What We Do Insurance is a $10T industry still running on PDFs, email threads, and manual reconciliation. Ascend is changing that. We built the first finance automation platform designed specifically for insurance — combining AI and embedded fintech to modernize how money moves across the entire policy lifecycle, from collections to disbursements. In five years, we've become the market leader: trusted by thousands of insurance businesses nationwide, processing billions in transactions annually, and growing 200%+ year over year. How We Do It Ascend automates the financial operations that insurers, MGAs, and agencies run every day — and embeds directly into the transactions where money actually moves. AI is driving the cost of software toward zero. The companies that win won't just sell tools — they'll capture value at the point of the transaction itself. Ascend is built for exactly that moment. Our customers don't just adopt software; they unlock measurable efficiency with a proven 5–7x return on investment. Our 70+ person team, based in San Francisco and Columbus, brings together deep expertise in insurance, fintech, and AI to build infrastructure the industry has never had. Why We Do It The insurance industry intermediates trillions of dollars — and almost none of that infrastructure was built for the modern era. Legacy systems aren't just inefficient; they're a ceiling on what the industry can become. Ascend's mission is to become the leading financial automation platform for insurance by 2030 — powering the financial operations of the entire industry and transforming the way trillions of dollars move. We're not building another point solution. We're building the financial backbone of insurance. Your Role We are looking for a relationship driven, strategically minded Customer Success Manager to lead and scale our post-implementation Customer Success function. This role will own the end to end lifecycle of Ascend's highest value customers, serving as a trusted advisor to C-suite and senior stakeholders while driving strong adoption, retention, and expansion. You'll balance hands-on account management with long-term strategic thinking by building repeatable motions, surfacing customer insights, and partnering cross-functionally to influence product direction and drive durable growth. Responsibilities will include Objective #1: In your first 30 days, you will: Dive deep into Ascend's product, customer segments, and current Customer Success processes and tools Build foundational relationships with internal partners across Sales, Product, and Product Support Begin developing your approach to managing relationships and driving value for sophisticated insurance organizations Objective #2: In your first 60 days, you will: Own a portfolio of mid-market and enterprise customers, running regular touch-points with executive stakeholders and day to day users Develop a strong understanding of your customers' workflows, goals, and success metrics with actionable insights to improve adoption and outcomes Lead core customer operations including business reviews, feature rollouts, and coordination of complex issues with Product Support Objective #3: In your first 90 days, and beyond, you will: Fully own the post implementation customer lifecycle including renewals and expansion motions in partnership with Sales and Product Act as the voice of the customer internally by surfacing trends, risks, and opportunities to inform product and process decisions Help define and refine scalable Customer Success best practices that enable Ascend to deliver a world class enterprise customer experience Mentor and provide guidance to junior Customer Success team members, helping to elevate the overall team's effectiveness and consistency You might be a good fit if you are / have 4-5 years of experience in related roles Prior experience managing high value enterprise customer relationships in B2B SaaS or Fintech environments Experience managing or mentoring teammates, with an ability to influence without direct authority across cross-functional teams Comfortable operating in the ambiguity and pace of a high growth startup Strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to navigate executive level conversations and complex subject matter A consultative, relationship first approach to customer success with a proven track record of renewals and expansion Demonstrated ability to build and improve scalable processes, playbooks, or CS programs — not just execute within them Background in insurance, financial services, or fintech is a plus Base Salary Range: $120,000-130,000 All roles at Ascend are 5 days a week onsite at our beautiful office in SoMa! Benefits 100% health premiums covered for you and your dependents 401k with employer matching options A fast growing team with an emphasis on promoting from within 80% of all hires in the last 12 months have already been promoted! Unlimited PTO Company paid commuter benefits Parental and family leave Lunch everyday Dog-friendly office! Equal Opportunity We are committed to equal opportunity employment and embrace diversity within our organization. We do not discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. We encourage candidates to apply even if their experience doesn't precisely match this opportunity. We value diversity and are dedicated to equal opportunity employment.