Job description

ABOUT OPENROUTER OpenRouter is the unified interface for AI inference, giving developers and organizations access to hundreds of models through a single API. Our platform helps teams choose, route, evaluate, and scale model usage across providers, making it easier to build production AI applications with the right model for every use case. As inference becomes a core operating layer for modern software companies, OpenRouter helps customers move faster, reduce complexity, and get more value from the rapidly evolving model ecosystem. ABOUT THE ROLE We're looking for a Director of Customer Support to build and scale the next generation of technical support at OpenRouter. This is a builder role, not a pure support management role. Our goal isn't to scale support by continuously adding headcount. It's to build an AI-native support organization where intelligent systems, AI agents, and exceptional technical talent deliver a world-class experience to developers and enterprises at scale. You'll lead our global support function, our technical support teams, and continuously build and improve the systems that power the customer experience. You'll be hands-on with AI, automation, and developer tooling while ensuring our customers receive fast, accurate, and deeply technical support. The ideal candidate has led Customer Support at a hyperscaling AI-native company or model lab, understands what developers expect from mission-critical AI infrastructure, and has a track record of building systems that scale faster than the teams operating them. WHAT YOU'LL DO - Build an AI-Native Support Organization: Own the strategy and execution for a support function designed around AI, automation, and technical excellence rather than traditional headcount growth. - Engineer for Scale: Build, orchestrate, and continuously improve AI agents, workflows, and internal tools that increase support capacity, quality, and efficiency. - Own the Developer Experience: Deliver exceptional technical support for developers, AI-native startups, and enterprise customers building production applications on OpenRouter. - Lead Technical Support Operations: Own support performance, incident response, escalations, global coverage, and enterprise SLAs across our customer base. - Drive Operational Excellence: Define and improve key metrics including response times, resolution times, customer satisfaction, automation effectiveness, and cost to serve. - Build a High-Leverage Team: Lead and develop a small, exceptional team of Support Engineers who are equally comfortable debugging technical problems and improving the systems that solve them. - Create Scalable Solutions: Turn recurring customer issues into better automation, self-service capabilities, documentation, and product improvements. - Partner Cross-Functionally: Work closely with Engineering, Product, Customer Success, and Forward Deployed Engineering to resolve complex issues and translate customer feedback into lasting improvements. WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR - AI-Native Leadership: You have managed and scaled Customer Support or Technical Support Engineering at a hyperscaling AI-native company, model lab, or AI infrastructure platform serving developers. - Proven Support Experience: 8+ years in technical support or support engineering, including 4+ years leading teams through significant growth. - Builder DNA: You don't just manage people and processes. You've personally built, implemented, or operated AI agents, automations, and technical systems that fundamentally improve how support works. - Developer-First Mindset: You understand APIs, SDKs, LLMs, inference infrastructure, latency, reliability, and the challenges developers face running AI applications in production. - Track Record of Scale: You've demonstrated the ability to support significant growth in customers, usage, or ticket volume without proportional increases in headcount. - Technical Fluency: You're comfortable working with Engineering, investigating complex technical issues, using APIs, and getting hands-on with Python, TypeScript, or similar tools. - Operational Rigor: You've owned support SLAs, incident management, escalations, and customer experience metrics in a high-growth environment, along with experience building global, 24/7 technical support coverage. - High Ownership: You move quickly, thrive in ambiguity, and measure success through customer outcomes and the leverage your organization creates. NICE TO HAVE - Experience at a leading LLM model lab, AI inference provider, or developer-first AI infrastructure company. - Experience building and maintaining production AI agents or agentic workflows for customer-facing operations. - Experience supporting high-volume API platforms with demanding enterprise reliability requirements. - Familiarity with AI-assisted development tools, agent frameworks, and modern support platforms. WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE In your first 30 days, you'll understand our customers, support operations, technical challenges, and existing AI-powered systems. You'll identify opportunities to improve support quality and scalability. In your first 60 days, you'll begin shipping meaningful improvements to our support systems, automation, and escalation workflows while establishing clear performance metrics. In your first 90 days, you'll have a clear operating model for scaling technical support, measurable improvements in efficiency and customer experience, and a roadmap for continuing to increase support capacity without proportional headcount growth. YOU'LL BE A GREAT FIT IF - You'd rather build a system that solves a thousand problems than hire a team to solve them one at a time. - You're a leader who still loves to build, debug, experiment, and ship. - You see AI agents as part of your team, not simply tools your team uses. - You understand the expectations of developers building mission-critical AI applications. - You believe exceptional customer support is measured by outcomes, not team size. If you don't think you meet all of the criteria but are still interested in the job, please apply. Nobody checks every box, and we're looking for someone who is excited to join the team.

