Chief Technology Officer

Our client is an early-stage, venture-backed B2B SaaS company building a data-intensive, AI-enabled technology platform serving the manufacturing ecosystem. The company is entering its next phase of growth and is seeking a hands-on Chief Technology Officer to lead its technology strategy, architecture, and engineering organization.This is an opportunity for a strong VP of Engineering, VP of Technology, Head of Engineering, or current CTO who has helped scale an early-stage SaaS organization and is ready to take broad ownership of the technology function.The CTO will partner closely with the CEO and executive leadership team to establish the technical vision and roadmap while remaining actively involved in architecture, engineering decisions, product development, and technical problem-solving. This is not a purely strategic executive role; the successful candidate will be a builder and player-coach who is comfortable moving between executive-level strategy and hands-on technical leadership.Key ResponsibilitiesTechnology Strategy & ArchitectureDefine and execute the company's overall technology vision, strategy, and roadmap in alignment with business and product priorities.Own the architecture and continued evolution of a data-intensive SaaS platform, ensuring scalability, reliability, security, and performance as the business grows.Make critical architectural and technology decisions while balancing speed, scalability, technical debt, and long-term sustainability.Guide the continued development and integration of AI, machine learning, analytics, and data-driven capabilities across the platform.Remain close to the technology through architecture reviews, technical problem-solving, engineering discussions, and key development decisions.Engineering Leadership & Team DevelopmentLead, build, and mentor a high-performing engineering organization across distributed and offshore teams.Assess the current engineering organization and establish the structure, processes, talent, and capabilities needed to support continued growth.Recruit and develop technical talent while creating a culture of accountability, innovation, collaboration, and execution.Establish scalable engineering processes and operating rhythms across development, QA, DevOps, infrastructure, security, and release management.Effectively lead technical teams across multiple locations and time zones.Product & Business PartnershipPartner closely with the CEO, product leadership, and other functional leaders to translate business priorities and customer needs into technology and product execution.Balance near-term product delivery with longer-term platform and architectural needs.Work closely with enterprise customers and partners on technical requirements, integrations, implementation considerations, and strategic initiatives.Support integrations with complex enterprise systems and data environments, including ERP and PLM platforms.Serve as a technical thought partner to executive leadership as the company evaluates new products, capabilities, markets, and growth opportunities.AI, Data & Platform ScalabilityDrive the technical strategy around AI-enabled and data-driven product capabilities.Guide the development of scalable data architecture, analytics, and AI/ML infrastructure.Ensure the platform can effectively ingest, process, analyze, and utilize complex enterprise and manufacturing data.Evaluate emerging technologies and determine where they can meaningfully enhance the company's product or engineering capabilities.Security, Infrastructure & Operational ExcellenceOwn technology infrastructure, cloud architecture, cybersecurity, data governance, reliability, and scalability.Continue strengthening development, DevOps, CI/CD, QA, monitoring, and release practices.Establish appropriate security and compliance practices as the company expands its enterprise customer base, including familiarity with SOC 2 and related requirements.Ensure technology systems and processes can scale alongside customer, product, and organizational growth.Executive & Strategic LeadershipServe as a key member of the executive leadership team and a trusted technology advisor to the CEO.Communicate technology strategy, priorities, risks, investments, and progress to executive leadership and other key stakeholders.Participate in strategic planning, budgeting, organizational design, and company-wide decision-making.Support investor conversations, fundraising activities, and technical due diligence as needed.Qualifications10+ years of progressive software development and technology experience, including 5+ years in senior engineering or technology leadership.Experience as a VP of Engineering, VP of Software Engineering, VP of Technology, Head of Engineering, CTO, or comparable technology leader within a high-growth organization.Demonstrated experience building and scaling engineering teams and technology platforms within a startup or growth-stage SaaS environment.Strong technical foundation with the ability to remain hands-on and credible with engineering teams while operating effectively at the executive level.Experience architecting and scaling complex, data-intensive SaaS platforms.Strong understanding of modern cloud architecture and infrastructure, ideally within Azure, AWS, or GCP environments.Experience with AI/ML, analytics, data platforms, or AI-enabled product development.Experience managing distributed and/or offshore engineering organizations.Strong understanding of Agile development, DevOps, CI/CD, security, and modern software engineering practices.Experience supporting enterprise customers and complex system integrations.Strong business acumen with the ability to connect technology decisions to product, customer, and commercial priorities.Excellent communication skills with the ability to work effectively with engineers, executives, customers, investors, and other stakeholders.Entrepreneurial mindset with the ability to operate strategically while remaining highly tactical when needed.Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related technical discipline.Preferred ExperienceExperience scaling a venture-backed company through Series A, Series B, or a comparable growth stage.Background within manufacturing technology, supply chain technology, procurement technology, industrial SaaS, or another complex B2B software environment.Experience with enterprise ERP and/or PLM integrations.Experience building or commercializing generative AI, agentic AI, machine learning, or other AI-driven product capabilities.Experience with large-scale data platforms and complex data environments.Familiarity with SOC 2 and enterprise security requirements.Experience supporting fundraising, investor diligence, or other strategic transactions.Leadership ProfileThe successful candidate will be a builder first—someone energized by creating structure, developing teams, solving difficult technical problems, and helping an early-stage organization scale.This individual should be equally comfortable discussing company strategy with the CEO, working through architecture decisions with engineers, engaging with enterprise customers, and determining what the technology organization needs to look like 12–24 months from now.For an accomplished VP of Engineering or VP of Technology, this could represent an opportunity to step into broader enterprise-wide technology ownership and a CTO-level leadership role.