Senior Manager, Handshake AI Support

Your Impact

Handshake is expanding into AI research and development, building a world-class network of expert Fellows - PhDs, researchers, and subject matter specialists - who contribute to cutting-edge AI through specialized research, model evaluation, and domain-specific applications. We’re looking for a Handshake AI Senior Support Manager to build a new distributed support team of contract, outsourced, and full-time staff, and partner cross-functionally across the Handshake AI and Global Support teams to scale a world-class Fellow support experience. You’ll report to the VP of Global Support and also temporarily report to our Head of Global Support Operations September 2025-April 2026. You’ll work to manage Handshake AI Support volume and maintain low response times, identify ways to reduce volume and bottlenecks through product, tooling, and self service enhancements, and contribute to a seamless Fellow experience. Not only will you drive the development of our Handshake AI Support Team, who enables and supports our complex and technical platform, but you’ll contribute to the evolution of the Global Support and Handshake AI departments!

This is a unique opportunity to play a pivotal role at a hypergrowth startup in a fast-growing space with building playbooks, documentation, enablement and infrastructure all from scratch. If you thrive on frequent change, navigating ambiguity, and chasing ambitious goals this is the role for you! This will be at our San Francisco location on a hybrid schedule coming in Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays.

Your Role

• Hire, train, and develop a high-performing, engaged, fun, and inclusive support team comprised of FTE, contract, and outsourced (BPO) staff to deliver an exceptional Fellow support experience

• Monitor queues, team performance, and daily operations to meet SLAs and coach or intervene (including rallying the team and hopping in the queue!) as needed

• Pull and analyze data and trends to share insights with relevant stakeholders, and translate findings into solutions via better help content, AI chatbot flows, tools, internal documentation, enablement, and SOPs

• Assess team efficiency, utilization, and quality and help inform forecasts and staffing models as this new venture rapidly grows

• Collaborate with Support and Handshake AI leaders and stakeholders to coordinate resources, enhance processes, and develop solutions to improve and scale the Fellow experience

• Help inform and build Global Support and Handshake AI vision, strategy, and long-term planning or operations

• Attend and help facilitate our annual Global Support onsite in SF, typically during June or July, and attend other Handshake AI onsites or events

Your Experience

• 3+ years of support people management experience

• 1+ year of technical support frontline experience

• Strong knowledge of support and business intelligence tools such as Zendesk, Playvox, Linear, and/or Looker

• Strong analytical and problem solving skills, with experience tackling operational and scaling challenges

• Strong project management and use of digital tools like Asana, with ability to manage multiple high-priority projects and tasks simultaneously, with a bias to action and keeping stakeholders informed along the way

• Exceptional written and verbal communication and stakeholder management skills at all levels, and strong async communication and organization (Slack, email, Linear, documents, Asana, etc)

• Have built and led a new support team at a B2B or B2C tech hypergrowth startup

• Have built hiring, onboarding, and training content and programs directly

• Have informed or contributed to help content, self service tools, and technology/tools to make user and team workflows more efficient

• Have collaborated with operations, product, engineering, and/or marketing teams

• Entrepreneurial mindset with a high level of comfort for ambiguity, frequent change, and ability to build and iterate quickly

Bonus Areas of Expertise

• Frontline and managerial support experience at an AI-focused company

• Experience with or strong aptitude to quickly learn Big Query, SQL, and Google Sheets advanced formulas and analysis, and Looker to pull payment and project data and compare with our tracking systems. Additionally, ability to hire for and train the team on these areas

• AI/LLM usage, support, and/or training experience

• FinTech customer service experience

• Building volume and staffing forecasts

• Knowledge of help content and AI chatbots for self service, informing content, flows, and automations

• Knowledge of Zendesk operational abilities including queue setup, routing, triggers, automations, and integrations

• Experience leading distributed teams and mix of staff types (FTE, Contract, Outsourced/BPO)

• Experience working with BPO

Traits We’re Looking For

• Passionate about Handshake’s mission, AI, and customer experience

• Strong sense of ownership and pride in work, instills high standards

• Getting stuff done - thrives and loves the nuts and bolts and moves things forward efficiently but effectively

• Critical and systems thinker - zooms in and out and has first principles approach to solving problems

• Data informed decision maker and advocate

• Collaborative and adaptive to audiences and evolving contexts

• Resilient, humble, high EQ (but not ruinous empathy!), and growth mindset

• Bold vision, strives toward ambitious goals, and strategic

• Desire to build a diverse and inclusive team

• Fun and energetic!