Job Description

Lead pilot engagements end-to-end to prove the value of Zendesk AI through technical configuration, integration and validation against success metrics. 

This role sits at the critical intersection of technology and strategy in the pre-sales cycle; on one hand, you will be hands-on in building and implementing pilots using our latest AI tools, whilst on the other, you will ensure pilots directly address strategic business outcomes for our customers (e.g. reducing support costs, improving quality of service) and align with our sales strategy to accelerate time to signature for commercial agreements.

By rapidly delivering working pilots for high-value strategic customers, our team proves the art of the possible in a live (real world) scenario to advance adoption and de-risk investment decisions.

Working in direct collaboration with our Sales team, the Agentic Strategist is a high impact role directly on the frontline building trust and credibility by aligning Zendesk’s AI offerings with the prospective customer’s specific challenges and goals.

Key Responsibilities

• Own pilot discovery, scoping and delivery

• Partner with the account team (e.g., Sales, Solutions Consulting and Customer Success) throughout the engagement 

• Collaborate with customers to optimise the building blocks for successful AI adoption (knowledge, on Messaging not Chat, procedures, data) - “readiness”

• Configure AI product features and build integrations as needed

• Coordinate with PS resources as required for additional support and complex integrations

• Interface with Product to flag feature dependencies and request assistance to manage product gaps

• Own the design of strategies to ensure effective testing and quality assurance of AI agents & Copilot to obtain customer acceptance / sign-off for launch

• Collaborate with Sales teams to manage stakeholder relations and expectations at the account level

• Evaluate pilot performance, track and report on outcomes against success metrics

• Maintain documentation for hand-off post-pilot

• Be a product expert and super-user first, maintain deep understanding of the entire Zendesk product suite, with emphasis on AI agents and Copilot 

Key Skills

• Have a start-up mindset, agility to adapt to rapid product evolutions and react with urgency to solve new challenges for customers  

• Strong Zendesk product knowledge and customer-facing skills

• Highly technical (some basic coding skills), comfortable collaborating with customers at pace to build solutions

• Experienced in project management (structured delivery), relationship management and enterprise SaaS or AI implementations “Can do it themselves but also lead a team of implementers” 

• Proactive, outcome-driven mindset

• Excellent communication and storytelling ability to articulate both technical details and business outcomes (written and verbal)

• Demonstrated experience in change management for enterprise SaaS/AI programs (e.g., ADKAR/Prosci-style methods)

• Strong facilitation and communication skills to drive executive alignment, frontline enablement, and post‑pilot handoff

• Evidence of accelerating adoption/time‑to‑value through structured change and training plans

Key Success Metrics

Commercial Impact

• Pilot Conversion Rate (% / # of pilots that successfully convert to signed commercial deals)

Customer Impact

• Percentage of tickets (human workload) fully automated (AI Agents) or augmented (Copilot) 

• Customer Stakeholder Satisfaction (feedback from customer stakeholders at pilot completion)

Operational Excellence

• Time-to-Value (average time from pilot kick-off to signed commercial deal)

• Risk & Dependency Management (effective mitigation of risks and dependencies without escalations)

Scalability

• Reusability of Assets (% of procedures, components, workflows or integrations that can be reused across future pilots)

• Knowledge Transfer (quality of handover to PS / CS teams for scaling post-pilot)

• Innovation Contributions (No. of new solution approaches, clearly articulated product feedback, or best practices identified through pilots)

The US annualized base salary range for this position is $137,000.00-$205,000.00. 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.

Hybrid: In this role, our hybrid experience is designed at the team level to give you a rich onsite experience packed with connection, collaboration, learning, and celebration - while also giving you flexibility to work remotely for part of the week. This role must attend our local office for part of the week. The specific in-office schedule is to be determined by the hiring manager.

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 [email protected] with your specific accommodation request.