or premium technical support businesses.
• Led AI governance, knowledge operations, or service transformation at enterprise scale.
• Operated complex technical support environments across cloud, security, developer platforms, or other sophisticated technology ecosystems.
• Bridged Product, Operations, and Customer Experience to translate customer signals into business and product outcomes.

Leadership Attributes

• AI-First Operator: Combines technology-enabled efficiency with high-value human expertise.
• Commercially Grounded: Connects operational performance to revenue, retention, and customer value.
• Systems Thinker: Optimizes AI, knowledge, people, data, and processes as one ecosystem.
• Customer Obsessed: Focuses on measurable customer outcomes, not activity alone.
• Transformational with Humanity: Leads significant workforce change with transparency, accountability, and respect.
• Decisive & Collaborative: Makes data-driven decisions while building strong cross-functional partnerships.
• Externally Oriented: Brings current AI and CX thinking into Zendesk’s strategy and customer conversations.

Practicalities

• Reports to: CCO
• Location: Hybrid global role with meaningful engagement across AMER, EMEA, and APAC; approximately 20–25% travel.
• Scope: Global leadership across AI-Powered Resolution, Human-Assisted Technical Support, Premier Technical Support, Knowledge Operations, and the Zendesk on Zendesk Center of Excellence.
• Compensation: Competitive executive package including performance-based incentives and meaningful equity.

Why Zendesk

Zendesk is at a pivotal moment in the evolution of customer experience, with AI moving from a product capability to the foundation of our Resolution Platform.

This role will help define what AI-powered customer support looks like at production scale. You will transform how Zendesk serves customers, generate the intelligence that improves our products, strengthen the commercial value of our platform, and create a model that demonstrates what great AI-powered CX can be.

This is an opportunity to build the support organization of the future—and to do it on Zendesk, for Zendesk.

The US annualized base salary range for this position is $289,000.00-$433,000.00. 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.

About Us

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.

More meaningful moments. Fewer Zoom calls.

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.

Equal employment opportunity, including veterans and individuals with disabilities.

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