Interim CTO

Ports North; New York (NY); Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Job summary

Ports North is seeking an interim Chief Technology Officer to lead the organization through a period of technology transformation. The executive will stabilize the technology function, assess the current state, and define a foundation for a long-term strategy.

Engagement is expected to last approximately 3–6 months while a permanent CTO is sought. The role requires executive leadership, deep technology expertise, and the ability to drive alignment across Technology, Product, and Operations

Qualifications

• Proven experience as CTO or equivalent leadership role.
• Experience guiding technology transformation initiatives.
• Strong background in software engineering, architecture, cloud, and operations.
• Ability to assess complex environments and align leadership across teams.
• Excellent communication with technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Experience in transition planning for permanent leadership.

Responsibilities

• Provide steady leadership during leadership transition.
• Assess current technology organization, teams, and operating model.
• Partner with executives to shape future-state organization.
• Document and prioritize strategic, operational, and organizational initiatives.
• Lead documentation of current architecture, infrastructure, platforms, and operations.
• Identify risks impacting scalability and execution.
• Recommend governance, design, and execution improvements.
• Advise leadership on technology strategy and transformation.
• Plan knowledge transfer and transition to permanent CTO.

Skills

Executive leadership

Technology strategy

Cloud & architecture

Stakeholder communication

IT governance

Job description

Interim Chief Technology Officer (CTO)

Position Overview

Our client is seeking an Interim Chief Technology Officer (CTO) to provide executive leadership during a period of organizational and technology transformation. This executive will serve as a stabilizing presence for the technology organization while evaluating the current state, identifying improvement opportunities, and helping establish the foundation for a long-term technology strategy. The engagement is expected to last approximately 3-6 months while a permanent CTO search is completed.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide steady leadership and guidance to the technology organization during a leadership transition.
• Assess the current technology organization, including leadership structure, team capabilities, operating model, and technical functions.
• Partner closely with executive stakeholders to evaluate the current technology landscape and define recommendations for a future-state organization.
• Develop and document a prioritized set of strategic, operational, and organizational initiatives for the incoming permanent CTO.
• Lead efforts to document current application architecture, infrastructure, platforms, and technology operations.
• Identify organizational, technology, and process risks that could impact scalability, execution, or business objectives.
• Establish recommendations for technology governance, organizational design, and execution practices.
• Serve as a trusted advisor to executive leadership on technology strategy, engineering effectiveness, and transformation initiatives.
• Support a seamless transition to the permanent CTO through comprehensive documentation, knowledge transfer, and transition planning.

Qualifications

• Previous experience as a CTO, Chief Technology Executive, EVP Technology, or comparable senior technology leader.
• Proven success leading technology organizations through transformation, modernization, or organizational change.
• Deep background across software engineering, architecture, infrastructure, cloud technologies, and technology operations.
• Experience conducting organizational assessments and building future-state operating models.
• Strong executive communication skills with the ability to influence technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Ability to quickly assess complex environments, establish credibility, and drive alignment across leadership teams.

Preferred Experience

• Financial services, fintech, payments, lending, banking, or other highly regulated industry experience.
• Experience supporting private equity-backed or growth-stage organizations.
• Prior interim executive leadership or consulting experience.
• Experience partnering closely with Product and Operations leaders to improve organizational alignment and delivery effectiveness.

Engagement Details

• Interim executive engagement (approximately 3-6 months).
• Focused on assessment, stabilization, transformation planning, organizational evaluation, and transition readiness.
• Executive-level interaction across Technology, Product, Operations, and senior leadership teams.