Senior Customer Relations Supervisor
About the job
- A minimum of 4 years of customer service experience, including 1–2 years of proven supervisory or team leadership experience.
- Demonstrated experience in coaching, performance management, and team development.
- Strong experience working with performance metrics, reporting, and continuous improvement initiatives.
- Strong leadership and team supervision skills.
- Effective performance management and coaching ability.
- Advanced conflict resolution and escalation handling skills.
- Excellent written and verbal communication.
- Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
- Proficiency with computer systems, including Mac, PC, and/or Linux.
- Working knowledge of Microsoft Office or Google Workspace.
- Ability to sit or stand for extended periods, with occasional walking, reaching, bending, or lifting as required for filing or handling materials.
- Directly supervise and support the daily activities of Customer Relations Associates, including workflow coordination, task prioritization, and real-time guidance.
- Foster a high-performance, accountable team environment focused on service quality and efficiency.
- Lead team huddles, communications, and training to align with departmental goals and expectations.
- Assist with onboarding and training new team members.
- Monitor and analyze individual and team performance metrics, including productivity, quality, and customer satisfaction.
- Provide coaching, feedback, and development support to reinforce expectations and improve performance.
- Execute performance management processes, including documentation, corrective actions, and follow-up.
- Identify performance gaps and partner with leadership to implement improvement plans.
- Prepare and maintain reports on team performance and operational metrics.
- Serve as the primary point of contact for escalated customer interactions, including complex, sensitive, or high-impact issues.
- Resolve escalated customer issues.
- Provide real-time support and guidance to team members handling challenging customer situations.
- Identify root causes of escalations and recommend process or training improvements to reduce recurrence.
- Support implementation of process improvements and workflow efficiencies aligned with departmental goals.
- Ensure adherence to Standard Operating Procedures and provide input for updates based on operational insights.
- Assist with staffing coordination and labor allocation to meet service levels and business demands.
- Collaborate cross-functionally to support order completion and resolve customer issues.
- Conduct research related to customer orders, media inquiries, or service issues as needed.
- Provide technical support for iMemories applications to customers and internal teams.
- An Associate’s or Bachelor’s degree.
- Media handling or identification experience with videotape, film reels, audio, or images.
About the company
Ancestry provides a genealogy platform with tools to build family trees, access historical records, view photos, and analyze DNA to learn about ancestry. Users subscribe for access to records and tree-building features, while DNA kits are purchased separately and analyzed to show ethnic backgrounds and relative connections. The platform combines the world’s largest online collection of family history records with integrated DNA testing in one place to help users connect with living relatives and uncover documents. The goal is to help people understand their roots and trace their lineage using data-backed genealogical tools and DNA insights.
Company Size
1,001-5,000
Company Stage
Acquired
Total Funding
$132.9M
Headquarters
Lehi, Utah
Founded
1983
Get referred to Ancestry
See people who can refer or advise you
Simplify's Take
What believers are saying
- Howard Hochhauser became CEO in February 2025, keeping product and data investment aggressive.
- The Philadelphia digitization partnership adds nearly 20 million vital records from late-1600s onward.
- The 2025 British colonies slavery registers opened nearly four million searchable records for free.
What critics are saying
- Illinois BIPA and Nevada publicity cases reopened in 2026 threaten damages and discovery costs.
- FamilySearch and MyHeritage undercut Ancestry with free trees and stronger international pricing.
- A major genetic-privacy injunction freezes AncestryDNA, breaking the subscription flywheel.
What makes Ancestry unique
- Ancestry still owns the largest U.S. record graph, plus 40 billion records.
- AI Stories and AI Assistant turn raw archives into consumable narratives faster.
- The iMemories acquisition expands family preservation beyond records into photos and videos.
Help us improve and share your feedback! Did you find this helpful?
Benefits
Health Insurance
Dental Insurance
Vision Insurance
401(k) Company Match
Paid Vacation
Phone/Internet Stipend
Professional Development Budget
Stock Options
Flexible Work Hours
Remote Work Options
Growth & Insights and Company News
6 month growth
2%1 year growth
2%2 year growth
2%Ancestry chief executive officer Howard Hochhauser eats lunch in the office eating area with staff, a habit he picked up from Ace Greenberg, the long-time CEO of Bear Stearns, where Hochhauser worked in the late 1990s. He says it gives him "unfiltered information" that executives often miss. Before announcing in-person work expectations, he ran the idea past staffers over lunch. They raised concerns about caregiving, and he took their feedback into account. Other leaders do the same. ABN Amro's Marguerite Bérard lunches weekly with eight to 10 colleagues, and Duolingo's executives eat together in a public commissary. First Watch's Chris Tomasso eats in the break room with everybody.
