Chief Technology Officer

IO Global•Longmont, CO

About The Position

The Chief Technology Officer (CTO) is responsible for building and nurturing a living ecosystem where standards, habits, and ways of working compound over time, enabling the creation of world-class products. This role operates at the intersection of strategy and code, partnering with the CEO to define engineering direction, aligning with the CPO and COO to maintain a sound and fast-paced roadmap, and collaborating with IO Labs to translate research into reality. The CTO will shape IOG's approach to AI-first engineering, embedding an agentic programming philosophy to maximize AI's impact across all teams. Additionally, the CTO will focus on growing engineering talent through a Centre of Excellence, setting the technical standard for all future IOG products and ventures.

Requirements

A clearly articulated engineering philosophy and proven ability to apply it.
Setting and upholding engineering, architectural, and security standards across a large, distributed organization.
Deep expertise in Web3 technologies.
Strong systems thinking, with the ability to see a developer ecosystem as a whole and predict emergent behavior.
Clear point of view on how AI is reshaping software engineering and how to use it to amplify a healthy ecosystem.
Hands-on technical credibility: commits code, reviews engineering work, and works alongside engineers regularly.
Experience leading technical due diligence for acquisitions, partnerships, and venture investments.
Strong ability to translate complex technical concepts for board members, investors, and non-technical executives.
Strong external profile and the ability to represent IOG credibly at the most senior levels of the industry.
Deep familiarity with formal verification methods and cryptographic correctness, including zero-knowledge proof systems, consensus protocol verification, and provably secure system design.
Progressive technology leadership experience, including significant time in senior or executive technical roles.
Proven track record as a senior technical leader in a high-growth technology, blockchain, or venture studio environment.
Deep, demonstrable experience in Web3, blockchain, or distributed systems.
Direct experience shaping a developer ecosystem at scale, including engineering culture, standards, tooling, and platform decisions.
Experience contributing to executive-level strategy, board materials, and investment decisions.
A hands-on engineering leader who makes decisions, moves fast, and builds developer ecosystems that ship.
Deep technical credibility: someone engineers trust, with strong architecture instincts and a bias for getting things done.
Experience operating at the intersection of research and product in a fast-moving environment.
Someone who thrives in a high-trust, distributed leadership model and builds strong peer relationships naturally.

Nice To Haves

Strong external profile within the Web3, blockchain, or wider technology ecosystem is a strong plus.

Responsibilities

Define the future engineering strategy for IOG in collaboration with the CEO.
Own enterprise technology and architectural direction.
Shape the developer ecosystem, including standards, culture, tooling, and working practices.
Develop and embed an AI-first engineering philosophy, establishing how engineers and AI agents collaborate.
Ensure the roadmap is technically sound, appropriately resourced, and delivered at velocity, working with the COO and CPO.
Partner with IO Labs and ventures to assess technical feasibility, advise on build approaches, and facilitate the transition of concepts from research to reality.
Define the technology thesis, standards for all teams, and decisions ensuring platform coherence, scalability, and security.
Attract and develop world-class engineers through a Centre of Excellence model.
Hold enterprise-level budget responsibility for the technology function, including infrastructure, tooling, AI compute, and strategic investments.
Collaborate with the CEO and COO on cross-functional and enterprise-wide financial decisions where technology investment intersects with business priorities.
Operate with executive-level autonomy to set policies, allocate technical resources, and shape strategic initiatives within the technology domain.
Serve as the primary external technical voice for IOG, engaging in conferences, panels, investor forums, and key partnerships.
Maintain strong relationships with leading researchers, founders, and technical talent.
Translate IOG’s technical strategy into accessible language for boards, investors, and non-technical executives.
Lead the technology function at the enterprise level.
Own the leadership bench for the technology domain, ensuring structure, capability, and succession.
Collaborate with C-suite peers to align leadership expectations across the company.
Champion diversity, culture, and leadership excellence within the technology function.
Shape policies and initiatives across the organization where technology intersects.
Drive a performance culture by modeling high standards and collaborating with C-suite peers.