Free template for SaaS hiring teams
Customer Success Manager Job Description Template
A free template you can copy, paste, and edit in a few minutes. I wrote it around how Customer Success teams work today: segments, renewals, and expansion.
By Hakan Ozturk · Updated November 2, 2026
The template
Customer Success Manager [Company Name] | [Location, or Remote] | Full-time About [Company Name] [Company Name] is a [one-sentence description of what your product does and who it serves]. We work with [type of customers, e.g. mid-market SaaS teams, e-commerce brands, fintech startups], and we are growing the Customer Success team to keep up with demand. The role We are hiring a Customer Success Manager to own a portfolio of [SMB / mid-market / enterprise] customers from onboarding through renewal. You will be the primary point of contact for [number] accounts, accountable for adoption, retention, and expansion within your book. What you will do - Own a portfolio of [number] customers worth approximately [$X ARR] in total contract value. - Run kickoff and onboarding sessions, partnering with Implementation to get customers to first value within [target timeline, e.g. 30 days]. - Drive product adoption through structured business reviews, in-app guidance, and proactive outreach. - Identify expansion opportunities and partner with Sales or own the upsell motion directly, depending on segment. - Manage the renewal cycle, including risk identification, executive sponsorship, and commercial negotiation. - Be the customer voice internally. Surface product feedback, escalate blockers, and influence the roadmap. What we are looking for - 2 to 4 years in Customer Success, account management, or a customer-facing role at a SaaS company. - Comfort owning retention numbers. You should be able to discuss your previous gross retention and net retention figures. - Strong written and verbal communication, including with senior stakeholders at customer accounts. - Experience with a modern CS tooling stack (Gainsight, Catalyst, Vitally, Planhat, or similar) is a plus, not a requirement. - A bias toward action. The strongest CSMs do not wait for a process to exist before solving a customer problem. Compensation and benefits - Base salary: $[X] to $[Y] depending on experience. - On-target earnings: $[X] (including renewal and expansion incentives). - Equity: [yes / no, range if yes]. - Health, dental, vision, [other relevant benefits]. - [Remote stipend, learning budget, parental leave, etc.] How to apply [Apply link or email] We respond to every application within [timeline].
Replace bracketed placeholders with your own copy. Check current CSM pay before setting the compensation range.
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Post a JobWhat should a Customer Success Manager job description include?
I have read a lot of CSM job descriptions that go live and never attract the right people. The good ones answer the questions an experienced CSM asks before applying. The template above covers each of these:
- Which customers: SMB, mid-market, or enterprise, and roughly how many accounts.
- What the CSM owns: onboarding, adoption, renewals, expansion, or a mix.
- Whether there is a renewal or expansion target, and how variable pay works.
- The experience you need, written as a range.
- The salary range, on-target earnings, and benefits.
- Where the role sits: remote, hybrid, or office, and which time zones.
How do you write a CSM job description that attracts the right people?
Run these four checks before you publish.
Name the customer segment
SMB Customer Success is high volume and automation heavy. Mid-market is the classic relationship and renewal role. Enterprise is executive sponsorship and long cycles. CSMs choose roles by segment, so a description that skips it attracts everyone and converts few.
Say who owns the renewal
Does the CSM own renewals, or does an account manager? Is there an expansion target? Candidates who have carried a number read for these signals first. Vague wording like "partner with the team on growth" reads as a hidden quota.
Publish the salary range
Many candidates skip postings with no range, and several US states and cities now require one. If your range sits below the market for the segment, fix the range before you post.
Cut the tool list
A list of eight required platforms tells candidates you are unsure what the role needs. Name the CRM and CS platform you use, and mark them as a plus. A good CSM learns a new tool quickly.
What salary should you put in a CSM job description?
Public salary data from Glassdoor, Levels.fyi, and Payscale puts US Customer Success Manager base pay at roughly $70k to $120k, with total compensation of about $80k to $140k. Public salary data from Glassdoor and Levels.fyi puts US senior CSM base pay at roughly $95k to $150k. In the UK, public salary data from Glassdoor and Reed.co.uk puts CSM base pay at roughly £35k to £60k.
Benchmark data as of April 2026.
I also track what other employers advertise. These figures come from US Customer Success roles live on TopCSJobs that state a base salary, each based on at least five postings:
- Mid-level CSM: median advertised base of $122k, typical band $98k to $154k (n=42 postings)
- Senior CSM: median advertised base of $144k, typical band $108k to $170k (n=15 postings)
See the Customer Success Manager salary guide for the breakdown by company size. To sanity-check a specific number, run it through the Am I Underpaid salary check. The guide to what a CSM costs covers the budget beyond salary.
How do you adapt the template for other Customer Success roles?
The structure carries over. The scope and pay change with the level:
- Customer Success Associate: weight onboarding execution, high-volume SMB accounts, and learning the playbook.
- Senior or Strategic CSM: fewer, larger accounts, executive relationships, and a bigger renewal number. See 120+ live senior CS roles for how other companies word it.
- Director or Head of Customer Success: people management, segment strategy, forecasting, and hiring. The Director of Customer Success guide covers the scope, and 40+ live director-level roles show how it is posted.
For more CSM examples, browse 450+ live Customer Success Manager jobs. If your team uses the Client Success title, read my comparison of Client Success vs Customer Success roles before you pick it.
What should you do after you post the role?
Reply fast. Good CSM candidates are often talking to more than one company, so set up an automatic acknowledgement and get a person to reply within a few days. Then track which sources produce hires, not just applications. Prepare your interview loop with the most common Customer Success interview questions.
Frequently asked questions
What should a Customer Success Manager job description include?+
A short company intro, the customer segment and size of the book, what the CSM owns (onboarding, adoption, renewals, expansion), the experience you need, the salary range and variable pay, benefits, and how to apply. Say clearly whether the role owns renewals and carries an expansion target, because experienced CSMs look for that first.
What salary range should I put in a CSM job description?+
Use your own band, checked against the market. Public salary data from Glassdoor, Levels.fyi, and Payscale puts US Customer Success Manager base pay at roughly $70k to $120k. Public salary data from Glassdoor and Levels.fyi puts US senior CSM base pay at roughly $95k to $150k. Benchmark data as of April 2026. If the role carries a renewal or expansion target, publish the on-target earnings as well as the base.
Should a CSM job description require a minimum number of years of experience?+
Use a range instead of a hard minimum, such as "2 to 4 years in Customer Success, account management, or another customer-facing role". A hard floor screens out strong people moving in from support, sales, or implementation.
Is this Customer Success job description template free to use?+
Yes. Copy it, edit it for your company, and post it anywhere. No attribution needed.
Where should I post a Customer Success Manager job?+
Post it where CS people look for work. TopCSJobs lists Customer Success roles only and reaches 1,700+ active candidates. A single listing is $149, with packs of three for $399 and ten for $899. Listings also appear in Google for Jobs.