Chief Technology Officer

MassChallenge•Boston, MA

2d•$180,000 - $200,000•Hybrid

About The Position

This is an executive leadership role for a technology leader who is equally comfortable setting strategy and getting close to the work. As CTO and a member of the executive team, you will own MassChallenge's technology vision and drive its execution across three pillars: data as a strategic asset, platform as a differentiated product, and automation that scales the organization. You will lead a talented technology team (engineering, product, and data) and be the voice of technology in every major organizational decision. MassChallenge is in the middle of a deliberate shift. AI has given us the opportunity to use technology to enable our staff and our community in the startup ecosystem in ways that were not available even 6 months ago. You will lead that transformation.

Requirements

10+ years in technology, with at least 5 in a senior leadership role
Demonstrated track record of product leadership and technology transformation ideally in a mission-driven or startup-adjacent environment
Strong product instincts and experience with agile methodologies
A data-driven mindset: you believe actionable data is not an accident
Experience leading teams through platform transitions and integrations
Comfortable in ambiguity -- you can set direction without perfect information and adjust as you learn
Clear communicator who can translate complex technical decisions for non-technical audiences including the board and senior partners
Genuinely passionate about entrepreneurship and startups
Ability to wear multiple technical hats but also delegate strategically to your staff

Responsibilities

Serve as a full member of the executive team, contributing to company strategy, board reporting, and organizational performance
Develop and execute a technology and data strategy aligned to MassChallenge's mission and revenue goals
Build strong relationships with your team: set clear goals, coach consistently, and create an environment where great work happens
Translate organizational vision into an actionable technology roadmap with clear priorities, timelines, owners, and metrics
Make MassChallenge's 16+ years of startup and ecosystem data a strategic asset, for our internal stakeholders, partners, founders, and business development
Establish a single source of truth across programs, alumni, and partner data in our data warehouse, integrated to tools such as our proprietary platform Accelerate and HubSpot
Build data governance frameworks and analytics capabilities that inform decisions across the organization
Work on deeper research projects with our partners at MIT, HBS, Univ. of Colorado, and others
Define and guide responsible AI use for our employees and community
Build automation capabilities that let MassChallenge grow revenue and impact without proportional headcount growth
Champion AI adoption across staff to lift day-to-day productivity, from agentic workflows to assistants like Claude
Help technical staff get more out of AI tools (coding, data analytics, infrastructure)
Discover and execute data science projects driven with AI (matching, classifiers, evaluators, embeddings search, and more)
Lead product development for MassChallenge's core platforms, including the accelerator program platform, community platform, and partner and mentor experience layer
Oversee the full product process from problem discovery through delivery, working closely with program, partnerships, marketing, and business development teams
Own the build-vs-buy decision framework. Default to integration where tools are strong, build where MC has a genuine competitive advantage, with data portability and transparency as core values
Drive the partner and founder experience: dashboards, reporting, engagement tools, and the connections that make the MassChallenge network valuable
Ensure MC's technology infrastructure supports operational efficiency and global operations
Oversee IT security, compliance, and vendor relationships, working closely with Finance and Operations
Negotiate contracts and hold vendors accountable to performance