Customer Success Manager
What this job does:
Acts as the ongoing partner for biotech and pharma clients after they purchase research software or digital tools - ensuring customers adopt, expand, and renew the platform. Day-to-day, onboards new users, conducts training sessions, runs quarterly business reviews showing product impact and ROI, and proactively intervenes when usage drops or a customer risks churning. Bridges the gap between scientific workflows and the product team, translating user feedback into improvements while identifying expansion opportunities.
This job is similar to these lab/research tasks:
Coordinating data sharing across research groups, aligning timelines with collaborators, onboarding new lab members on protocols and instruments, presenting research impact to mixed audiences
Typical starting salary range
$95k to $155k
Salary estimate represented as 25th to 75th percentile. Gathered from recent job postings, Glassdoor.com, and Salary.com
Daily task breakdown
- Customer relationship management: check-ins, calls, executive engagement (25%)
- Onboarding, training, and adoption coaching (25%)
- Account health monitoring, data analysis, and reporting: Quarterly reviews and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) (20%)
- Internal collaboration: product feedback, support escalation, renewal alignment (20%)
- Strategic planning and process improvement (10%)
Skills you'll use in this job:
SaaS platform fluency; CRM and CS tools (Salesforce, Gainsight); data analysis and usage analytics; project management; life sciences domain knowledge (R&D workflows, GxP); consultative communication; relationship building; cross-functional collaboration; strategic account planning; presentation skills
Talk about these PhD skills in your resume and interview:
Talk about serving as connective tissue between collaborating research groups - coordinating data sharing, aligning timelines, and ensuring all parties stayed productive. Talk about onboarding new lab members on protocols and instruments, and presenting complex data at group meetings to demonstrate research impact.
Alternative job titles to search:
Client Success Manager; Customer Experience Manager; Customer Engagement Manager; Technical Account Manager; Solutions Consultant; Adoption Manager; Implementation Success Manager; Strategic Customer Success Manager
*Note:
-Job titles are inconsistent between companies. Try various keywords.
-PhDs tend to undershoot seniority level. Target higher than you think.