Nearly 4 million slavery records now searchable online. Nearly 4 million records documenting enslaved people across 20 former British colonies are now searchable online, opening a potentially powerful new door for descendants across the Caribbean and African diaspora trying to trace family histories disrupted by slavery. The Former British Colonies Enslavement Registers span 1813 to 1840 and include nearly 300,000 digitized pages from places including Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Trinidad, Mauritius and the Cape of Good Hope in present-day South Africa. Unlike many slavery-era documents that primarily identify enslavers, these records can contain the names, ages, family relationships, physical descriptions and places of origin of enslaved people, along with births, deaths, sales, escapes and manumissions. Some records could allow descendants to connect relatives across multiple generations. The registers were originally created by the British government after the 1807 abolition of the transatlantic slave trade to track enslaved populations and combat illegal trafficking. More than 200 years later, documents once used to administer slavery are being repurposed to help restore identities and family connections. The collection was digitized by Ancestry in partnership with University College London's Centre for the Study of the Legacies of British Slavery, using original manuscripts held by the U.K. National Archives. The collection is available to search at no cost with a free Ancestry account. WHY IT MATTERS: For descendants whose family trees often hit a wall during slavery, a name, a mother, a child, an age or a birthplace recorded two centuries ago could provide the missing link between generations.
Fairmount Technologies welcomes James Taylor as CEO and COO. Fairmount Technologies is pleased to announce that James Taylor, Ph.D., will join the company as Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer, effective July 20, 2026. Jim brings more than 30 years of experience leading advanced manufacturing, engineering, product development, global supply chain, and operational improvement initiatives. Throughout his career, he has helped organizations scale complex operations, improve financial performance, launch new technologies, and build high-performing technical teams. Most recently, Jim served as Vice President of DNA at Ancestry, where he was responsible for DNA science, engineering, research and development, supply chain, and operations. In that role, he oversaw a global supply chain supporting millions of DNA tests annually and managed their global distribution and reverse logistics networks. His work at Ancestry included expanding international operations, improving product design and process performance, negotiating major supply and service agreements, developing new sample collection technologies, and maintaining continuity across a complex global network servicing sales in more than 130 countries. He also led initiatives involving artificial intelligence, laboratory processing, automation, regulatory compliance, and operational performance management. Before joining Ancestry, Jim held senior leadership positions at several well-known manufacturing and technology companies. As Vice President of Worldwide Operations at the L.S. Starrett Company, he managed manufacturing operations across North America, China, Brazil, and the United Kingdom. He also held direct profit-and-loss responsibility and led efforts involving enterprise systems, supply chain development, new product introduction, safety, and continuous improvement. At Zygo Corporation, Jim served as Division Vice President of Operations and previously as Director of Optical Components Manufacturing. His responsibilities included overseeing multiple manufacturing sites, leading post-acquisition integration activities, improving production performance, and supporting the development of advanced optical manufacturing technologies for commercial, aerospace, defense, and scientific applications. Jim's experience combines executive leadership with a deep technical foundation. He holds bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in Industrial Engineering from Purdue University and is a Certified Supply Chain Professional. He has also served on the faculty of Rochester Institute of Technology and North Carolina State University, teaching courses in manufacturing systems, precision metrology, CAD/CAM, Lean, Six Sigma, and advanced production technologies. In addition to his leadership and academic experience, Jim is an accomplished inventor and technical contributor. His work includes eight U.S. and international patent filings, 18 refereed journal articles, more than 50 conference presentations and invited lectures, and over 25 technical reports. Jim describes his leadership style as hands-on, technically rigorous, collaborative, and focused on recognizing the contributions of employees at every level. His approach aligns closely with Fairmount Technologies' commitment to innovation, operational excellence, and the advancement of next-generation manufacturing capabilities. As part of this leadership transition, Fairmount Technologies founder Vis Madhavan, Ph.D., will remain actively involved with the company as Chief Technical Officer. Vis founded FT in 2008 and has served as its CEO since that time, leading the development of the company's core manufacturing processes and machine technologies. Going forward, he will focus more directly