Tech Director, CTO Office June 28, 2026

Chemify Ltd; Glasgow; On-site; GBP 110,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Chemify Ltd in Glasgow is seeking a Tech Director to lead the CTO Office and translate technology strategy into execution. You will define the planning cadence, drive cross-functional programmes, and ensure that strategic decisions deliver measurable outcomes.

You will provide technical credibility across machine learning, robotics and modern software delivery, challenge assumptions, manage dependencies, and align CTO priorities with business goals.

Qualifications

• Experience in operational leadership roles with cross-functional delivery in complex environments.
• Technical fluency through close collaboration with engineering teams.
• Applied experience in ML and robotics environments, with familiarity in MLOps and deployment pipelines.
• Experience operating across mixed delivery cadences, maintaining alignment across the system.
• Ability to translate complex information into clear narratives for technical and executive audiences.
• Sound judgement in fast-moving environments and risk-based decision making.

Responsibilities

• Lead the CTO Office, defining operating rhythm for planning, governance and execution across the technology organisation.
• Own technology planning and delivery governance, including quarterly planning, OKRs, leadership reviews and cross‑functional alignment.
• Maintain visibility of delivery across programmes, including progress, dependencies, risks and constraints.
• Act as a trusted delegate for the CTO, supporting decision‑making and alignment with stakeholders.
• Enable CTO effectiveness through structured briefings and coordination of strategic priorities.
• Lead strategic reporting for the Board, investors and executive leadership with clear insights.
• Lead and coordinate cross‑functional programmes across ML, robotics and platform engineering.
• Coordinate delivery across teams on different cadences, from rapid releases to long‑term R&D.
• Identify risks at the intersection of software, ML and hardware and drive mitigation actions.
• Partner with CTO on organisational design, hiring, technology strategy and investment priorities.
• Lead high‑impact projects including vendor evaluation and build-versus-buy decisions.
• Anticipate challenges and drive actions to support long‑term objectives.

Skills

Operational leadership

Cross-functional delivery

Technical fluency

Strategic partner

Structured communication

Decision making

Tools

CI/CD tooling

Jira/ClickUp

MLOps

ROS/ROS2

Simulation tools

Job description

Job Description

Chemify is revolutionising chemistry. We are creating a future where the synthesis of previously unimaginable molecules, drugs, and materials is instantly accessible. By combining AI, robotics, and the world’s largest continually expanding database of chemical programs, we are accelerating chemical discovery to improve quality of life and extend the reach of humanity.

We are seeking a Tech Director to lead Chemify's CTO Office and help shape how technology strategy is translated into execution. You'll be at the centre of technology leadership, setting the cadence for planning and delivery, driving cross-functional programmes, and ensuring that strategic decisions result in measurable outcomes.

You'll be the force behind effective execution: preparing the CTO for critical conversations, maintaining momentum across teams, and acting as a trusted delegate who can confidently represent the CTO's priorities and drive alignment at every level of the organisation.

The work spans machine learning, software-defined robotics and modern agile delivery. While you won't be hands-on with model development or control software, you'll need the technical credibility to challenge assumptions, spot critical dependencies, and quickly separate genuine blockers from issues that can be resolved through effective coordination and decision-making.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the CTO Office, defining and maintaining the operating rhythm for planning, governance and execution across the technology organisation.
• Own technology planning and delivery governance, including quarterly planning, OKRs, leadership reviews and cross‑functional alignment.
• Maintain clear visibility of delivery across programmes, including progress, dependencies, risks and constraints, ensuring issues are surfaced early and managed effectively.
• Act as a trusted delegate for the CTO, supporting decision‑making, representing priorities, and ensuring alignment across technical and business stakeholders.
• Enable CTO effectiveness through structured briefings, decision support, and coordination of strategic priorities across the organisation.
• Lead strategic reporting for the Board, investors and executive leadership, translating technical progress, delivery performance and risks into clear, decision‑ready insights.
• Lead and coordinate complex cross‑functional programmes across machine learning, robotics and platform engineering teams, ensuring effective execution from planning through delivery.
• Partner with engineering and technical leaders to improve delivery effectiveness, predictability and organisational alignment.
• Coordinate delivery across teams operating on different cadences, from rapid software release cycles through to longer‑term research and development work.
• Apply sufficient technical fluency in machine learning (including MLOps, model deployment and training infrastructure) and software‑defined robotics (including ROS/ROS2, simulation and digital twins) to identify risks, challenge assumptions and support sound decision‑making.
• Identify and manage risks at the intersection of software, machine learning and hardware systems, particularly where abstraction meets physical constraints.
• Act as a strategic partner to the CTO on organisational design, hiring, technology strategy and investment priorities.
• Lead high‑impact special projects including vendor evaluation, build‑versus‑buy decisions, capability development and organisational change initiatives.
• Anticipate emerging technical and organisational challenges and proactively drive actions that support long‑term strategic objectives.

What You Bring

• Experience in operational leadership roles such as Chief of Staff, Technical Programme Director, Head of Operations, or equivalent, with responsibility for cross‑functional delivery in complex environments.
• Technical fluency developed through close collaboration with engineering teams. You understand how machine learning systems, robotics, and modern software delivery work in practice and are comfortable engaging in technical discussions and reviews.
• Applied experience in machine learning and/or robotics environments, with familiarity in areas such as MLOps, deployment pipelines, model training workflows, and simulation‑to‑production delivery.
• Experience operating across mixed delivery cadences, supporting programmes where teams work at different speeds and delivery models, while maintaining alignment and progress across the whole system.
• Strong ability to structure and communicate complex information, translating ambiguous technical and operational situations into clear, decision‑useful narratives for both technical and executive audiences.
• Sound judgement in fast‑moving environments, with the ability to make decisions under uncertainty, balance trade‑offs, and adapt as new information emerges.
• Trusted by technical and leadership stakeholders, building credibility through consistency, clarity and follow‑through, and enabling alignment across diverse groups.

Nice to Have

• Prior engineering experience in machine learning, robotics, or software development, with an understanding of how technical systems are built and operated end to end.
• Experience in high‑growth or scale‑up environments, particularly within deep‑tech or complex engineering organisations.
• Familiarity with modern engineering and ML tooling and workflows, such as CI/CD pipelines, Jira or ClickUp, MLflow or Weights & Biases, and simulation or testing environments.
• Experience working in regulated, safety‑critical, or physically constrained systems where software interacts directly with hardware or real‑world environments.
• Previous experience working closely with, or reporting into, C‑level leadership in fast‑paced or complex organisations.

Why It Matters

The CTO Office exists to improve how the engineering organisation operates - how decisions are made, how priorities are aligned, and how complex technical work is delivered across machine learning, robotics and software systems.

In this role, you will help shape how technical decisions are formed and executed, how teams stay aligned across different delivery models, and how the organisation communicates what it is building internally and externally.

You will work closely with the CTO as a key partner in ensuring the organisation remains focused, coordinated and effective as it scales.

Advanced Research Centre, University of Glasgow, 11 Chapel Lane, G11 6EW