Principal, CX Standards & Operating Systems

Principal, CX Standards & Operating Systems Toast creates technology to help restaurants and local businesses succeed in a digital world, helping business owners operate, increase sales, engage customers, and keep employees happy. As the Principal, CX Standards & Operating Systems, you will play a critical role in helping customer-centric decision-making remain consistent, measurable, and scalable as Toast grows and customer insights become increasingly decentralized and AI-enabled. You will build the standards, operating mechanisms, and governance systems that help teams translate customer evidence into high-quality decisions and deliver a cohesive experience across products, segments, and geographies. In this role, you will establish practical frameworks that embed customer outcomes into planning, prioritization, and execution across Toast. You will work closely with leaders and cross-functional partners to define shared standards, operationalize customer-focused commitments, and create visibility into progress and outcomes. This is a high-impact, high-visibility role within the Customer Experience team. You will join a small team shaping how Toast understands, designs, and manages the customer experience at scale. A day in the life (Responsibilities) Build and maintain operating systems that enable consistent, measurable, and scalable customer-centric decision-making across Toast. Develop and evolve CX principles and decision-quality guardrails that help teams evaluate customer impact and make aligned tradeoffs. Establish standards for evaluating and applying customer evidence, including insights generated or synthesized using AI. Develop service policies and experience standards that promote consistency across customer touchpoints. Design and oversee customer immersion programs that bring employees and leaders closer to the lived experiences of Toast customers. Partner with business leaders to incorporate customer outcomes into OKR and goal-setting processes. Own the operating mechanisms for Customer Experience initiatives, including progress tracking, accountability, executive visibility, and the operationalization of customer-focused commitments. Partner across Product, Customer Success, Operations, and other functions to drive adoption of shared customer experience standards. Benchmark cross-industry best practices and emerging trends to continuously elevate Toast’s approach to customer-centric decision-making. Measure the adoption and effectiveness of CX standards and identify opportunities to improve consistency in customer outcomes across teams and customer segments. What you’ll need to thrive (Requirements) 8+ years of relevant experience in customer experience, customer strategy, operating-model design, business operations, management consulting, governance, or a related field. Demonstrated experience building scalable frameworks, standards, governance mechanisms, or operating systems within a complex organization. Strong understanding of customer experience principles and how customer insights inform business planning, prioritization, and execution. Experience influencing senior leaders and driving alignment across multiple functions without direct authority. Ability to translate broad customer and business objectives into clear, practical standards and operating mechanisms. Strong analytical judgment, including the ability to assess the quality of evidence, identify patterns, and establish meaningful measures of success. Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to make complex concepts clear and actionable for different audiences. Strong program leadership and organizational skills, with a track record of driving cross-functional work from definition through adoption. Comfort operating in a dynamic, fast-paced environment where structures and processes are continuing to evolve. An entrepreneurial mindset and a passion for building systems that help organizations consistently make better decisions for customers. AI at Toast At Toast, one of our company values is that we’re hungry to build and learn. We believe learning new AI tools empowers us to build for our customers faster, more independently, and with higher quality. We provide these tools across all disciplines, from Engineering and Product to Sales and Support, and are inspired by how our Toasters are already driving real value with them. The people who thrive here are those who embrace changes that let us build more for our customers; it’s a core part of our culture. Our Total Rewards Philosophy We strive to provide competitive compensation and benefits programs that help to attract, retain, and motivate the best and brightest people in our industry. Our total rewards package goes beyond great earnings potential and provides the means to a healthy lifestyle with the flexibility to meet Toasters’ changing needs. Learn more about our benefits at https://careers.toasttab.com/toast-benefits. The base salary range for this role is listed below. The starting salary will be determined based on skills, experience, and geographic location. In addition to base salary, our total rewards components include cash compensation (overtime, bonus/commissions if eligible), equity, and benefits. You can learn more about how we align pay with local labor markets in our Geographic Pay Zone Philosophy. Pay Range $143,000—$229,000 USD The base salary range for this role is listed below. The starting salary will be determined based on skills, experience, and geographic location. In addition to base salary, our total rewards components include cash compensation (overtime, bonus/commissions if eligible), equity, and benefits. You can learn more about how we align pay with local labor markets in our Geographic Pay Zone Philosophy. Pay Range $125,000—$200,000 USD The base salary range for this role is listed below. The starting salary will be determined based on skills, experience, and geographic location. In addition to base salary, our total rewards components include cash compensation (overtime, bonus/commissions if eligible), equity, and benefits. You can learn more about how we align pay with local labor markets in our Geographic Pay Zone Philosophy. Pay Range $112,000—$179,000 USD How Toast Uses AI in its Hiring Process Throughout the hiring process, our goal is to get to know you. We use AI tools to support our recruiters and interviewers with tasks like note-taking, summarization, and documentation of interviews to ensure they can be fully focused on your conversation. All hiring decisions are made by people. To learn more: https://careers.toasttab.com/ai-in-hiring Our Approach to Hybrid Working We embrace a hybrid work model that fosters in-person collaboration while valuing individual needs. Our goal is to build a strong culture of connection as we work together to empower the hospitality community, regardless of location. Please visit the Locations page on our career site to learn more about our in-office expectations by region: https://careers.toasttab.com/locations-toast Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion is Baked into our Recipe for Success At Toast, our employees are our secret ingredient—when they thrive, we thrive. The restaurant industry is one of the most diverse, and we embrace that diversity with authenticity, inclusivity, respect, and humility. By embedding these principles into our culture and design, we create equitable opportunities for all and raise the bar in delivering exceptional experiences. We Thrive Together We embrace a hybrid work model that fosters in-person collaboration while valuing individual needs. Our goal is to build a strong culture of connection as we work together to empower the restaurant community. To learn more about how we work globally and regionally, check out: https://careers.toasttab.com/locations-toast. Apply today! Toast is committed to creating an accessible and inclusive hiring process. As part of this commitment, we strive to provide reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities to enable them to access the hiring process. If you need an accommodation to access the job application or interview process, please contact candidateaccommodations@toasttab.com. ------ For roles in the United States, it is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.