on advancing the technology behind Fairmount's processes, implementing those capabilities in the machines currently in production, and supporting the development of new machines and manufacturing solutions. As CEO and COO, Jim will lead Fairmount Technologies' strategic direction and day-to-day operations as the company enters its next phase of growth. His priorities will include scaling the organization, strengthening operational systems, developing and advancing machine production and manufacturing technologies, and supporting the continued commercialization of Fairmount's capabilities. "We are excited to welcome Jim to Fairmount Technologies," said Vis Madhavan, CTO. "His combination of technical expertise, operational leadership, and experience growing complex organizations makes him exceptionally well suited to lead FT forward." Jim added, "I am incredibly excited to join Fairmount Technologies at such a pivotal time in the company's journey. Fairmount Technologies LLC is on a remarkable growth trajectory that will make the next several years both challenging and immensely rewarding. The team is among the most talented and dedicated groups of professionals I have ever had the privilege to work with, and I am confident that together Fairmount Technologies LLC will bring transformative enabling technologies to market that provide critical capabilities for the defense and aerospace industries. The foundation established through more than two decades of research and development has positioned Fairmount Technologies for this exciting next phase. Fairmount Technologies LLC now have the opportunity to build on that innovation by commercializing these breakthrough technologies, scaling its manufacturing capabilities, and deploying these advanced manufacturing platforms throughout the defense and aerospace infrastructure. I look forward to working alongside this exceptional team as Fairmount Technologies LLC help shape the future of advanced manufacturing and deliver meaningful impact to its customers and the industries Fairmount Technologies LLC serve." Please join Fairmount Technologies LLC in welcoming Jim to the Fairmount Technologies team.
Ancestry has used AI to dramatically accelerate the digitisation of historical family records, with over 50% of records now generated using AI technology. The genealogy company has amassed 71 billion documents from 88 countries over 42 years. Chief technology officer Sriram Thiagarajan said AI has transformed what was previously a months-long manual process. Early machine learning efforts began in 2014, with the company developing proprietary models for reading paper documents. The launch of ChatGPT in 2022 marked another turning point, enabling faster processing of unstructured data. AI advancements helped Ancestry add 5.2 billion new records in 2022 and 18.6 billion in 2023, compared to 800 million in 2021. The technology now powers customer-facing features including facial recognition, handwriting transcription and AI-narrated family stories.
Testing Ancestry's new AI "Fill in Timeline Gaps" Feature: my first impressions. Artificial intelligence continues making its way into genealogy, and Ancestry has quietly introduced another AI-powered feature that caught me completely by surprise. About a week and a half ago, while I was in the middle of researching one of my ancestors, I noticed something new. As I worked through an ancestor's profile in the Facts view, I saw small "Description" buttons appearing next to some - but not all - of the timeline facts. Curious, I clicked one to see what it was. That led me to Ancestry's new BETA "Fill in Timeline Gaps" feature. Of course, I had to stop what I was doing and put it through a few tests. What is the "Fill in Timeline Gaps" Feature? When you click one of the new Description buttons, a side panel opens displaying Ancestry's BETA Fill in Timeline Gaps tool. Ancestry AI Fill in Timeline Gaps Feature- Example The feature uses AI to generate a description for a specific timeline fact. Before generating the text, you're given three options for how detailed you'd like it to be: * Just the basics * More detail * In-depth The generated description can then be added directly to that individual fact. It's a pretty simple concept, but one that has the potential to make ancestor profiles much more informative - especially for users who don't normally add descriptions to their timeline facts. Ancestry AI Fill in Timeline Gaps Feature- Detail Choices Example Why fact descriptions matter. Many Ancestry users simply enter a date and place for events like births, residences, marriages, or deaths and move on. While that's perfectly acceptable, the Description field provides an opportunity to add context that helps tell the story behind each event. For example, instead of simply recording a residence, you might note that the family was living with relatives, renting a farm, or appearing in a particular census enumeration district. A birth description might include details taken directly from a birth record, while a military fact might summarize information found in a pension file. Adding these details can make an ancestor's timeline much richer and easier to understand without having to open every attached source. That's exactly why I was interested to see how well Ancestry's new AI handled this task. My first test. The first person I tested was my fourth great-grandfather, Nehemiah Hulet, simply because I happened to be working on his profile when I discovered