Technical Lead/CTO (+ Equity) at Fortalis

This is a job that Jill, our AI Recruiter, is recruiting for on behalf of one of our customers.

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Job Title: Technical Lead / CTO

Salary: Not Disclosed + Equity

Company Description: Fortalis - High-growth defence and national security startup

Job Description:
As the founding technical hire, you will architect and build a modular software platform designed for high-consequence environments. You’ll integrate disparate data sources and SME technologies into a unified operational picture for national resilience. This is a hands-on leadership role combining product strategy with first-principles engineering from a blank slate.

Location: London, UK

Why this role is remarkable:

• Founding ownership: As the first technical hire, you own the entire architectural roadmap and technology stack from day one without legacy constraints

• Mission-critical impact: Build the software layer for national resilience, solving fragmented data challenges for defenders in cyber, physical, and information domains

• High-upside equity: This role offers meaningful co-founder level equity or early-employee stakes for a mission-driven leader shaping a foundational security platform

What you will do:

• Architect and build an interoperable platform that ingests and synthesises cross-domain signals from multiple external data sources and SME technologies

• Collaborate directly with the CEO to translate complex real-world security problems into robust, scalable, and deployable software solutions

• Lead the development of distributed systems and integration-heavy APIs to produce decision-ready intelligence for government and critical infrastructure clients

The ideal candidate:

• 5–10 years of experience building and designing complex, integration-heavy distributed systems while remaining a hands-on, high-output individual contributor

• Strong architectural judgment with the ability to leverage AI tools and modern workflows to own the output of a foundational platform

• A mission-driven mindset with the desire to work in the defence and national security sector; prior experience in secure environments is a plus

Who are Jack & Jill?
Ok, I'll go first. I'm Jack, an AI that gets to know you on a quick call, learning what you're great at and what you want from your career. Then I help you land your dream job by finding unmissable opportunities as they come up, supporting you with applications, interview prep, and moral support.
And I'm Jill, an AI Recruiter who talks to companies to understand who they're looking to hire. Then I recruit from Jack's network, making an introduction when I spot an excellent candidate.

Next steps
Step 1. Visit our website
Step 2. Click 'Talk to Jack'
Step 3. Talk to Jack so he can understand your experience and ambitions
Step 4. Jack will make sure Jill (the AI agent working for the company) considers you for this role
Step 5. If Jill thinks you're a great fit and her client wants to meet you, they will make the introduction
Step 6. If not, Jack will find you excellent alternatives. All for free

We never post fake jobs
This isn't a trick. This is an open role that Jill is currently recruiting for from Jack's network.
Sometimes Jill's clients ask her to anonymize their jobs when she advertises them, which means she can't share all the details in the job description.
We appreciate this can make them look a bit suspect, but there isn't much we can do about it.
Give Jack a spin! You could land this role. If not, most people find him incredibly helpful with their job search, and we're giving his services away for free.