Head of Deployment Strategy

We live in a world where technology is rapidly changing the educational experiences of students and teachers everywhere, and we have the opportunity to shape how this change takes place. Kira’s mission is to harness transformative AI technologies to make world-class personalized teaching and learning accessible to everyone. We are a rapidly growing startup backed by top-tier Venture Capital funds including New Enterprise Associates (NEA), Andrew Ng’s AI Fund, and Primavera. Being able to implement large deployments successfully is increasingly becoming a critical part of Kira’s business. Our Deployment Strategists embed closely with our largest customers, including governments who are rethinking their education system completely with Kira, global education enterprises, and universities, to figure out how Kira can be deployed across the organization to teachers, students and administrators in way that is effective for them. They then deliver it alongside product, design, and engineering. As Head of Deployment Strategy, you will be the first leader of this team. This is a player-coach role. You will personally own a portfolio of Kira’s largest and most complex accounts, starting with an upcoming multimillion-dollar partnership with a university in London. You will also manage and coach the Deployment Strategists who own our other strategic accounts, and you will build the processes the team runs on from scratch in collaboration with Kira’s co-founders, and product and go-to-market team members. This role is based in our New York City office (Tribeca, 4 days a week in person), with significant travel to the UK. That includes an extended on-site period at launch, then regular trips after that. WHAT YOU’LL DO Own Kira’s Most Complex Accounts - Personally own a portfolio of large enterprise accounts, starting with a new multimillion-dollar partnership with a university in London - Lead high-priority rollouts from contract signature through go-live, adoption, and measurable impact, and own renewal and expansion - Build trusted relationships with customers’ most senior stakeholders, including executives, owners and investors, and academic and operational leadership, and manage the competing interests between them - Run executive business reviews and the workshops that build alignment across a customer’s stakeholders - Spend extended time on-site with customers, including in the UK, and get into the weeds of their operations to surface the problems most worth solving Product Strategy & Solutioning - Partner with product and engineering to solution how Kira should evolve based on real customer needs - Push back when needed, both with customers and internally, and help prioritize what matters most - Evaluate each customer’s context and decide which version or configuration of Kira works best for them - Build prototypes with AI tools to test and validate solutions before they are built in full. No coding is required, but you need to be fluent in prompt engineering - Translate technical capabilities into clear business outcomes that customers and executives can act on - Stay hands-on in the product (configuring organizations, building AI-generated courses, defining workflows) so you can coach from experience Lead and Develop the Deployment Strategy Team - Manage and coach a team of Deployment Strategists, helping each one build the skills to own senior executive relationships on their own accounts - Create the playbooks, SOPs, quality metrics, and operating rhythm for how Kira deploys. Most of this doesn’t exist yet, so you’ll design processes from scratch, test them, and refine what works. - Step in alongside your team at high-stakes moments, such as executive escalations, renewals, scope negotiations, and difficult conversations, and show them how to handle these moments WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR - 8+ years of experience, including significant time leading complex, high-value client relationships. For example, you might be a Partner, Associate Partner, or Senior Engagement Manager at a top-tier consulting firm, or have an equivalent track record in private equity, professional services, or enterprise SaaS/AI account leadership - You came up through the ranks: you have done the hands-on work yourself and can coach others through it - A track record of earning trust with C-suite and owner-level stakeholders on demanding, politically complex accounts - Experience managing, coaching, or developing people, whether as a formal manager or by leading client engagement teams - You have built processes and teams from scratch, and you’re comfortable creating structure where none exists while still getting into the weeds yourself - Fluency with complex products and comfort working alongside engineers to scope and deploy solutions - Extensive hands-on experience using AI tools in your day-to-day work, and a track record of helping others adopt AI-native ways of working - Comfortable operating in ambiguity, and confident pushing back on both customers and internal teams when priorities need sharpening - Willing to travel internationally, including extended on-site stretches in the UK - Nice to have: Prior experience being a founder or a core part of an early stage, fast-growing company SUCCESS IN THIS ROLE LOOKS LIKE - Kira’s largest accounts, starting with the London university partnership, launch successfully and grow through renewal and expansion - Deployment Strategists independently own the senior stakeholder relationships on their accounts, with far fewer escalations to Kira’s founders - A repeatable deployment playbook and team operating rhythm that scales as Kira signs more large accounts WHAT WE OFFER - $205,000 - $240,000 + variable compensation, plus meaningful equity - Medical, dental, vision and life insurance, including a medical insurance plan with 100% coverage of employee - Daily lunch credit through DoorDash in office + free DashPass to use anytime for work or personal use - Wellhub Membership: 100% company-paid access to premium gym networks (Orangetheory, SoulCycle), 60+ wellness apps (Headspace, MyFitnessPal, Apple Fitness+), and 1:1 coaching sessions spanning fitness, mental health, nutrition, and sleep - 401(k) matching - Pet friendly office 🐶 Equal Employment Opportunity Employer At Kira, we are committed to providing an environment of mutual respect where equal employment opportunities are available to all applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy (including childbirth, lactation and related medical conditions), national origin, age, physical and mental disability, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, genetic information (including characteristics and testing), military and veteran status, and any other characteristic protected by applicable law. Kira believes that diversity and inclusion among our employees are critical to our success as a company, and we seek to recruit, develop and retain the most talented people from a diverse candidate pool. Selection for employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, merit, and business need. Background Check Kira will make a conditional job offer in line with local, state and federal laws, and a subsequent criminal, education, and employment history background check will then be issued.