Customer Service Manager - DTC or e-commerce experience

The Customer Service Manager will oversee daily operations and a small remote team while working US hours. This role owns Kustomer, including workflows, automations, and reporting, and handles escalations, complex cases, and VIP customers.They collaborate closely with Operations to resolve returns, shipping issues, and refunds efficiently, while identifying recurring problems to improve processes. The focus is on improving response times, CSAT, and overall CX performance, leveraging AI and automation. Over time, the role evolves to drive retention and revenue through proactive customer engagement.Key Responsibilities• Own the CX Platform: Administer Kustomer end-to-end — workflows, queues, tagging,macros, SLAs, routing rules, integrations, and reporting. Continuously tune the system as ticketvolume and product mix evolve.• Optimize AI Agents & Automate Customer Journeys: Continuously tune Kustomer's AIagents — coverage, accuracy, escalation logic, and resolution rate — and automate CX flowsend-to-end across pre-purchase, post-purchase, returns, exchanges, and VIP journeys. Treat AIas a core service channel and lift its performance steadily, without sacrificing quality on thecases that genuinely need a human.• Apply AI to Daily Work: Use AI tools (Claude, ChatGPT, or equivalent) day-to-day to draftresponses, build workflows, generate reports, and reduce manual work. We expect a 'lean in'mindset — AI is still new, and the bar is curiosity, fluency, and momentum, not deep AIengineering background.• Manage and Coach the CX Agents: Lead two remote CX Agents on the same time zone. Setclear KPIs, monitor performance, run regular 1:1s, provide feedback, and own staffing decisionsincluding coverage planning, scheduling, and capacity.• Handle Escalations: Personally manage escalated tickets, sensitive customer situations, VIPcases, and any inquiry requiring judgment beyond agent scope. Set the bar for response qualityand tone.• Partner with Operations: Serve as the primary CX point of contact for the Inventory OperationsManager (returns, exchanges, restocks) and the Fulfillment Manager (shipping delays, lostpackages, expedites). Use ParcelLab data to support post-purchase tracking and resolvedelivery issues.• Report Core Customer Issues: Identify and document recurring customer issues — productdefects, fulfillment errors, site/UX friction, policy gaps — and surface them to the relevantinternal owners with the data and context needed to drive resolution.• Track and Improve Key Metrics: Own and report on CX KPIs including CSAT, first responsetime, resolution time, ticket volume, automation rate, and contacts-per-order. Lead structuredreviews to diagnose trends and drive improvement.• Build Toward Revenue Engagement (Future State): Once core operations are stable, expandthe role's scope to include proactive engagement with high-value customers — conciergesupport, repeat-purchase outreach, and service-led retention initiatives that contribute torevenue.• Act as the Voice of the Customer: Ensure customer feedback, frustrations, and patterns arerepresented internally and that the CX experience aligns with Awe's brand promise.Qualifications• 4–6 years of customer service or customer operations experience, ideally in DTC ore-commerce. Jewelry or luxury experience is a plus.• Hands-on experience with Kustomer is strongly preferred. Equivalent experience with Gorgias,Zendesk, or similar modern CX platforms will be considered, with willingness to ramp onKustomer quickly.• Demonstrated experience configuring CX platform automations, AI agents, workflows, macros,and reporting — not just using them as an end user.• Comfortable using AI tools (Claude, ChatGPT, or equivalent) day-to-day, with a clear willingnessto lean in and learn. Experience using AI to draft, automate, or improve CX operations is astrong plus — we don't expect a deep AI engineering background, but we do expect curiosity,momentum, and a bias toward applying these tools in real work.• Experience managing or leading small remote teams, including setting KPIs, coaching, andscheduling.• Strong written English and interpersonal communication skills; able to match brand tone andconvey empathy, clarity, and trust in every interaction.• Comfortable working US business hours from an offshore location on a consistent, full-timeschedule.• Systems-oriented thinker with strong attention to detail and a bias toward eliminating manualwork.• Comfortable navigating operational edge cases — incorrect returns, expedited shipping issues,damaged items — and partnering with operations counterparts to resolve them.• Familiarity with Shopify, ParcelLab, or similar e-commerce/post-purchase tooling is a plus