The Vice President of Customer Success Engineering will lead Sonatype's technical Customer Success organization, focusing on customer retention, Onboarding, and scaling talent. They will balance revenue retention and growth while incorporating customer feedback into company strategy.
Sonatype is the software supply chain security company. We provide the world’s best end-to-end software supply chain security solution, combining the only proactive protection against malicious open source, the only enterprise-grade SBOM management, and the leading open-source dependency management platform.
As founders of Nexus Repository and stewards of Maven Central — the world’s largest repository of Java open-source software — we are pioneers. Our open-source expertise is unmatched, and our commitment to helping organizations build faster, safer software is unwavering.
The Oppportunity:
Our north star is Net Revenue Retention (target ≥ 120%).
We aren’t just looking for a maintainer of relationships; we are looking for a builder of value. As the Vice President, Customer Success Engineering, you will lead, coach, and scale Sonatype’s proactive technical Customer Success organization, serving our high-touch customer base.
You will balance expansion with unwavering retention (GRR ≥ 90%) while elevating the craft, impact, and career paths of our technical CS talent. This role serves as the voice of the customer within Sonatype, shaping company strategy to meet evolving needs.
What You’ll Do:
- Build the Engine: You will build a world-class talent engine, attracting and developing top CS talent globally with clear role charters and career paths.
- Drive Value: Establish scalable frameworks for onboarding, adoption, and value realization across enterprise, commercial, and public sector segments. You will standardize QBRs with executive-ready narratives tied to business outcomes.
- Own the Number: You are responsible for global retention and Net Revenue Retention (NRR) goals. You will defend ARR via proactive risk telemetry and build an expansion engine that generates CS-sourced pipeline.
- Operationalize Success: Partner with Finance and Ops to forecast renewals and oversee systems (e.g., Gainsight, Salesforce) to monitor customer health and lifecycle performance.
- Collaborate & Advocate: Work closely with Product and Engineering to incorporate customer feedback into the roadmap and partner with Sales and Marketing on advocacy and reference programs
What You Bring to the Table:
- Experience: 10+ years in Customer Success or related SaaS leadership, including 5+ years leading global teams.
- Proven Metrics: You have led a global technical CS organization for a $50M+ ARR portfolio, delivering GRR ≥ 90% and NRR ≥ 120% in complex enterprise environments.
- Technical Fluency: You possess a strong understanding of DevSecOps, open source software management, and the SDLC (CI/CD, Kubernetes, OSS governance).
- Analytical Acumen: You are a data-driven operator fluent with product telemetry, health models, and relationship intelligence.
Our Values in Action
At Sonatype, we believe that how we work is just as important as what we build. Our values aren’t just words — they shape every conversation, decision, and hire we make.
💡 Customers at Our Core: We obsess over creating customer value — not just satisfaction.
🚀 Be Bold & Lead: We challenge the status quo, take smart risks, and set the pace for our industry.
🤝 Inclusive Collaboration: We work better together. We bring authenticity and respect to every interaction.
🧠 Relentless Innovation: We stay curious, experiment often, and learn continuously.
🧭 Trust & Accountability: Trust is our foundation. We communicate transparently and deliver on commitments.
Things That We Are Proud Of
2024 BuiltIn Best Places to Work
Fast Company Best Workplaces for Innovators 2024
The Herd Top 100 Private Software Companies 2024
Company Wellness Week: We shut down company operations for a week to allow everyone to rest, recharge, and invest in personal growth.
Top Skills
Ci/Cd
Devsecops
Gainsight
Kubernetes
Oss Governance
Salesforce
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