Chief Technology Officer
This position is listed on behalf of a partner company, who manages all applications and next steps. Our partner is looking for a Chief Technology Officer based in United States.
This is a high-impact executive leadership role for a deeply technical engineering leader who has built their career in software development and product delivery. The role focuses on leading the evolution of a complex SaaS platform in the edtech space, driving both technical strategy and organizational execution at scale.
You will shape engineering culture, architecture, and delivery practices across distributed teams while ensuring high reliability, rapid iteration, and strong product alignment.
The position requires close partnership with product leadership to balance speed, quality, and long-term scalability.
A strong emphasis is placed on AI-driven engineering practices, both for internal productivity and as part of product innovation.
You will oversee modern cloud-based architecture, microservices, data platforms, and integrations in a fast-moving, mission-driven environment.
This role is best suited for leaders who are still close to engineering fundamentals and passionate about building software that meaningfully impacts learners and educators.
Accountabilities
In this role, you will lead engineering execution, technical strategy, and organizational performance across the platform:
- Define and execute engineering strategy aligned with product vision, roadmap, and organizational goals.
- Lead and mentor engineering leadership across software engineering, QA, DevOps, and IT/cybersecurity functions.
- Drive architectural decisions across a distributed microservices-based SaaS platform using GraphQL, REST APIs, and AWS infrastructure.
- Establish engineering standards, delivery practices, and technical governance across frontend, backend, data, and infrastructure teams.
- Own and improve CI/CD pipelines, deployment processes, and delivery velocity across distributed teams.
- Partner closely with product leadership to translate roadmap priorities into executable engineering plans and trade-offs.
- Oversee AI/LLM adoption for both engineering productivity and product feature development.
- Guide data platform strategy including warehouse architecture, ETL/ELT pipelines, and analytics enablement.
- Manage vendor relationships, contractor strategy, and engineering budget planning.
- Provide executive oversight for IT, cybersecurity, compliance (including SOC 2), and cloud operational reliability.
- 10+ years of progressive software engineering experience, including senior leadership roles (Director/VP/CTO level).
- Proven background as a software engineer building and shipping SaaS products (not primarily IT or infrastructure-focused roles).
- Strong experience in edtech, K–12, or learning/training software used by students, educators, or institutions.
- Demonstrated ability to lead high-frequency delivery environments with strong CI/CD and agile practices.
- Deep experience partnering with product leadership in a shared ownership model for roadmap execution.
- Hands-on familiarity with modern architectures including microservices, GraphQL/REST APIs, and AWS.
- Experience leading distributed, remote-first engineering teams, including offshore or contractor-based teams.
- Strong AI/LLM fluency, including use of AI development tools and delivery of AI-enabled features.
- Solid understanding of data platforms, including warehousing, ETL/ELT pipelines, and BI systems.
- Strong executive communication skills, with ability to present technical strategy to senior leadership and stakeholders.
- Preferred: familiarity with FERPA, COPPA, and education data privacy/compliance requirements.
- Strong leadership competencies in decision-making, delegation, adaptability, collaboration, and strategic thinking.
- Competitive salary range: $183,000 – $256,000 depending on location and experience.
- Fully remote work environment with flexibility and autonomy.
- Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance coverage.
- Generous paid time off (up to 41 days annually, prorated).
- Paid parental leave and family support benefits.
- Professional development budget to support continuous learning and growth.
- Quarterly home office/cell phone stipend.
- Opportunity to lead mission-driven edtech innovation with real impact on education systems.
- Collaborative, values-driven culture focused on innovation, learning, and ownership.
Requirements
This role requires a seasoned engineering executive with deep hands-on software expertise and strong product alignment experience: