VP of Strategic Customer Engagement

Striim, (pronounced “stream” with two i’s for integration and intelligence), is a unified data integration and streaming platform that connects clouds, data, and applications with unprecedented speed and simplicity to deliver the right data at the right time. Striim is used by enterprise companies to monitor events across any environment, build applications that drive digital transformation, and leverage true real-time analytics to provide a superior experience to their customers. At our company, we believe and expect all of our employees to operate as one with unlimited potential and dignity. We are seeking a highly strategic and execution-oriented Vice President of Strategic Customer Engagement to lead and evolve our post-sales customer organization while partnering closely with the broader Go-To-Market (GTM) leadership team. This newly created executive leadership role will oversee two critical functions: Our Technical Account Management (TAM) organization is responsible for long-term customer engagement, retention, expansion, adoption, and upsell A newly established “Tiger Team,” composed of highly technical customer-focused professionals with blended Product Engineering, Support Engineering, Architecture, and enterprise deployment expertise focused on mission-critical customer escalations and operational stabilization. The Tiger Team will operate as a specialized escalation and stabilization function engaged selectively for mission-critical customer situations requiring deep cross-functional technical coordination, architectural intervention, accelerated problem resolution, production recovery, or strategic deployment support. The organization will support strategic escalations, complex deployment initiatives, and selective customer-facing product validation efforts when aligned to critical customer outcomes. The TAM organization will maintain responsibility for long-term customer continuity, relationship management, adoption planning, retention, expansion alignment, and ongoing customer health engagement. The Tiger Team will operate as a distinct, escalation-oriented intervention capability focused on high-risk or mission-critical customer situations with clearly defined engagement and exit criteria. This role requires a rare combination of executive leadership, customer strategy, operational escalation management, enterprise technical depth, commercial acumen, cross-functional execution leadership, and hands-on operational problem-solving capability The ideal candidate understands that customer experience is directly tied to long-term revenue growth and customer loyalty and is equally comfortable operating strategically at the executive level while engaging directly with customers, internal stakeholders, and cross-functional teams to drive outcomes. Success in this role requires a leader who thrives in fast-moving environments, brings a strong sense of ownership and urgency, and leads with credibility, adaptability, and sound judgment. This individual must be highly collaborative, emotionally intelligent, and capable of navigating complex organizational dynamics while building strong relationships across a broad range of personalities, functions, and executive stakeholders. Given the nature of the Tiger Team organization, this role requires strong technical credibility across enterprise software deployments, cloud infrastructure, distributed systems, real-time data architectures, production operations, and complex customer escalation environments. The ideal candidate must be capable of engaging credibly with enterprise architects, engineering leadership, support organizations, and executive customer stakeholders during high-pressure operational situations. We are looking for someone who elevates the teams around them, operates with humility and accountability, and is energized by building, solving problems, and driving measurable impact within a high-growth environment. This leader will work cross-functionally with Sales, Product, Engineering, Field Engineering, Alliances, Support, and Executive Leadership. Given that partner and alliance relationships contribute significantly to company revenue, experience collaborating within partner-led GTM ecosystems is highly valuable. Key Responsibilities Lead, scale, and optimize the Technical Account Management organization focused on customer retention, adoption, expansion, renewal, and upsell across enterprise accounts Build and lead the company’s new Tiger Team organization, including engagement criteria, escalation workflows, operational processes, cross-functional execution models, staffing strategy, and customer stabilization frameworks Develop executive-level engagement and escalation strategies that improve customer outcomes, operational execution, and strategic account stability. Lead coordinated execution during high-priority customer escalations, production recovery efforts, strategic deployment risks, and cross-functional operational incidents. Establish clear operational boundaries, engagement models, and collaboration protocols between TAM, Support, Product Engineering, Field Engineering, and Tiger Team functions. Partner closely with Sales leadership to identify expansion opportunities, support strategic account planning, and contribute to revenue growth initiatives Collaborate with Product, Engineering, and Solutions teams to ensure customer feedback, adoption challenges, and product enhancement opportunities are effectively communicated and prioritized Support beta programs, strategic product rollouts, and customer enablement initiatives for key accounts when appropriate Establish scalable customer engagement frameworks, success metrics, operational KPIs, and executive reporting structures Drive accountability across customer health metrics, retention performance, expansion targets, adoption benchmarks, and customer satisfaction outcomes Build trusted relationships with executive stakeholders, technical leaders, and business decision-makers across enterprise customer environments Foster a high-accountability, highly collaborative team culture centered around customer outcomes, operational excellence, and cross-functional partnership Lead with a balanced approach of strategic thinking and hands-on execution, helping teams navigate ambiguity, shifting priorities, and complex enterprise customer environments Build trust and alignment across multiple internal stakeholders and executive teams while maintaining strong momentum and focus on execution Operate effectively within a fast-paced, high-growth startup environment with evolving priorities and limited traditional structure Serve as a visible executive leader internally and externally, representing the company with customers, partners, and industry stakeholders Partner with Alliances and Partner organizations to support joint customer success initiatives and strategic ecosystem growth opportunities Travel extensively to customer sites, partner engagements, executive meetings, conferences, and internal leadership sessions Requirements 12+ years of progressive leadership experience within enterprise software, cloud, data