Senior Manager, Customer Operations

The Company Outrider, the pioneer in autonomous yard operations for logistics hubs, helps large enterprises improve safety and increase efficiency. The only company exclusively focused on automating all aspects of yard operations, Outrider eliminates manual tasks that are hazardous and repetitive. Outrider's mission is to drive the rapid adoption of sustainable freight transportation by deploying zero-emission systems. Outrider is a private company backed by NEA, 8VC, Koch Disruptive Technologies, and other top-tier investors. For more information, visit www.outrider.ai. The Role The Senior Manager, Customer Operations reports to the Director of Customer Success and leads Outrider's Customer Operations organization, including Customer Operations Managers, Associate Managers, and a frontline team of AV Site Leads and Autonomous Vehicle Field Technicians (AVFTs) across all active customer programs. This role owns operational performance and customer operations relationships across Outrider's enterprise portfolio, serving as the senior escalation point for customer site and program leadership. This role connects Customer Operations performance to Outrider's commercial objectives, including renewals, expansions, and contract milestones. The Senior Manager, Customer Operations also owns headcount planning, budget, and organization design for Customer Operations, and will lead the evolution of Outrider's operating model from site-based staffing toward scalable, travel-based implementation teams commissioning self-driving autonomous yard truck deployments. Duties and Responsibilities Organizational Leadership Lead, coach, and develop Customer Operations Managers and Associate Managers, building a strong, accountable leadership bench. Set clear goals, operating rhythms, and performance expectations across the Customer Operations organization. Own career progression and development for the organization, including frontline-to-leadership pathways. Foster a culture of safety, ownership, and continuous improvement. Customer Relationship Ownership Own customer operations relationships across the enterprise portfolio, from site leadership up to program and executive stakeholders. Serve as the senior escalation point for operational and safety issues, driving resolution across Customer Success, Technical Operations, Engineering, and Product. Partner with the Director of Customer Success and Customer Success Managers on program reviews, renewals, and expansion planning. Set the cadence for regular manager visits to customer sites, and personally lead executive-level relationships on key accounts. Organization Design, Headcount, and Budget Own headcount planning, hiring plans, and budget for Customer Operations, aligned to the deployment roadmap. Design and lead the transition to travel-based implementation teams that support efficient, defined deployment cycles as sites move to driverless operations. Balance staffing across programs to meet customer commitments while improving efficiency and margin. Operational Excellence Own operational KPIs across all programs, including safety, uptime, move volume, and service levels. Standardize operating procedures, Site Implementation Plans, ODD protocols, and weather procedures across sites. Lead response to significant operational and safety events, ensuring root-cause analysis and corrective actions are completed. Design the standards, cadence, and reporting for auditing daily moves and move classification, and for monitoring site moves, video feeds, radio communications, and Slack channels, so issues are caught before they escalate. Deployment and Scale Oversee staffing and operational readiness for new site launches, commissioning, validation, and go-live. Own and evolve Outrider's deployment playbook so each new site launches faster and more consistently. Resource and coordinate implementation work across Managers' portfolios, including customer training, project plans, onsite mapping, and launch weeks. Cross-Functional Partnership and Reporting Represent Customer Operations with Engineering, Product, Technical Operations, Safety, and Finance, translating field needs into priorities. Own the escalation path and recurring reliability and uptime reviews with Technical Operations leadership. Deliver regular operational reporting to Outrider leadership and customer stakeholders. Required Qualifications 8+ years of experience in field operations, logistics, robotics, autonomous vehicles, or industrial operations, including 5+ years leading people. Experience managing managers and leading multi-site or multi-program operations organizations. Experience owning enterprise customer relationships and escalations up to the executive level. Experience owning headcount planning, hiring, and an operating budget. Track record of designing or scaling an operating model through significant change. Ability to travel to customer sites up to 50% of the time. Unwavering focus on safety and the ability to lead a safety-first culture across an organization. Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including presenting to customer and internal leadership. Strong analytical skills and comfort using data to drive decisions. Preferred Qualifications Logistics experience working around industrial Class 8 zero-emission electric vehicles, also known as heavy-duty electric vehicles (HDVs), with working knowledge of their charging, safety, and handling considerations. Experience operating or scaling autonomous vehicle or robotics deployments. Experience in distribution center, yard, or warehouse operations. Experience leading multi-site programs or implementation portfolios, including setting program plans and milestones, managing dependencies and risks across teams, and reporting progress to customer and executive stakeholders. PMP or equivalent certification a plus. Physical Demands and Working Environment The physical demands and work environment described here are representative of those that must be met and encountered by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. This position requires walking, talking, seeing, hearing and other uses of the senses. While performing the duties of this job, an employee is required to frequently use hands and fingers and possess efficient means of communicating with others. Specific vision requirements include close vision. Occasional standing, stooping, kneeling, crouching, etc., is also required of this position. Occasional lifting up to 25 lbs., climbing, going up/down stairs and other physical exertions may also be required. The working environment for this position is a combination of indoor office, warehouse and distribution yard, and outdoor environments, with travel to customer sites up to 50% of the time. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While this is an accurate reflection of the position, Outrider reserves the right to require that additional/different tasks be performed as needed. Compensation & Benefits Salary range: $130,000 - $150,000 Health Insurance Dental insurance Vision Insurance Parental Leave 401(K) Retirement Flexible Spending Account (FSA) Health Savings Account (HSA) Short-Term Disability Long–Term Disability Life insurance Pet insurance Professional Development Benefits Paid Time Off $50 monthly cell phone reimbursement Closing EEOC statement At Outrider, we believe in cultivating an environment where there is diversity of perspectives, experiences, and knowledge with the expectation that we thrive in an inclusive environment. Outrider is committed to a workforce where everyone's opportunities are limitless regardless of race, national origin, gender, age, religion, disability, veteran status, or any others that are protected by law.