Requirements

Must-haves

We're looking for a Director of Customer Support to build and scale the next generation of technical support at OpenRouter.
This is a builder role, not a pure support management role.
Build an AI-Native Support Organization: Own the strategy and execution for a support function designed around AI, automation, and technical excellence rather than traditional headcount growth.
Engineer for Scale: Build, orchestrate, and continuously improve AI agents, workflows, and internal tools that increase support capacity, quality, and efficiency.
Own the Developer Experience: Deliver exceptional technical support for developers, AI-native startups, and enterprise customers building production applications on OpenRouter.
Lead Technical Support Operations: Own support performance, incident response, escalations, global coverage, and enterprise SLAs across our customer base.
Drive Operational Excellence: Define and improve key metrics including response times, resolution times, customer satisfaction, automation effectiveness, and cost to serve.
Build a High-Leverage Team: Lead and develop a small, exceptional team of Support Engineers who are equally comfortable debugging technical problems and improving the systems that solve them.
Create Scalable Solutions: Turn recurring customer issues into better automation, self-service capabilities, documentation, and product improvements.
Partner Cross-Functionally: Work closely with Engineering, Product, Customer Success, and Forward Deployed Engineering to resolve complex issues and translate customer feedback into lasting improvements.
AI-Native Leadership: You have managed and scaled Customer Support or Technical Support Engineering at a hyperscaling AI-native company, model lab, or AI infrastructure platform serving developers.
Proven Support Experience: 8+ years in technical support or support engineering, including 4+ years leading teams through significant growth.
Builder DNA: You don't just manage people and processes. You've personally built, implemented, or operated AI agents, automations, and technical systems that fundamentally improve how support works.
Developer-First Mindset: You understand APIs, SDKs, LLMs, inference infrastructure, latency, reliability, and the challenges developers face running AI applications in production.
Track Record of Scale: You've demonstrated the ability to support significant growth in customers, usage, or ticket volume without proportional increases in headcount.
Technical Fluency: You're comfortable working with Engineering, investigating complex technical issues, using APIs, and getting hands-on with Python, TypeScript, or similar tools.
Operational Rigor: You've owned support SLAs, incident management, escalations, and customer experience metrics in a high-growth environment, along with experience building global, 24/7 technical support coverage.
High Ownership: You move quickly, thrive in ambiguity, and measure success through customer outcomes and the leverage your organization creates.
In your first 30 days, you'll understand our customers, support operations, technical challenges, and existing AI-powered systems. You'll identify opportunities to improve support quality and scalability.
In your first 60 days, you'll begin shipping meaningful improvements to our support systems, automation, and escalation workflows while establishing clear performance metrics.

Nice-to-haves

Experience at a leading LLM model lab, AI inference provider, or developer-first AI infrastructure company.
Experience building and maintaining production AI agents or agentic workflows for customer-facing operations.
Experience supporting high-volume API platforms with demanding enterprise reliability requirements.
Familiarity with AI-assisted development tools, agent frameworks, and modern support platforms.

Application prep

Use the role’s language and application details while tailoring your materials.

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