Strategic Customer Success Manager (Aerospace & Defense)

Overview

Drive customer success for aerospace & defense SaaS, ensuring adoption, ROI, and retention

Key Responsibilities

• executive engagement
• change management
• risk mitigation
• customer success
• business reviews
• cross‑functional partnership

Tasks

-Lead executive engagement, stakeholder mapping, and success planning to drive measurable business outcomes -Lead strategic conversations with confidence and clarity -Lead customers through change management and workflow optimization, helping them embed CoLab into critical engineering and manufacturing processes -Act as a cross-functional leader, modeling accountability, ownership, and clarity in a fast-paced, scaling environment -Contribute to the evolution of CoLab's Customer Success playbooks and frameworks, raising the standard for strategic execution and operational excellence across the team -Conduct executive-level business reviews that connect CoLab adoption to quantifiable impact such as reduced engineering change cycles, improved program velocity, or supplier collaboration efficiency -Define and execute a customer success strategy aligned with long-cycle aerospace programs, engineering milestones, and CoLab's broader expansion motion -Take ownership of customer outcomes and internal clarity -Identify risk signals early, define mitigation plans, and escalate with urgency when required -Partner cross-functionally with Sales, Product, and Solutions Engineering to deliver adoption outcomes, manage risk, and uncover new growth opportunities -Coach customer champions to build internal advocacy and communicate success stories that drive organizational buy-in and expansion -Operate with urgency and proactively mitigate risk -Translate customer insights, usage data, and feedback into actionable strategies that accelerate time-to-value and showcase ROI

Requirements

• customer success
• 7+ years
• a&d
• saas
• itar
• cad/plm

What You Bring

-Excel at cross-functional collaboration, even in ambiguous territory -Ability to travel up to 25% of the time -Experience supporting engineering or manufacturing customers (CAD, PLM, or technical tools) -Excel at translating product functionality into customer value in a technical domain -Thrive in a fast-paced, evolving environment where processes are still being shaped -Strong executive presence and communication skills -Highly organized, data-driven, and accountable -Comfortable operating in fast-paced, high-growth environments -All applicants must be eligible for the necessary authorizations to access information or technology governed by export control and defense compliance programs (ex: ITAR, EAR, or Canada's Controlled Goods Program) -7+ years in Customer Success, Strategic Consulting, or Enterprise Account Management, preferably with exposure to aerospace, defense, or complex engineering/manufacturing environments -Proven track record driving enterprise transformation and measurable outcomes for global manufacturing or defense-industry customers -Own gross revenue retention (GRR) across your portfolio, with strong influence over net revenue retention (NRR) and strategic expansion within global A&D accounts -Background in vertical SaaS (especially A&D, shipbuilding, heavy industrial sectors) -Track record of partnering with Sales to shape and execute multi-threaded expansion strategies in large, complex organizations -Comfortable navigating compliance, procurement, and security requirements common in A&D (ex: ITAR, export control, multi-site governance) -Familiarity with land-and-expand SaaS motions -Familiarity with navigating complex procurement, security, and compliance processes in enterprise accounts -Experience with customer journey orchestration and success planning in a high-ACV SaaS environment

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About Colab Software

-Trusted by Fortune 500 manufacturers like Ford, Johnson Controls, Schaeffler, Hyundai Mobis, and Komatsu. -Hosted its first user conference, the Design Engagement Summit, in August 2024 to unveil product roadmap and community success stories. -Features generative AI checklists and similarity engine that surface past lessons and automate routine review tasks.

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