Chief Technology Officer (CTO)

About the Role

Clause5afe is building the infrastructure layer for global AI governance certification. The CTO will own the technical vision and execution for everything we build: the certification platform, client portals, auditor tools, API infrastructure, public registry, and real-time compliance monitoring systems. You will lead engineering from the ground up — hiring the team, setting the architecture, and delivering the products that make our certification process scalable, secure, and world-class.

What You’ll Do

• Define and execute the technical strategy for Clause5afe’s entire product and platform infrastructure.
• Build, hire, and lead the engineering team from initial hires through scale (targeting 8–15 engineers in Year 1–2).
• Architect and deliver the core certification platform: client onboarding portal, document management, audit workflow tools, evidence collection, scoring/assessment engines, and certificate generation.
• Build the public certification registry — a transparent, searchable database where certification status can be independently verified.
• Develop API infrastructure for enterprise integrations, enabling clients to connect their AI systems to our monitoring and compliance tools.
• Establish security, privacy, and infrastructure standards befitting a company that certifies others on these exact topics.
• Collaborate with the CCO on translating certification methodology into scalable technical workflows.
• Support investor due diligence on technical architecture, scalability, and product roadmap.
• Manage vendor relationships for cloud infrastructure, DevOps tooling, and third-party integrations.

What We’re Looking For

• 10+ years of software engineering experience, with at least 5 years in a technical leadership role (VP Engineering, CTO, Principal Engineer).
• Proven experience building SaaS platforms from scratch in a startup or early-stage environment.
• Strong full-stack architecture skills: Python or Node.js backend, React frontend, cloud infrastructure (AWS or Azure).
• Experience with compliance, audit, or GRC (governance, risk, compliance) platforms is a significant plus.
• Deep understanding of security best practices, data encryption, access controls, and secure application development.
• Experience hiring, managing, and mentoring engineering teams through rapid growth.
• Ability to translate business requirements into technical architecture and manage engineering timelines against business milestones.
• Startup mentality — comfortable building from zero, making tradeoffs, and shipping fast without sacrificing quality.

Nice to Have

• Experience with AI/ML systems, model evaluation, or AI governance tooling.
• Background in enterprise software serving regulated industries (fintech, healthtech, cybersecurity).
• Experience building developer-facing products, APIs, or open-source tooling.
• Prior CTO/VP Eng role at a company that achieved SOC 2, ISO 27001, or similar certifications (you’ll understand our clients’ world from the inside).

Why This Role Matters

Our certification methodology is only as scalable as the technology that delivers it. The CTO will build the platform that enables Clause5afe to certify thousands of AI systems globally — not through manual processes, but through intelligent, secure, enterprise-grade infrastructure. You’re not just building software. You’re building the technical backbone of the global AI governance certification standard.

Compensation: 200,000 – $250,000