Manager, Customer Support, Americas

The Company:

Job Summary

We are seeking an experienced, strategic Manager of Customer Support to lead and scale our Product Support operations in the Americas. This role will be responsible for overseeing all support channels, delivering exceptional customer experiences, optimizing business processes, and developing a high-performing team. The ideal candidate is a customer-centric leader with a strong background in B2B support, a passion for operational excellence, and experience leading cross-functional activities. Professional experience with a technology company supporting devices and systems that incorporate hardware and software is preferred. The Manager of Customer Support will drive collaboration with stakeholders across multiple functions including, but not limited to, Product Management for case escalations, Sales for account alignment, and Customer Enablement implementations.  

Essential Functions

• Lead, mentor, and develop a team of support engineers, technical experts, and team leads who deliver support to our Americas-based customers across multiple communication channels.

• Inform and execute customer support strategies to deliver a support experience aligned with organizational objectives and customer expectations.

• Become an expert in Cognex customer success processes and systems, most of which run through Salesforce Service Cloud, and leverage data to propose and execute changes to existing processes.

• Leverage Salesforce data and voice-of-customer research to understand market needs, preferences, and pain points in driving CX improvements.

• Monitor and forecast key performance indicators (KPIs) such as CES, CSAT, response and resolution times, and engineer productivity.

• Own support metrics reporting, provide actionable insights and deliver regular performance updates to senior leadership, influencing business decisions with data-driven recommendations.

• Act as the voice-of-customer internally, collaborating with Product Management, Engineering, Sales, and Customer Success colleagues to influence product improvements and customer experience enhancements.

• Oversee the development of knowledge base articles, team training materials, and self-service support resources.

• Drive a culture of continuous improvement, accountability, and customer-first mentality.

• Plan and execute staffing strategies to support company growth, seasonal demand fluctuations, and new product introductions.

• Stay informed on product and service offerings, industry trends and emerging technologies, competitive landscapes, and best practices related to customer support.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• Expertise of customer support operations, technologies, and performance metrics for B2B technology organization.

• Proven experience leading teams that support highly technical customers including engineers, system integrators, and OEMs.

• Excellent problem-solving skills with the ability to remain calm under pressure in a fast-paced, customer-centric environment.

• Ability to manage cross-functional relationships and influence stakeholders at all levels of a global organization.

• High proficiency with Salesforce Service Cloud and the ability to analyze data to inform business decisions, remove subjectivity, and improve customer outcomes.

• Strong business acumen with an understanding of the B2B customer lifecycle.

• Demonstrated ability to inspire, coach, and develop high-performing teams with a strong sense of accountability and ownership.

• Exceptional communication and presentation skills, with the ability to effectively communicate complex ideas and concepts to diverse audiences.

• Knowledge of machine vision technologies, factory control systems and protocols is preferred.

Minimum Education and Work Experience Required

• Bachelor’s degree in a technical or business discipline is required.

• 5+ years of experience in customer or technical support, with 3+ years in management or leadership role.

• Proven experience managing multi-channel support operations in a B2B environment, preferably in hardware/software products.

• Extensive experience using or implementing Salesforce Service Cloud, Vonage telephony, JIRA, or equivalent platforms.

• Experience using or implementing automated and/or AI-driven solutions in support workflows.

• Sound understanding of customer experience best practices and support industry trends.

• Willingness to travel occasionally as needed, up to 10%.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Cognex is an equal opportunity employer. Cognex evaluates qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, protected veteran status, disability/handicap status or any other legally protected characteristic.