Director of Technical Support

Description

JOB DESCRIPTION

Job Title: Director of Technical Support

Reports to: CEO

Department: Service

Location: 808 Timberlake Road, Fairmont, MN 56031

Updated: July 2026

Position Summary: The Director of Technical Support provides strategic leadership for Kahler Automation's Service organization by overseeing the Phone Support and Field Service departments through their respective leaders. This role is responsible for driving operational excellence, customer satisfaction, and financial performance by developing service strategies, optimizing resources, establishing key performance indicators, and leading continuous improvement initiatives.

Working closely with departmental leaders, the Director of Technical Support provides coaching, removes operational barriers, and ensures teams are equipped to deliver exceptional technical support through phone, remote, and field service channels. The ideal candidate combines strong leadership skills with a solid understanding of industrial automation systems—including mechanical, electrical, controls, and computer-based technologies—to effectively guide technical teams, support complex customer situations, and contribute to the organization's long-term success.

 Exhibit and promote the following values:

• Curious Attitude: An employee who is curious is motivated to take time to question and explore new things to find answers that will ensure the best outcomes for the organization.
• Focus on Quality: An employee who values quality has integrity and produces results that meet high standards set by the organization
• Passion for Service: An employee who is service-oriented displays a positive behavior and responds to customers using good business practices to meet their needs and expectations
• Dedicated Spirit: A dedicated employee is one who takes ownership for their role and the whole organization to ensure that goals are achieved.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities: 

Leadership and Department Management

• Lead, coach, and develop the Phone Support Supervisor and Field Services Manager, holding both departments accountable for operational performance, customer service standards, employee development, and achievement of organizational goals.
• Develop and execute the long-term strategy for service operations, aligning departmental initiatives with company objectives, customer needs, and future business growth.
• Establish departmental objectives, priorities, and strategic initiatives that align with organizational goals.
• Promote collaboration between the Phone Support and Field Service departments to ensure seamless customer support.
• Direct departmental budgeting, resource planning, and expense management to ensure cost-effective operations.
• Develop onboarding, employee development, and succession plans to strengthen organizational capability. 
• Manage departmental performance through KPIs, customer satisfaction metrics, and operational reporting, using data-driven insights to lead continuous improvement initiatives that enhance efficiency, service quality, and response times.

Service Operations & Customer Experience

• Oversee multi-channel customer support operations, including inbound technical phone support, remote diagnostics, and field service operations, ensuring effective staffing, scheduling, workload balancing, customer responsiveness, and consistent execution of service processes and quality standards.
• Serve as the executive escalation point for complex customer issues while establishing effective escalation processes and ensuring collaboration between Support, Engineering, Sales, and Project Management teams.
• Build and maintain strong customer relationships by providing proactive leadership, overseeing service-related policies and processes, and partnering with Engineering, Sales, Production, and Project Management to deliver an exceptional customer experience throughout the customer lifecycle.
• Oversee service administration, including billing, warranty, repair authorization, product return processes, and related customer service policies.

Technical & Operational Excellence

• Serve as a technical leader by maintaining a strong working knowledge of Kahler’s automation, controls, electrical, networking, and software systems to effectively support technical operations and leadership decision-making.
• Champion the adoption of emerging technologies, including remote diagnostic tools, automation, and service management software to improve operationa