
Customer Success Manager - Government
- Hybrid
- Alexandria, Virginia, United States
- Customer Success
About Datenna
Datenna is a fast-growing tech scale-up combining cutting-edge open-source intelligence (OSINT) and AI technologies to provide governments worldwide with critical insights into China's techno-economic landscape. Our platform transforms OSINT into actionable insights on China's Defense Industrial Base and broader technological ecosystem through advanced data processing and analysis.
The Role: As a Customer Success Manager, you'll lead delivery and strategy for government defense, intelligence, and policy clients. You're the quarterback who ensures clients extract maximum value from Datenna's platform and services—translating their mission challenges into research priorities, coordinating our analyst team to deliver intelligence that drives decisions, and building trusted relationships that expand our partnership over time.
You're outcome-focused and client-obsessed. You understand the "so what"—what senior decision-makers need to know, what program managers are trying to accomplish, and how analysts work day-to-day. You combine deep knowledge of China’s technology landscape and national security implications with the ability to understand client problems and architect solutions that leverage platform capabilities and expert analysis.
This role balances strategic relationship management (40%), project leadership and delivery (40%), and account growth (20%). You'll own a portfolio of high-value government accounts, leading project teams to deliver research, driving platform adoption, and identifying expansion opportunities. You roll up your sleeves to ensure excellence in execution while maintaining the big-picture view needed to be a trusted advisor.
This role may require up to 30% travel to client sites.
Your mission at Datenna:
Client Relationship & Strategy
Own strategic relationships with senior stakeholders across core set of government customers
Serve as trusted advisor who understands client missions, workflows, and decision-making processes
Conduct regular business reviews that demonstrate impact and align platform capabilities with evolving needs
Translate client challenges into actionable intelligence requirements and platform use cases
Maintain continuous touch with clients to surface problems early and identify opportunities to expand support
Project Leadership & Delivery
Lead complex analytical projects from scoping through delivery, ensuring outputs exceed client expectations
Own research outcomes by directing team efforts and performing analysis directly switching fluidly between manager and contributor roles
Develop engagement work plans that efficiently deploy team capabilities against client priorities
Ensure research deliverables are rigorous, relevant, and presented in formats that resonate with national security audiences
Provide quality assurance and mentorship to researchers supporting your accounts
Collaborate with product team to configure platform features for specific client workflows
Account Growth & Business Development
Support sales team in scoping new work, developing statements of work, and understanding client requirements
Identify and surface expansion opportunities within existing accounts to sales team based on demonstrated value and client needs
Drive persistent platform adoption through training, ongoing engagement, and demonstrating ROI
Contribute to account strategy that positions Datenna for long-term partnership and growth
Cross-Functional Collaboration
Partner with our China research team to translate their expertise into client-ready intelligence
Work with product team to surface client feedback that informs platform development priorities
Coordinate across delivery, product, and sales teams to ensure seamless client experience
Share client insights that help the company understand evolving market needs
What Makes You a Great Candidate
Required
5+ years of client-facing experience in consulting, advisory services, SaaS delivery, or government client support
Strong understanding of China's role in national security considerations—whether through prior work on China issues, regional expertise, or demonstrated intellectual engagement with the topic
Deep knowledge of defense, intelligence, or national security policy communities and how they operate
Proven track record managing senior-level client relationships and delivering complex projects
Exceptional ability to visualize and present complex information to decision-makers, with understanding of how government clients prefer to receive intelligence
Strong business acumen with ability to see both the strategic picture and tactical execution details
Outstanding communication skills—you can explain technical concepts clearly and translate client needs into researcher directives
Self-starter who can manage multiple workstreams independently while coordinating team resources
Strongly Preferred
Mandarin Chinese language skills (reading proficiency particularly valuable)
Experience working with large datasets to analyze corporate networks, technology ecosystems, or supply chains
Familiarity with China's defense industrial base, dual-use technologies, or techno-economic policies
MBA or advanced degree in relevant field (international relations, China studies, national security, business)
Experience managing research teams or mentoring junior researchers
Nice to Have
Familiarity with APIs, databases, and data platform architecture sufficient to engage credibly with technical stakeholders
Applicants may be subject to a screening process.
Why Datenna?
Work on globally impactful projects in geopolitical intelligence
Lead innovation in OSINT and AI technologies
Competitive compensation and benefits
Dynamic, international team environment
Significant growth opportunities in a scale-up
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Thank you for applying!
We have received your application and will be in touch shortly. This is the process we follow: 1. Screening Call with a Recruiter Our journey together starts with a brief call. We’ll discuss your experience, career goals, and provide an overview of the role. It’s an opportunity for us to get to know each other better. 2. Behavioral Interview Next, you’ll have a behavioral interview where we’ll explore your past experiences, problem-solving abilities, and how you handle various situations. This helps us understand how you align with our values and work culture. 3. System Design Interview (for Tech Roles) For technical roles, you’ll participate in a system design interview. We’ll dive into your ability to architect scalable and efficient systems, assessing your design thinking and technical expertise. 4. Skill Assessment In the final stage, you’ll undergo a skill assessment tailored to your role. For technical positions, this will be a technical interview focused on your specific expertise. For other roles, you’ll take part in a case interview that evaluates your problem-solving and analytical skills.





