Founding CTO

Founding CTO — AI-native productivity, stealthFully remote, UK-based candidates. London HQ likely but not yet fixed.TL;DRFounding CTO role at a well-funded stealth AI companyProduct: AI-native productivity — starting with email, expanding into notes, tasks, calendarUS$100M initial funding, internally backed, no VC pressureCash + meaningful founding-team equityFully remote, hybrid potentiallyYou'll build the engineering org from zero across multiple global hubsThe playEmail, calendar, notes, tasks. The tools 5 billion people run their lives on. None of them are AI-native. Every attempt so far has been a bolt-on — a copilot button in the corner, a summary at the top of the thread. The company is building the opposite: the proactive layer underneath, that reads context, runs long workflows, completes real tasks, and asks before it acts. First product is an AI-native email app. Cut the four hours a day the average knowledge worker spends in their inbox down to thirty minutes. Email first. Productivity suite next.The role, first 12 monthsOwn the technical direction across model integration, data pipelines, distributed systems, and product architecture. Hire and shape the engineering org across global hubs. Set the engineering culture, standards and hiring bar. Balance shipping the email product fast with building for what comes after it.Who this is forSomeone who has led high-performing engineering teams, thinks clearly about complex systems, and is genuinely energised by early-stage ambiguity. Not a corporate CTO looking for a title upgrade — a builder.The bar — Read this before you DM10+ years engineering, 5+ leading teams at scaleShipped and operated a production system that served millions of usersBuilt and hired an engineering org from small to 30+, across multiple locationsDeep hands-on background in distributed systems, data pipelines, or applied ML infrastructureComfortable being the most technical person in the room and the one setting the cultureIf you're not hitting most of this, this isn't the one — save your energy for the role that is.The restEverything else — who they are, who's behind it, the detail on comp and equity — is a call.DM me if this is you, or if you know the person it should be.