Customer Support Operations Manager

Government technology has failed the public for decades and Americans have been conditioned to expect websites from the 90s for essential public services.

Kaizen exists to strengthen trust in American public services by building technology that residents and public servants are proud to use. We partner with local state and federal agencies to replace legacy systems with modern AI-native software that is worthy of the people they serve. We started in outdoor recreation and now were building toward something much larger the software layer that powers how Americans access any government service.

Our platform already reaches 40 million residents across 50 agencies in 17 states.

Founded in 2022 and based in New York City Kaizen has raised $35 million from NEA a16z Accel 776 and Carpenter Capital. Were builders designers and operators who believe that beautifully designed software shouldnt be a luxury in government. Its how you earn trust back.

As Kaizens platform expands across more agencies and more use cases the volume and complexity of support is outgrowing the tactical reactive way most teams handle it. This role exists to change that: to build Kaizens customer support operations function from the ground up and move it from firefighting to system design. Youll own the whole operational picture: the escalation paths the workflows the support metrics the onboarding playbooks and the training that keeps the team sharp along with the tooling that powers it (including our Intercom and Fin AI stack). The work compounds leverage across the entire support organization all across state local and federal customers. Its an essential role with the mandate to define what great looks like rather than inherit it.

This is a hybrid role based out of our New York City HQ. Candidates must reside in New York or be able to commute to New York City to work out of our office at least three times a week (Tuesdays - Thursdays).

• Design escalation paths from first principles: separate reactive work from scalable work route escalation-ready tickets automatically and specialize the high-skill motions

• Own the support metrics that matter: First Response Time Time to Close CSAT CX Score NPS and AI deflection. Move them not just monitor them

• Build the playbook for standing up support on new products and customer we onboard so growth doesnt mean chaos

• Own and optimize the support tooling stack including Intercom and Fin: tune automation and retrieval so routine tickets resolve themselves and agents get smarter context on the ones that dont

• Own help center and training content and lead training sessions that get the team fluent on new product features fast

• Build feedback loops across product engineering and deployment so support insight improves the platform not just the queue

• Work directly with customers designing the systems that serve them and personally resolving the escalations that test those systems

• Deep customer support operations experience: youve run support designed the workflows and escalation paths and owned how a team actually delivers

• A track record of owning support metrics (CSAT deflection FRT time to close) and actually moving them with the specifics to prove it

• Familiarity with modern support tooling and AI-powered automation (Intercom/Fin or comparable): you dont need to have built it from scratch but you know how to configure and optimize it to do real work

• Experience turning messy ad-hoc support processes into scalable system-driven workflows

• Comfort building 01 with no playbook. Youve stood something up from nothing before and can speak to how

• A strong cross-functional operator whos credible with engineers and non-technical stakeholders alike and can translate between them

• Have worked in govtech the public sector or another regulated high-stakes environment where getting support right actually matters

• Have managed external tools and influenced their product direction rather than just consuming what they were handed

• Use generative-AI tools as genuine leverage for response quality and operational efficiency not as a novelty

• You need an existing playbook and a team around you to be effective. This seat is about building both not inheriting them

• Youre more comfortable optimizing a system someone else designed than designing one from scratch

• You see support tooling and automation as a threat rather than leverage. The point of this role is using them so a small team delivers great support at scale

• Youd rather own one layer just the tooling or just the metrics or just the escalations and never touch the rest. This role owns all of it

• And if the people on the other end of the queue feel abstract to you this isnt the role. They are residents applying for benefits public servants trying to do their jobs and communities relying on services that simply have to work

Health & Insurance

• Comprehensive medical through Oxford/United Gold and Platinum PPO plans with 85% of premiums covered on the Platinum plan and a $0 employee premium option. Dental through Guardian PPO and vision through Beam with 99% of employee premiums covered and 50% for dependents.

• $100000 in fully paid life insurance. FSA and Dependent Care FSA. 401(k) access through Guideline.

Family & Time Off

• 16 weeks of fully paid parental leave for birthing parents. 10 weeks fully paid for non-birthing parents.

• Unlimited PTO closed for all federal holidays and company-wide winter break the week of Christmas.

Office & Remote Setup

• Up to $750 one-time home office or desk setup stipend for NYC-based employees. $500 for remote employees.

• $50/month commuter benefit (company contribution).

• Expensed lunch 3x a week while in the office.

• Company-provided laptop.

Wellness

• Fully covered gym membership at Grindhouse right across the street from our office at 47 W 17th St (and in Williamsburg). A $225/month value on us. For remote employees $100/month dedicated to gym or physical fitness reimbursement.

• $300/quarter pet care stipend.

Stipends

• $100/month utility stipend.

• $500/year professional development.

• $250/year recreation.

Kaizen is an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race color religion age sex national origin disability genetics protected veteran status sexual orientation gender identity or expression or any other characteristic protected by federal state or local law. If you need an accommodation during the interview process email us at .

Required Experience:

Manager