the feature. I selected the Birth fact and generated all three description options. This test actually impressed me. The AI stayed focused on the birth event itself. * Just the basics provided a short, straightforward description. * More detail expanded on the information while remaining focused on the birth. * In-depth added additional context without wandering into unrelated parts of his life. Each level simply built upon the previous one, exactly as I expected. So far, so good. Ancestry AI Fill in Timeline Gaps Feature- Example 1 | Ancestry AI Fill in Timeline Gaps Feature- Example 1-2 | Ancestry AI Fill in Timeline Gaps Feature- Example 1-3 | My second test produced very different results. Next, I switched to my "official tester ancestor," my second great-grandfather, Samuel Steinman, whose tree I've often used to evaluate new genealogy features. Once again, I selected the Birth fact and generated all three levels. This time, however, the results were completely different. Instead of describing Samuel's birth, the AI began summarizing his life. * Just the basics produced two sentences that briefly summarized his life. * More detail expanded those summaries into two longer sentences. * In-depth generated a four-sentence mini biography. The information wasn't necessarily incorrect, but it didn't belong in the description field for a single birth event. Rather than expanding upon the birth fact itself, the AI had shifted into writing a short life summary. That wasn't what I expected the feature to do. Ancestry AI Fill in Timeline Gaps Feature- Example 2 | Ancestry AI Fill in Timeline Gaps Feature- Example 2-2 | Ancestry AI Fill in Timeline Gaps Feature- Example 2-3 | Testing a residence fact. I decided to keep experimenting. I selected one of Samuel's Residence facts - one of only a couple that displayed the new Description button. This time, the results were much closer to what I had hoped for. The AI focused on the specific residence and even incorporated information from one of the three sources attached to that event. Seeing the AI reference a supporting source was encouraging because I think that's where this feature has tremendous potential. Ancestry AI Fill in Timeline Gaps Feature- Example 3 A bit hit-or-miss (for now). After trying the feature on several facts, my overall impression is that the results are currently somewhat inconsistent. Sometimes the AI stays focused exactly where it should - on the individual timeline fact. Other times it drifts into summarizing the ancestor's life rather than describing the specific event. Fortunately, this isn't particularly surprising. The feature is clearly labeled BETA, and beta features exist so developers can identify issues, improve consistency, and refine the user experience before wider release. Where I think this feature could really shine. As someone who researches professionally, I can currently write these descriptions myself much faster and with greater precision. For me, it's still quicker to manually add information to a fact description than to generate AI text and then edit it. However, experienced genealogists are not necessarily the primary audience for this feature. The majority of Ancestry users are family historians who may not realize they can - or should - add descriptions to timeline facts in the first place. For those users, this tool could become incredibly helpful. If future versions consistently: * stay focused on the individual timeline fact, * summarize only the evidence related to that event, * incorporate all of the sources attached to that fact, and * generate accurate, well-written descriptions, then I think this could become one of Ancestry's more useful AI additions. My overall thoughts. I always enjoy seeing genealogy companies explore new ways to use artificial intelligence, and I appreciate that Ancestry continues experimenting with features that help users better understand and present their family history. Like many beta features, Fill in Timeline Gaps shows promise but still has a few rough edges. At the moment, I'd describe it as somewhat hit-or-miss, depending on the ancestor and timeline fact you're working with. When it stays focused on the specific event, it does a nice job of expanding the information. When it drifts into writing a mini biography for a single fact, however, it becomes much less useful. I'm optimistic that Ancestry will continue refining the feature as more people test it and provide feedback. As with any AI-generated content, remember that it should always be reviewed before accepting it. AI can be an excellent assistant, but it shouldn't replace your own analysis or careful evaluation of the records and sources supporting your research. For now, I'll continue experimenting with Fill in Timeline Gaps, and I'm interested to see how it evolves over the coming months. Have you noticed Ancestry's new AI "Fill in Timeline Gaps" feature yet? If you've tried it, I'd love to hear what you think. Did it stay focused on the individual facts, or did it wander into life summaries like some of my tests? Let me know in the comments! More Ancestry and Genealogy Resources. Learn about more Ancestry updates, tips, tools, and features and other family history and genealogy resources under the Ancestry.com and the Genealogy Resources categories of my blog and on my dedicated Genealogy Resources page. More AI tips, tools, and features. Learn about more AI in Genealogy tips, tools, features, and resources under the AI in Genealogy category.