Field CTO

Lightbend; New York (NY); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Akka is seeking a Field CTO who is a standout technical leader to guide sales and mentoring efforts in AI and distributed systems. This role demands a deep technical background paired with strategic insight to elevate customer engagement and ensure Akka's leadership in agentic AI technologies. You will work remotely while shaping the future of AI alongside industry pioneers.

Benefits

Competitive salary and equity

Full medical, dental, vision coverage

Remote-first, flexible work model

Opportunities for growth and leadership

High-trust culture driven by bold ideas and innovation

Qualifications

• Proven experience in field engineering or solution architecture.
• Expertise in agentic AI, distributed systems, and strategic advisory.
• Excellent communication skills for presentations and storytelling.

Responsibilities

• Lead the technical sales process as a strategic advisor.
• Mentor field engineers and promote Akka technologies.
• Craft technical presentations and engage with clients.

Skills

Technical Leadership

Distributed Systems

Customer Engagement

AI Innovation

Communication

Problem Solving

Tools

Akka

Java

Microservices

AWS

GCP

Azure

Job description

About Akka

Akka (formerly Lightbend) powers the next generation of agentic AI systems and distributed applications—built for resilience, speed, and intelligence at scale. Trusted by industry giants and innovators alike, we provide the backbone for AI-native software. Learn more at akka.io.

The Opportunity

We're looking for an incredible Field CTO—a standout technical leader who thrives at the intersection of distributed systems, AI innovation, and customer engagement.

This is a field-facing role, reporting directly to the Chief Revenue Officer, where you’ll mentor field engineers and lead the technical motion across sales engagements. You’ll work alongside our CEO and Akka creator Jonas Bonér to shape the narrative, deliver high-impact demos, and guide enterprise clients toward bold, intelligent architectures using Akka technologies.

Your mission: elevate every customer interaction, drive technical strategy, and position Akka as the undisputed leader in agentic AI systems.

What You’ll Do

• Partner with sales teams to lead the technical sales process, acting as both strategic advisor and technical evangelist across key enterprise accounts
• Shape solutions with Akka SDK, Akka Platform, and advanced distributed + agentic AI architectures
• Mentor field engineers, solution architects, and customer-facing technical teams—leading by example and fostering excellence
• Craft unforgettable technical presentations and demos that highlight real-world scalability, performance, and agility
• Collaborate closely with the CEO and product teams to refine product messaging and inform the roadmap through market insights
• Be a visible, active voice in the industry—speaking at conferences, leading webinars, publishing blog content, and contributing to the agentic AI community
• Stay at the forefront of AI systems design: LLM orchestration, streaming memory, semantic graphing, safety systems, and more
• Play to win—position Akka against competitors with clarity, confidence, and technical rigor
  
  

Who You Are

• A proven technical leader in field engineering, solution architecture, or pre-sales—ideally in distributed systems or AI
• Expert (or obsessively determined to become one) in agentic AI: LLM networks, planning agents, reinforcement learning, memory systems, and orchestration
• Deep technical experience with Akka, Java, microservices, and cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, Azure)
• An elite communicator with a flair for storytelling—decks, blogs, videos, and live demos are your craft
• Competitive, curious, and confident—you guide customers to the right answers, and you love to outmaneuver the field
• Comfortable with enterprise dynamics and capable of advising sales teams, partners, and executives on complex technical strategies
• Bonus: Experience in industries like finance, telecom, or logistics—and passion for scaling intelligent systems
  
  

Perks & Benefits

• Competitive salary and equity
• Full medical, dental, vision coverage
• Remote-first, flexible work model
• Opportunities for growth and leadership
• A high-trust culture driven by bold ideas and innovation
  
  

Location

Remote – based in the US or Canada

Diversity & Inclusion

Akka welcomes bold thinkers from every background. We’re committed to building an inclusive environment where creativity, ownership, and diverse perspectives are celebrated.

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