Chief Technology Officer

Stealth Startup; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Job summary

Stealth Startup in San Francisco seeks an experienced Chief Technology Officer to lead technology across its incubator and portfolio. This founder-style role blends strategic direction with hands-on execution, shaping product, architecture, and hiring to scale early-stage ventures.

You will own the technology roadmap, drive AI-powered product initiatives, and build a cross-functional team spanning software, data, and product. Exceptional communication and leadership are essential for success.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of professional technology experience.
• Experience building and scaling products from zero to one and from one to many.
• Experience as a CTO, VP Engineering, founding engineer, technical founder, or similar senior leadership role.
• Strong software engineering and system architecture fundamentals.
• Experience designing and building AI-powered products, AI agents, automation systems, or data-intensive applications.
• Strong understanding of modern cloud infrastructure, distributed systems, APIs, databases, and software architecture.
• Proven ability to recruit, mentor, and lead high-performing technical teams.
• Strong product sense and the ability to connect technical decisions with business outcomes.
• Comfortable being hands-on when necessary while also operating strategically at the executive level.
• Excellent communication skills with engineers, founders, investors, and non-technical stakeholders.
• Strong ownership mentality, high agency, and the ability to thrive in fast-moving, ambiguous environments.

Responsibilities

• Define and execute a unified technology strategy across the incubator and its portfolio companies.
• Partner with founders on product strategy, technical architecture, roadmaps, and early-stage technical hiring.
• Design and architect shared systems, data infrastructure, internal tools, and platforms across operating companies.
• Lead the development of AI agents, automation workflows, and vertical AI solutions for real-world businesses.
• Translate business and customer needs into scalable technical solutions.
• Build, mentor, and lead a high-performing cross-functional organization across Software, AI/ML, Data, and Product.
• Establish engineering best practices around architecture, development, testing, deployment, security, and scalability.
• Make high-impact technical decisions balancing speed, quality, and long-term scalability.
• Work with founders and leadership to identify opportunities where technology creates leverage.
• Help early-stage ventures move from prototype to production and scale.

Skills

Tech leadership

Product scaling

Architecture fundamentals

AI/ML experience

Cloud infrastructure

People leadership

Tools

Cloud platforms

APIs & Data architecture

Job description

We’re looking for an experienced Chief Technology Officer to serve as the senior-most technical leader across our incubator.

This is a founder-CTO-style role for someone who has successfully built and scaled products from zero to one and from one to many. You’ll operate at both the strategic and hands‑on levels—setting technology direction, shaping product and architecture, building teams, and working directly with founders and operators across our portfolio.

You’ll play a critical role in turning early‑stage ideas into scalable, technology‑driven businesses, with a particular focus on AI, automation, data, and modern software infrastructure.

What You’ll Do

• Define and execute a unified technology strategy across the incubator and its portfolio companies.
• Partner closely with founders on product strategy, technical architecture, technology roadmaps, and early‑stage technical hiring.
• Design and architect shared systems, data infrastructure, internal tools, and technology platforms used across operating companies.
• Lead the development of AI agents, automation workflows, and vertical AI solutions for real‑world businesses.
• Translate business and customer needs into scalable technical solutions.
• Build, mentor, and lead a high‑performing cross‑functional organization spanning Software Engineering, AI/ML, Data, and Product.
• Establish engineering best practices around architecture, development, testing, deployment, security, and scalability.
• Make high‑impact technical decisions while balancing speed, quality, and long‑term scalability.
• Work directly with founders, operators, and leadership teams to identify opportunities where technology can create significant business leverage.
• Help early‑stage ventures move rapidly from prototype to production and scale.

What We’re Looking For

• 7+ years of professional technology experience, with significant experience in senior technical leadership.
• Proven track record of building and scaling products from zero to one and one to many.
• Experience as a CTO, VP Engineering, founding engineer, technical founder, or similar senior technical leadership role.
• Strong software engineering and system architecture fundamentals.
• Experience designing and building AI‑powered products, AI agents, automation systems, or data‑intensive applications.
• Strong understanding of modern cloud infrastructure, distributed systems, APIs, databases, and software architecture.
• Demonstrated ability to recruit, mentor, and lead high‑performing technical teams.
• Strong product sense and the ability to connect technical decisions with business outcomes.
• Comfortable being hands‑on when necessary while also operating strategically at the executive level.
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to work effectively with engineers, founders, investors, and non‑technical stakeholders.
• Strong ownership mentality, high agency, and the ability to thrive in fast‑moving, ambiguous environments.

Ideal Candidate Profile

The ideal candidate is a builder at heart who enjoys operating at the intersection of technology, product, and business.

You should be comfortable moving between a strategy discussion with founders, an architecture review with engineers, and hands‑on technical problem‑solving when needed.

You’ll thrive in this role if you:

• Think strategically but execute quickly.
• Have strong technical depth and excellent product judgment.
• Enjoy building teams and developing future technical leaders.
• Are comfortable with ambiguity and changing priorities.
• Have a strong bias toward action and ownership.
• Can identify opportunities where technology and AI can create meaningful business advantages.
• Enjoy building products and companies from the earliest stages through scale.

Why Join Us?

• Lead technology strategy across a portfolio of early‑stage, high‑growth ventures.
• Work directly with founders and operators on high‑impact technical and business problems.
• Build and scale AI‑powered products and infrastructure from the ground up.
• Have significant influence over architecture, product direction, hiring, and engineering culture.
• Work in an environment that combines venture building, technology, and hands‑on company creation.
• Help turn ambitious ideas into category‑defining companies.