Chief Technology Officer (CTO)

PURPOSE

OBJECTIVES (main duties and responsibilities)

Technology Vision & Strategy

• Define, communicate, and evolve a long-term technology roadmap aligned with company objectives.
• Translate business and product strategy into actionable technology goals and investments.
  
• Champion the use of modern technology and architecture to future-proof the platform and accelerate delivery.

Architecture Governance

• Establish and maintain architecture governance processes including tech radar, design review forums, and architecture principles.
• Maintain an up-to-date inventory of technology standards, service patterns, integration protocols, and sunset policies.
• Oversee system architecture to ensure coherence, maintainability, and performance across domains.
• Ensure cross-cutting concerns such as observability, scalability, and resilience are addressed by design.

Enterprise-Grade Engineering

• Drive platform maturity, stability, and extensibility to meet the needs of enterprise/B2B customers.
• Ensure systems and data comply with security, regulatory, and integration requirements, including authentication standards, audit trails, and role-based access control.
• Champion API-first, integration-ready thinking in all platforms and product design.
• Lead the definition and enforcement of non-functional requirements for scale, uptime, security, and performance.

Delivery Guardrails & Execution Oversight

• Implement delivery guardrails including:
  • Feasibility reviews and technical discovery processes.
  • Scoping and effort estimation standards.
  • Root-cause post mortems and retrospectives.
  • Technical debt tracking and prioritisation.
• Partner with the VP of Engineering to drive consistent delivery metrics (e.g., cycle time, DORA metrics, quality gates).
• Maintain a culture of shared ownership and continuous delivery.

AI, Automation & Applied Innovation

• Own the innovation agenda across engineering, with a focus on applied use of AI and automation to improve product intelligence, platform operations, and developer experience.
• Prioritise and lead AI adoption through internal R&D, experimentation, and external partnerships.
• Identify areas for automation across internal tooling, monitoring, testing, and deployment pipelines—and assign ownership for implementation.

Organisational Leadership & Talent Strategy

• Build and lead a high-performing technical organisation across architecture, engineering, DevOps, and security.
• Create succession planning for key technical roles and ensure strong leadership pipelines.
• Partner with HR and People teams on engineering career frameworks, development pathways, and high-impact team structures.
• Champion engineering culture and diversity, ensuring an environment where technologists thrive.

Stakeholder & External Engagement

• Serve as the executive interface between Technology and other business units.
• Translate technical vision into language suitable for board and investor conversations.
• Represent the company in industry forums, client meetings, and technical partnerships.

ROLE REQUIREMENTS

Formal Qualifications

• Bachelor's or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Mathematics, Engineering, Information Systems, or equivalent experience.

Knowledge, Skills & Experience

• 10+ years of experience in technology leadership roles, including at least 3–5 years as a CTO or equivalent in a SaaS or fast-scaling tech business.
• Strong foundation in software engineering, systems design, and cloud infrastructure (AWS, Azure, or GCP).
• Experience scaling engineering teams and tech platforms in high-growth environments.
• Proven ability to make strategic trade-offs between speed, cost, and scale.
• Deep knowledge of modern development methodologies, security standards, DevOps, and architecture frameworks.
• Skilled in stakeholder management, with a track record of aligning cross-functional teams.
• Experience working with or presenting to Boards, investors, and C-level executives.

Job Related Experience

• 10+ years of experience in technology leadership roles, including at least 3–5 years as a CTO or equivalent in a SaaS or fast-scaling tech business.

Languages

English
Afrikaans (Beneficial)

CULTURE

• Innovation-Driven: Embrace a culture of innovation and continuous learning, where creativity and curiosity are encouraged.
• Collaborative Environment: Foster a team-centric environment where open communication, mutual respect, and shared goals are prioritised.
• Commitment to Excellence: Strive for high-quality outcomes, with a focus on delivering value to the business and stakeholders.
• Integrity and Accountability: Maintain the highest standards of ethical conduct and take responsibility for the quality of work produced.
• Lekker people

COMPANY OVERVIEW

Visit our About Us page to discover more about our culture, work ethic, and vision.