VP of Customer Success - Manufacturing, industrial or operational software experience essential.
Location: UK or EU based remote working
Reports to: CEO (currently) / CRO (once hired)
Role level: EVP
The Opportunity
Solvace is a manufacturing-focused SaaS company helping industrial organisations identify, prioritise, and eliminate operational losses across their production
environments.
Solvace sits at the intersection of manufacturing operations, data, and continuous improvement. The platform brings together signals from across the factory — systems, processes, and people — to give teams a clear, shared view of where performance is breaking down and where to act first. Rather than adding more dashboards or noise, Solvace focuses on actionable insight and execution.
The company works with complex, enterprise manufacturing customers operating in multi-site, high-variability environments, where adoption, change management, and real-world usability matter as much as the technology itself.
Solvace is scaling internationally and evolving from an early-stage, founder-led delivery model into a more structured, enterprise-grade organisation. The product is strong, customer ambition is high, and the next phase of growth depends on tightening execution — particularly in how customers are onboarded, trained, supported, and grown over time.
This is a business that values speed, pragmatism, and outcomes over process for process’ sake — but recognises that to scale successfully, the right operating models and leadership need to be in place.
This role exists to rebuild Customer Success end-to-end:
• From fragmented execution → to a clear, repeatable CS operating model
• From reactive firefighting → to proactive value delivery
• From inconsistent onboarding → to structured, scalable adoption
• From “supporting accounts” → to owning growth, retention, and expansion
You will define how Customer Success works at Solvace — then build the team, playbooks, and cadence to make it stick.
What You’ll Own
This is a full-stack Customer Success leadership role, covering:
1. Customer Success Strategy & Operating Model
• Design and implement the end-to-end CS playbook, including:
o Onboarding & implementation
o Training & enablement
o Ongoing account management
o Expansion (upsell / cross-sell of apps & features)
o Renewal & retention – (Simple sales, complex bring Sales in)
• Define clear success motions by customer segment (enterprise / mid-market /strategic accounts)
• Establish health scoring, success metrics, and clear ownership across the customer lifecycle
2. Onboarding, Training & Adoption
• Fix and standardise onboarding — timelines, milestones, and success criteria
• Build repeatable training frameworks for customers in manufacturing environments (operators, engineers, managers)
• Ensure customers are not just live, but actually extracting value – Champions program?
• Partner closely with Product to feed adoption insights back into roadmap and UX
3. Account Management, Growth & Expansion
• Own account management globally, including:
o Executive relationships
o Value reviews & QBRs
o Expansion strategy (new apps, features, use cases)
• Create a clear expansion motion that feels consultative, not salesy
• Work tightly with Sales on handover, renewals, and commercial strategy
4. Team Leadership & Rebuild
• Assess the current CS team honestly and decisively
• Set clear roles, expectations, and performance standards
• Coach, develop, and (where needed) upgrade the team
• Build a high-credibility CS leadership layer as the company scales
5. Cross-Functional Leadership
• Act as a true peer to Sales, Product, and Engineering
• Be the voice of the customer at exec level
• Help Solvace mature from early-stage hustle to enterprise-grade delivery, without losing speed
What Success Looks Like (12–18 Months)
• A clearly documented, adopted Customer Success playbook
• Predictable onboarding timelines and outcomes
• Improved retention and customer health
• A scalable, credible expansion motion embedded in CS
• A confident, aligned CS team that customers trust
• Strong exec-level customer relationships across key accounts
What We’re Looking For
Must-have experience
• Senior Customer Success leadership experience in B2B SaaS
• Manufacturing, industrial, or operational software experience (this is non-negotiable)
• Proven track record of building or rebuilding a CS function
• Experience owning onboarding, training, account management, and expansion
• Comfortable operating in ambiguity and fixing broken systems
You are likely someone who has:
• Built CS at scale-up or post-Series B/C stage
• Worked with complex, enterprise customers
• Balanced customer value with commercial outcomes
• Created structure where there wasn’t one before
Leadership style
• Decisive, calm, and credible
• Not afraid to reset expectations
• Hands-on when needed, strategic always
• Comfortable challenging peers and execs constructively
Why This Role Is Interesting
• This is not a “run what exists” role — it’s a build and transform role
• Huge influence on customer outcomes, growth, and company reputation
• Direct access to the exec team
• A product with real operational impact in manufacturing environments
• The chance to leave a very visible, lasting mark on the company