Founding CTO

CTO | Stealth Venture | London For someone who wants to build a business, not just lead an engineering team. We're working with an ambitious, well-funded stealth venture looking for an exceptional technical leader to help shape its next phase of growth. This is an opportunity for someone who combines serious technical ability with an entrepreneurial mindset. Someone who understands that technology isn't just a cost centre or a product function — it's a fundamental driver of how businesses operate, generate revenue and scale. We're looking for someone who has consistently operated at an exceptional level. Perhaps you've founded a company, helped scale a startup through significant growth, or built and led high-performing engineering teams in an environment where the commercial stakes were real. This isn't a conventional CTO role. You'll have the autonomy to shape technical direction, build from the ground up and work directly with the leadership team on decisions that influence the wider business. You'll be expected to think beyond architecture and engineering execution, taking ownership of how technology translates into commercial outcomes. This is for you if you… - Have founded a business, been a founding engineer or helped scale a company significantly in ARR, headcount or commercial impact. - Have built and led strong engineering teams while remaining technically credible and close to the work. - Understand how product and engineering decisions influence revenue, margins, operating models and growth. - Are comfortable moving between high-level strategy and hands-on technical problem-solving. - Thrive in environments where the problems aren't fully defined, the pace is intense and you have the autonomy to make things happen. - Want to help build something from an early stage, with meaningful ownership and the potential for significant upside. Exceptional academic credentials combined with outstanding technical ability will also be considered, particularly where there's clear evidence of initiative, ambition and an ability to operate beyond your immediate remit. Probably not for you if… - You're accustomed to large engineering organisations where strategy, product and commercial decisions sit elsewhere. - You want to manage through layers of leadership without getting close to the technology. - You see engineering as a purely technical function rather than a driver of business performance. - You're looking for a predictable 9–5, minimal ambiguity and limited personal accountability. The opportunity You'll join a small, highly ambitious team at a pivotal stage, with the opportunity to shape the technical foundations, influence business strategy and help build a team capable of executing an ambitious vision. The expectations are high, the environment is fast-paced, and the level of ownership is significant. This is for someone who wants to have a genuine impact on what gets built, how the business operates and how far it can go. We're keeping the business in stealth for now, but we're happy to share further details with people whose experience aligns with the opportunity. If you've got the technical depth, commercial instinct and entrepreneurial drive to build something exceptional, let's talk.