Deputy Chief Technology Officer (Deputy CTO)

Private Advertiser; Kuala Lumpur; On-site; MYR 150,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

A prominent technology firm seeks a Deputy Chief Technology Officer (Deputy CTO) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This role requires strong technical leadership, cloud infrastructure management, and the ability to mentor engineering teams. Responsibilities include managing technical decisions, overseeing CI/CD processes, and providing hands-on support when necessary. Candidates should possess 6-8 years of experience in software engineering and possess solid backend development skills in Java/Kotlin. Excellent communication and coordination skills are essential.

Qualifications

• 6-8 years of experience in software engineering and cloud infrastructure, ideally with semi-management responsibilities.
• Experience in coordinating or mentoring engineering teams.
• Solid background in JVM-based backend development (Java/Kotlin with Spring Boot).
• Strong relational database skills: schema design, performance tuning, and query optimization.

Responsibilities

• Act as the CTO’s delegate for technical decisions and project oversight.
• Design and optimize AWS infrastructure for stability.
• Manage production incidents and ensure smooth operations.
• Oversee CI/CD pipelines and enforce deployment standards.

Skills

Software engineering

Cloud infrastructure management

Team coordination

Backend development (Java/Kotlin)

DevOps & CI/CD

Database optimization

Technical leadership

Communication skills

Tools

GitHub Actions

AWS CDK

Job description

Deputy Chief Technology Officer (Deputy CTO)

We are seeking a versatile and experienced Deputy CTO to serve as the CTO’s primary delegate for technical decision-making, production readiness, and cross-team coordination. This role is ideal for someone with strong engineering roots, a solid grasp of cloud and on-premise infrastructure, and growing leadership experience.

The Deputy CTO will act as the internal technical authority when the CTO is not present—coordinating engineering, QA, and project leads, ensuring smooth operations, resolving escalations, and maintaining high-quality delivery across the organisation. While not expected to code daily, this role requires someone who can dive into backend codebases, review architecture, and support troubleshooting when necessary.

This position requires full on-site presence in the office; hybrid or remote arrangements are not available.

Key Responsibilities

Technical Leadership & Engineering Coordination

Act as the CTO’s delegate for technical decisions, team coordination, and project oversight.

Work closely with Project Leads, Tech Leads, and QA Leads to ensure alignment, priority clarity, and timely delivery.

Support the CTO with strategic planning, technology roadmaps, and organisation-wide initiatives.

Architect and evolve large-scale backend systems, including modernising legacy applications into modular, maintainable components.

Establish and uphold engineering best practices, coding standards, and architectural governance.

Guide teams on system design, scalability, performance tuning, and reliability.

Infrastructure & Production Operations

Design, administer, and optimise AWS infrastructure.

Ensure stability and reliability of hybrid infrastructures (AWS + on-premise).

Handle production incidents, escalations, and cross-team coordination when critical issues arise.

Perform performance tuning where necessary (e.g., JVM garbage collection, database optimisation).

Hands-On Support (as needed)

Not expected to code daily, but able to dive into Java/Kotlin codebases or backend services to support troubleshooting, critical fixes, or architectural reviews.

Provide technical direction, code review, and mentorship to engineering teams.

DevOps, CI/CD & Automation

Oversee CI/CD pipelines (GitHub Actions) and enforce deployment standards and processes.

Use AWS CDK and scripting to automate infrastructure provisioning and service integration.

Ensure sound DevOps practices, including monitoring, logging, and incident response processes.

Vendor, Stakeholder & Cross-Functional Collaboration

Join the CTO in executive updates, including presenting technical progress, risk assessments, and key decisions to the CEO and senior leadership team.

Engage with vendors, partners, and stakeholders as needed, including negotiating deals or evaluating technology solutions.

Serve as the internal technical point of contact when the CTO is engaged externally, ensuring continuity in decision-making and communication.

Requirements

6–8 years of experience in software engineering and cloud infrastructure, ideally with semi-management responsibilities or time spent in lead roles.

Experience coordinating or mentoring engineering teams, even in informal leadership roles.

Experiences in managing on-premise infrastructure (firewall, virtualised servers, Linux VMs, etc).

Solid background in JVM-based backend development (Java/Kotlin with Spring Boot).

Not expected to code daily, but must be able to review designs and step in during critical issues.

Strong relational database skills: schema design, performance tuning, and query optimisation.

Experience with GitHub Actions CI/CD, and AWS CDK for infrastructure deployments.

Track record of modernising legacy systems or leading architecture improvements.

Comfortable switching between technical execution, team coordination, and management-style responsibilities.

Solid understanding of software security, architecture principles, enterprise best practices, and modern AI applications.

Excellent communication skills and the ability to manage internal operations with confidence.

How to Apply

Please apply online.