Director of Customer Success

About Dewey Data

Dewey’s mission is to build the infrastructure layer for academic data . We envision a world where access to data is no longer a constraint on research.

We help universities, libraries, and researchers acquire, license, and manage data—making data procurement transparent, efficient, and scalable to unlock better research and faster innovation.

We’re a cash-flow positive, fast-growing startup with over 300 subscribed institutions and thousands of users. We’re a small, nimble team, and every person makes a visible impact.

The Role

We’re seeking a Director of Customer Success to build and lead Dewey’s customer success function from the ground up. This is a player-coach role: you’ll own a portfolio of high-value institutional accounts while simultaneously designing the processes, systems, and playbooks that will scale as we grow.

You’ll manage relationships with our university and library customers, drive retention and expansion, and ensure institutional success across our customer base. At the same time, you’ll partner directly with the CEO to define our customer success strategy, establish key metrics, and build the foundation for a world-class CS organization.

Your success will be measured by retention rates, expansion revenue, customer satisfaction, and your ability to create scalable systems that outlast your direct involvement in individual accounts. This role requires someone who can operate at both the strategic and tactical level—comfortable in executive conversations one day and troubleshooting a customer onboarding challenge the next.

If you’re an experienced customer success leader who thrives in early-stage environments, wants to own meaningful customer relationships, and is excited to build a function from scratch, this role is for you.

Responsibilities

Account Management & Customer Success

• Own and manage a portfolio of high-value institutional accounts, serving as primary relationship owner for universities and libraries
• Drive renewals and identify expansion opportunities within existing institutional customers
• Build and execute account plans that align institutional needs with Dewey’s data offerings
• Navigate complex organizational structures to engage multiple stakeholders—librarians, procurement teams, department heads, and research administrators
• Onboard new institutional customers and ensure successful implementation across departments
• Monitor product usage, proactively address adoption challenges, and conduct quarterly business reviews with key accounts

Function Building & Leadership

• Design and implement Dewey’s customer success strategy, processes, and operating model
• Establish CS metrics framework: net revenue retention, logo retention, expansion rates, customer health scores, and product utilization
• Build scalable playbooks for onboarding, adoption, renewal, and expansion motions
• Create account segmentation strategy and determine resource allocation across customer tiers
• Develop customer success tech stack recommendations and implement key tools
• Surface customer insights to inform product roadmap and go-to-market strategy
• Partner with the CEO on hiring strategy and team growth as the function scales
• Collaborate cross-functionally with product, sales, and data partnerships to ensure seamless customer experience

What We’re Looking For

Required

• 6–10 years in customer success, account management, or related roles, with at least 2–3 years in a leadership or management capacity
• Proven track record building or scaling a customer success function, ideally in an early-stage or high-growth environment
• Direct experience managing institutional or enterprise customer accounts with complex stakeholder environments
• Strong track record of driving retention and expansion within existing customer base
• Demonstrated ability to balance strategic thinking with hands-on execution
• Excellent organizational and project management skills—comfortable managing multiple high-touch accounts while building systems
• Exceptional written and verbal communication, able to engage executives, technical teams, and operational stakeholders
• Data-driven mindset with experience establishing and reporting on CS metrics
• Comfort in an early-stage startup: thrive with ambiguity, eager to create structure, willing to roll up sleeves

Bonus

• Experience in SaaS, data products, or academic/library technology
• Familiarity with university procurement processes, budget cycles, and institutional dynamics
• Understanding of academic research workflows or data management practices
• Experience hiring and developing customer success teams
• Background in management consulting, operations, or business strategy
• Current or former PhD student with industry experience

Why Join Dewey Data?

• Mission-driven: help build the infrastructure layer for academic data
• Foundational role: design and own the customer success function as Dewey’s first CS leader
• Strategic impact: work directly with the CEO to shape company strategy and drive bottom-line results
• Customer ownership: maintain meaningful relationships with institutions while building for scale
• Career growth: grow into VP of Customer Success as we scale from 300 to 1,000 institutions
• Team building: hire and lead your own team as the function matures
• Ownership: own retention and expansion—functions that directly impact our bottom line and long-term success

Our Values 🐐

At Dewey, our values guide everything we do:

• Grit — We show resilience, creativity, and tenacity—doing at least one hard thing each day.
• Ownership — We take responsibility and set high standards for ourselves and the company.
• Action — We bias toward speed, iteration, and never being the blocker.
• Trust — We act with integrity, and treat each other with humility and authenticity.