infrastructure, SaaS, or data modernization environments. Proven success leading Customer Success, Technical Account Management, Strategic Services, Solutions Architecture, Professional Services, or related customer-facing technical organizations. Demonstrated track record of driving enterprise customer retention, expansion, adoption, and upsell growth. Strong experience within data modernization ecosystems, including cloud adoption and migration, real-time data streaming, analytics, observability, AI enablement, or related enterprise data technologies. Experience working with highly technical enterprise customers across complex and/or regulated environments. Experience leading complex enterprise escalations, operational recovery initiatives, strategic customer stabilization efforts, or cross-functional technical intervention programs. Strong understanding of enterprise deployment models, distributed systems, cloud infrastructure, real-time data architectures, operational support models, and production incident management. Demonstrated ability to coordinate cross-functional execution across Engineering, Product, Support, Architecture, and GTM organizations during high-pressure customer situations. Ability to engage credibly in technical discussions involving enterprise architecture, scalability, platform stability, cloud operations, database technologies, and production deployment challenges. Ability to operate strategically and tactically in a high-growth startup environment. Experience building, scaling, or transforming customer-facing technical teams. Demonstrated ability to lead effectively in high-growth, fast-paced, and evolving environments with competing priorities and multiple stakeholder perspectives. Strong emotional intelligence, executive presence, and interpersonal judgment with the ability to influence, collaborate, and build credibility across all levels of an organization. Proven ability to balance urgency, accountability, and operational rigor with a highly collaborative and team-oriented leadership style. Hands-on, proactive leadership approach with a willingness to engage directly in solving customer and operational challenges when needed. Ability to navigate complex organizational dynamics with professionalism, adaptability, and a solutions-oriented mindset. Strong executive presence with exceptional written and verbal communication skills. Ability to communicate effectively with both technical and non-technical audiences, including executive stakeholders. Commercial mindset with comfort operating against revenue-oriented metrics and customer growth objectives. Strong cross-functional leadership skills with experience partnering across Sales, Product, Engineering, Alliances, and Executive Leadership teams. Comfortable operating in environments with lean internal infrastructure and non-traditional marketing support models. Strong technical depth with the ability to engage credibly in enterprise architecture discussions, production escalation management, operational risk analysis, cloud infrastructure strategy, and complex deployment troubleshooting. Experience working within fast-paced, less structured startup cultures with high visibility and accountability. Willingness and enthusiasm for extensive travel, including international travel. Preferred Requirements Experience with real-time data streaming technologies, CDC frameworks, cloud-native data architectures, observability platforms, or AI-driven enterprise solutions. Experience working within highly cross-functional escalation environments involving Product Engineering, Support Engineering, Professional Services, and enterprise customer operations teams. Experience supporting partner-led or alliance-driven GTM motions. Background in enterprise platform adoption within Fortune 1000 or highly regulated industries. Prior experience building or leading strategic escalation, customer advocacy, or executive engagement programs. Familiarity with consumption-based growth models, enterprise platform expansion strategies, and complex multi-stakeholder sales cycles. Experience supporting beta programs, customer advisory initiatives, or product feedback programs. What Success Looks Like Increased enterprise customer retention and expansion performance. Stronger executive-level customer relationships and engagement. Successful launch and operationalization of a scalable Tiger Team escalation and stabilization model with measurable impact on strategic customer outcomes. Improved execution speed, coordination efficiency, and resolution outcomes during strategic customer escalations and critical deployment situations. Improved customer adoption, advocacy, and platform utilization. Enhanced alignment between customer feedback, product strategy, and GTM execution. Measurable contribution to company growth through customer expansion and strategic account development. Establishment of scalable customer engagement frameworks that support long-term company growth. Why Join Us This is an opportunity to build and shape a highly visible executive function within a rapidly growing technology company solving some of the most complex enterprise data challenges in the market today. You will have the opportunity to: Influence company strategy at the executive level Build and scale a new strategic customer organization Work with some of the world’s most sophisticated enterprise customers Drive measurable impact across customer growth, retention, and platform adoption Help define the future of unified real-time data infrastructure and AI enablement in the enterprise market You will join a highly driven, collaborative organization that values ownership, curiosity, adaptability, customer obsession, and respectful partnership. We believe exceptional teams are built by leaders who combine high standards with humility, transparency, and a genuine commitment to helping both customers and colleagues succeed. Benefits Competitive salary and pre-IPO stock options Comprehensive health care plans (medical, dental, vision), including medical and dependent FSA Retirement plan (401K) Paid Time Off (Vacation, Sick & Public Holidays) Opportunity to contribute to and shape a collaborative, high-growth company culture Compensation Base: $280,000 – $300,000 USD annually. In addition to base pay, this role offers the opportunity to earn commission-based rewards Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled. Our company culture fosters entrepreneurship and nurtures our team members to grow with the company. Come join a Silicon Valley startup focused on delivering a product that’s loved by its customers and primed to be a core part of the cloud data stack. We are an equal opportunity employer, and we value diversity at our company.It is in our best interest to continue to foster an environment of diversity, equity, and inclusion to bring the most value to our workforce, customers, and partners. All applicants are considered for employment without attention to race, color, religion, sex, age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran status, or disability status. For more information on Striim's Privacy Policy, click here .