Senior Manager, Technical Architecture

Location: Austin Texas (Hybrid)

Department / Team: Professional Services - Technical Services

Reports to: Senior Director Technical Services

Why This Role / Why Now

As customers adopt more sophisticated AI-enabled experiences and integrations strong technical architecture is critical to successful transformation. Within Zendesks Professional Services organization Technical Architects help customers design configure integrate and extend the Zendesk platform to solve complex business needs accelerate time to value and achieve measurable business outcomes.

Mission

Lead and grow a team of Technical Architects who help enterprise customers design implement integrate and adopt scalable solutions on the Zendesk platform. Set standards for discovery project scoping solution design AI-enabled delivery and value realizationhelping customers accelerate time to value increase adoption achieve measurable business outcomes and build long-term platform success that contributes to renewal readiness and retention.

What youll be doing

• Lead and develop the Americas Technical Architecture team: Hire coach develop and retain a distributed team of Technical Architects while setting clear expectations for performance growth and technical leadership.
• Lead project scoping and advisory engagements: Partner with Sales Professional Services and customers to define scope clarify assumptions assess effort and complexity identify risks and dependencies recommend solution options and align delivery with customer outcomes and business value.
• Own portfolio delivery health: Improve planning forecasting resourcing risk management scope dependencies and delivery predictability across concurrent customer engagements.
• Build cross-functional alignment: Influence senior stakeholders resolve trade-offs and drive consensus across internal teams and customer organizations.
• Partner with Product: Deepen Technical Architect expertise provide roadmap feedback participate in beta initiatives identify capability gaps and expand the teams skills influence and career opportunities.
• Advance AI adoption and enablement: Champion practical responsible AI adoption across the Technical Architecture team and wider organization by sharing use cases building capability developing reusable patterns and scaling proven practices through cross-functional partnerships.
• Raise architecture standards and drive continuous improvement: Establish consistent approaches to discovery solution scoping design documentation governance and quality while using customer and operational insights to improve delivery practices.

What you bring to the role

• People leadership: You hire coach develop and build high-performing technical teams.
• Technical architecture leadership: You guide complex multi-system designs that balance scalability simplicity security adoption and implementation practicality.
• SaaS and customer outcomes: You connect architecture decisions to time to value adoption delivery predictability customer satisfaction and long-term platform success.
• Portfolio and delivery discipline: You manage scope dependencies risks timelines delivery health and competing priorities.
• Executive and cross-functional influence: You communicate clearly navigate conflict and build alignment across technical business internal and customer audiences.
• AI fluency and responsible judgment: You identify high-value AI applications assess risks and trade-offs and promote responsible use of AI and customer data.
• Continuous improvement: You anticipate needs adapt to changing priorities and turn customer and operational insights into better ways of working.
• Change leadership: You evolve team structures roles processes and workflows to improve collaboration efficiency scalability and business impact.

Basic Qualifications

• 8 years of professional experience in Technical Architecture Solutions Architecture Consulting Technical Account Management or a related enterprise SaaS role.
• 3 years of people management experience leading architecture or consulting teams within a B2B SaaS cloud software systems integration or enterprise technology services environment with experience managing distributed teams.
• Experience designing and delivering complex customer-facing SaaS implementations integrations or platform solutions across concurrent customer engagements or programs.
• Understanding of product-led delivery platform adoption implementation governance and repeatable solution patterns.
• Strong analytical project management interpersonal and communication skills with senior stakeholder influence.
• Bachelors degree in Computer Science Engineering Information Systems Business or a related field (or equivalent experience).

Preferred Qualifications

• Strong knowledge of Zendesk products APIs app framework integrations and Zendesk AI capabilities.
• Experience establishing architecture governance design reviews reusable patterns technical standards or competency frameworks as well as coaching teams on AI-enabled workflows and responsible AI practices.
• Practical understanding of generative AI AI agents retrieval and knowledge patterns and AI evaluation with the ability to integrate AI capabilities into enterprise workflows.
• Advanced degree or relevant certifications in architecture cloud AI strategy project management or delivery.

The US annualized OTE (On Target Earnings) range for this position is $166000.00-$250000.00 with a pay mix of 87/13 (base/commission). This position may also be eligible for bonus benefits or related incentives. While this range reflects the minimum and maximum value for new hire salaries for the position across all US locations the offer for the successful candidate for this position will be based on job related capabilities applicable experience and other factors such as work location. Please note that the compensation details listed in US role postings reflect the base salary only (or OTE for commissions based roles) and do not include bonus benefits or related incentives.

The intelligent heart of customer experience

Zendesk software was built to bring a sense of calm to the chaotic world of customer service. Today we power billions of conversations with brands you know and love.

Zendesk believes in offering our people a fulfilling and inclusive experience. Our hybrid way of working enables us to purposefully come together in person at one of our many Zendesk offices around the world to connect collaborate and learn whilst also giving our people the flexibility to work remotely for part of the week.

As part of our commitment to fairness and transparency we inform all applicants that artificial intelligence (AI) or automated decision systems may be used to screen or evaluate applications for this position in accordance with Company guidelines and applicable law.

Zendesk is an equal opportunity employer and were proud of our ongoing efforts to foster global diversity equity & inclusion in the workplace. Individuals seeking employment and employees at Zendesk are considered without regard to race color religion national origin age sex gender gender identity gender expression sexual orientation marital status medical condition ancestry disability military or veteran status or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. We are an AA/EEO/Veterans/Disabled employer. If you are based in the United States and would like more information about your EEO rights under the law please click here.

Zendesk endeavors to make reasonable accommodations for applicants with disabilities and disabled veterans pursuant to applicable federal and state law. If you are an individual with a disability and require a reasonable accommodation to submit this application complete any pre-employment testing or otherwise participate in the employee selection process please send an e-mail to with your specific accommodation request.