Principal Strategic Customer Success Account Manager (AI Enabled, High-Touch)

Vertex Inc. is a leading company focused on providing strategic customer success solutions. They are seeking a Principal Strategic Customer Success Account Manager to partner with their most strategic customers, driving value realization, retention, and growth through AI-driven insights and cross-functional collaboration.

Responsibilities:

• Serve as the primary strategic relationship owner for high-value accounts, acting as a trusted advisor and escalation point for complex situations
• Own customer lifecycle outcomes, including value realization, retention (GRR), and expansion (NRR), aligned to customer business objectives
• Translate technical signals, adoption trends, and engagement data into clear business impact and executive-level insights
• Proactively leverage AI-generated insights, predictive health signals, and product usage data to identify risks, opportunities, and recommended actions
• Lead cross-functional 'path to green' plans for at-risk accounts and ensure mitigation execution
• Lead executive-level engagements, including business reviews, value realization checkpoints, and risk mitigation discussions
• Drive product adoption, sustained usage, renewals, and referenceability through outcome-based planning
• Identify and develop expansion opportunities aligned to customer value, partnering with Sales to influence pipeline development and deal progression
• Ensure alignment between high-touch engagement and AI-powered digital journeys to deliver continuous, proactive customer coverage
• Capture and elevate customer feedback, insights, and use cases to influence product strategy and overall customer experience improvements
• Lead and sponsor strategic initiatives to improve scalability, consistency, and customer outcomes
• Partner across teams to enhance customer experience and accelerate account growth
• Utilize Salesforce, Gainsight, and AI-enabled tools to document customer health, engagement, risks, and outcomes
• Balance customer needs with Vertex capabilities to drive sustainable, long-term outcomes
• Provide coaching and develop support to team members, where applicable
• Lead cross-functional driving accountability for outcomes without direct authority
• Establish best practices for AI-enabled customer engagement, value realization, and risk management
• Support workforce planning and portfolio strategy aligned to business priorities
• Contribute to initiatives that scale Customer Success coverage, improve operational efficiency, and reduce cost-to-serve

Requirements:

• 10+ years of experience, including 8+ years in Customer Success or related roles
• Experience managing strategic, high-value customer relationships
• Strong business acumen and ability to use data to manage risk and growth
• Strong communication, executive presentation, collaboration, and influencing skills
• Experience with Salesforce, Gainsight, or similar platforms
• Equivalent experience may be accepted in place of a degree
• Bachelor's degree in Business, Technology, or a related field
• Experience with AI-enabled or data-driven Customer Success models
• Familiarity with enterprise SaaS, ERP, or tax/compliance solutions
• Consulting or strategic advisory experience is preferred
• Understanding of value realization and customer-driven product strategy