OpenRouter
Technology
ScaledCustomerSuccessManager,Startups
Neural analysis suggests this role is
optimal for Mid+ candidates.
“Scaled Customer Success Manager, Startups at OpenRouter. Skills: Customer Success, Startup Ecosystem, Scaled Operations, Automation Engineering. Build startup success engine. Own scaled success motion”
What You'll Achieve.
Higher startup activation; Stronger retention; Faster time-to-value; Clearer Enterprise conversion paths; Better product feedback loops; Stronger founder feedback loops; Stronger partner feedback loops; Startup ecosystem grows; Understand startup customer journey; Map current lifecycle; Identify activation gaps; Identify retention gaps; Define startup health model; Launch initial workflows; Build scaled startup success operating system
Industry & Context.
Identify churn risk; Identify activation blockers; Identify expansion signals; Identify commercial opportunity; Root cause analysis; Troubleshooting
What They're Looking For.
Must Have
Managed scaled customer portfolio, Managed startup program operations, Managed developer ecosystem, Managed PLG customer base, Managed technical customer segment, Comfortable with technical founders, Understand API-first businesses, Identify churn risk, Identify activation blockers, Identify expansion signals, Identify commercial opportunity, Fluent in customer data, Built workflows, Built dashboards, Built automations, Built lifecycle programs, Built internal tools, Built customer journeys, Built playbooks, Builder mindset, Take ownership beyond job description, Create structure from ambiguity, Help new programs scale, Comfortable in evolving environments, Default to systems, Default to repeatability, Default to leverage
Nice to Have
Experience in AI infrastructure, Experience in developer tools, Experience in API platforms, Experience in technical SaaS, Experience in high-growth GenAI products, Worked with startup customers, Worked with founders, Worked with startup programs, Build own agents, Write SQL, Build lightweight internal tools, Create automations, Use AI-assisted workflows, Partnered with Sales on expansion, Partnered with Sales on renewal, Partnered with Sales on Enterprise conversion, Built customer health dashboards, Built scaled onboarding journeys, Built portfolio review cadences, Built lifecycle programs, Built product feedback loops, Instincts for likely growing startups, Instincts for likely churning startups, Instincts for startups needing intervention
What You'll Do.
Build startup success engine
Own scaled success motion
Partner cross-functionally to refine operating system
Create and refine workflows
Create and refine dashboards
Create and refine alerts
Create and refine playbooks
Turn manual work into repeatable systems
Own day-to-day program communications
Build scaled intervention workflows
Create activation paths
Help startups reach first value
Help startups understand OpenRouter
Partner with Sales to surface startups
Connect startup program to growth initiatives
Build practical systems for scaled success
Use AI-native tools for automation
Build self-serve resources
Help technical founders succeed
Define what healthy looks like
Segment the portfolio into cohorts
Create operating cadence for portfolio health
Help evolve startup program
Improve application experience
Improve approval experience
Improve onboarding experience
Improve activation experience
Improve communication experience
Improve follow-up experience
Build rubrics to identify startups
Build workflows to identify startups
Route startups into right journey
Ensure startups get value quickly
Provide clear paths to scale
Continuously improve program operations
Create better experiences for founders
Create better experiences for partners
Create better experiences for internal teams
Turn customer interactions into product signal
Capture feedback on onboarding friction
Capture feedback on model availability
Capture feedback on routing behavior
Capture feedback on latency
Capture feedback on reliability
Capture feedback on pricing
Capture feedback on documentation gaps
Capture feedback on integration blockers
Capture feedback on developer experience
Surface patterns to Product
Surface patterns to Engineering
Build feedback loops to improve experience
How You'll Work.
Team & Collaboration
Partner cross-functionally; Partner with Sales; Work across GTM; Partner with Product; Partner with Engineering
Communication Scope
Program Communications; Customer Communications
Process & Methodology
Program Management, Workflow Management, Automation Management, Lifecycle Management, Process Management
Full Job Description
ABOUT OPENROUTER OpenRouter is the unified interface for AI inference, giving developers and organizations access to hundreds of models through a single API. Our platform helps teams choose, route, evaluate, and scale model usage across providers, making it easier to build production AI applications with the right model for every use case. As inference becomes a core operating layer for modern software companies, OpenRouter helps customers move faster, reduce complexity, and get more value from the rapidly evolving model ecosystem. ABOUT THE ROLE We’re looking for a Scaled Customer Success Manager, Startups to build and own the post-sale engine for OpenRouter’s startup ecosystem. This is a builder role, not a scaled nurture role. OpenRouter’s startup ecosystem is one of the company’s most important growth surfaces, powered in part by the OpenRouter for Startups program, which helps AI-native companies access credits, infrastructure, and multi-model tooling to build and scale faster. - Your job is to make that ecosystem work at scale. - You’ll own the startup customer journey from program approval and onboarding through activation, retention, expansion, and Enterprise readiness. You’ll also own day-to-day program operations and communications across the OpenRouter for Startups ecosystem, while helping launch new initiatives, workflows, and partner programs over time. WHAT YOU’LL DO BUILD THE STARTUP SUCCESS ENGINE - Own the scaled success motion for OpenRouter’s startup and scaled customer portfolio. - Partner cross-functionally to iterate and refine the operating system for startup activation, retention, growth, and Enterprise conversion. - Create and refine the workflows, dashboards, alerts, and playbooks that help the team understand which startups need attention, why they need it, and what action should happen next. - Turn manual customer success and program operations work into repeatable systems. DRIVE ACTIVATION, RETENTION, AND GROWTH - Own the start-up inbox,
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