Vice President of Customer Success

Fotokite develops autonomous, high-endurance tethered unmanned aerial systems to help firefighters and public safety teams save lives.

Fotokite systems allow first responders to quickly and easily gain situational awareness after arriving at emergency scenes: our autonomous one-touch launch/land system makes operation simple and safe; the dual color and thermal camera payload provides situational awareness from the system’s aerial perspective; and actively tethered flight means the system can be flown without a certified pilot, and can be left flying for as long as the situation requires.

Fotokite is seeking a hands-on, high-impact Vice President of Customer Success to architect, build, and lead our global post-sales function from the ground up. Operating in a Player-Coach capacity, you will write the official Customer Success Playbook, implement the technical infrastructure and tracking tools, and directly manage key strategic accounts while scaling a high-performing team across North/South America and Europe.

You will bridge hardware logistics, software telemetry, and customer retention to transform post-sale operations into a predictable, high-margin revenue engine across public safety agencies, defense entities, OEMs, and enterprise security clients.

Key Responsibilities

1. Playbook Architecture & Standard Operating Procedures

• Create the CS Playbook: Build the end-to-end Fotokite Customer Success Playbook from scratch, establishing standardized SOPs for Order Handoff, Technical Commissioning, Day 30 CSAT Audits, Day 90 QBRs, and Renewal Triggers.
• Scale Repeatable Processes: Codify segment-specific onboarding and expansion workflows tailored to Firefighting, Law Enforcement, Defense, and Enterprise Security verticals across global regions.

2. Infrastructure, Tooling & Analytics Setup

• Build the CS Tech Stack: Select, configure, and roll out customer health tracking platforms (e.g., Gainsight, Totango, ChurnZero, or advanced CRM modules) and integrate them with hardware telemetry logs.
• Establish Health Scoring & Dashboards: Develop real-time customer health dashboards tracking system flight hours, deployment frequency, software utilization, maintenance status, and churn risk indicators.

3. "Player-Coach" Team Leadership & Account Execution

• Lead by Example (Player): Directly manage flagship enterprise, defense, and strategic municipal accounts; personally conduct high-stakes in-person QBRs, flight demos, and executive check-ins.
• Scale the Global Team (Coach): Recruit, mentor, and manage regional Customer Success Managers (CSMs) and Sales Engineers across the Americas and Europe, instilling a high-accountability, customer-centric culture.

4. Revenue Ownership: Retention, Expansion & Software Attach

• Drive Account Expansion: Partner with Regional Sales Managers and Resellers to execute systematic fleet expansion campaigns, driving multi-unit orders and accessory upsells.
• Monetize Software & Support: Own post-sale revenue for annual software subscriptions, cloud data streaming, software maintenance, and extended warranty/service attachments.

Key Qualifications

• Player-Coach Mindset: Proven willingness to roll up your sleeves, write documentation, configure software tools, and manage customer accounts directly while building executive strategy.
• Zero-to-One Infrastructure Builder: Direct experience selecting, setting up, and deploying CS tracking platforms, CRM health scoring, and customer telemetry dashboards from scratch.
• Author of CS Playbooks: Demonstrated track record creating formal, scalable Customer Success Playbooks and SOPs in a hybrid Hardware-plus-SaaS, IoT, Robotics, Defense, or GovTech environment.
• 5+ Years CS Leadership: Proven leadership experience building and scaling CS teams.
• Revenue & P&L Accountability: Track record of direct ownership over gross retention, net expansion revenue, software attach rates, and service contract renewals

We require that applicants already have permission to work in the US.  We will not sponsor work-related visas now or in the future. Please include both a resume and cover letter. We are looking forward to hearing from you!

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Fotokite US LLC is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, creed, color, sexual orientation and expression, age, marital status, disability, religion, national origin, military service, arrest/conviction record, victims of domestic violence, and genetics.