Chief Technology Officer (CTO) job description

A Chief Technology Officer (CTO) plays a critical role in executive leadership and technical strategy, helping companies scale infrastructure, drive innovation, and align technology with business goals. This role is essential for organisations looking to compete globally, build resilient digital platforms, and lead through technology.

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Kickstart your hiring with our adaptable CTO job description template. Perfect for job boards or your careers page, this outline helps you clearly define the core responsibilities and desired qualifications. Tailor it to reflect your company’s culture, tools, and product architecture — and attract the right executive technology leader to your team.

CTO job template

[Company] is a respected [industry] organisation with a strong commitment to [mission/goals]. Our globally distributed team thrives on collaboration, experimentation, and resilience. We’re looking for a visionary and hands-on CTO to guide our technology roadmap, scale our engineering culture, and future-proof our product strategy.

About the role

As CTO, you’ll lead the engineering and technology function at [Company]. You’ll be responsible for setting the technical vision, managing a high-performing team, and ensuring our technology infrastructure can support long-term innovation and scale. Working closely with the CEO and other executive leaders, you’ll align product architecture with business goals, oversee technical hiring, and lead digital transformation across platforms and systems. This role is ideal for candidates who thrive in fast-paced, cross-functional, globally distributed environments.

CTO responsibilities

Your key responsibilities will include:

• Define and own the company’s long-term technology vision and architecture roadmap
• Lead and grow a globally distributed engineering team through thoughtful hiring and mentorship
• Drive platform scalability, security, and performance to support business growth
• Align engineering strategy with product, design, and business teams to ensure cohesive execution
• Evaluate and implement emerging technologies that provide competitive advantages
• Oversee infrastructure, DevOps, data architecture, and system reliability at scale
• Establish and enforce engineering best practices, code quality standards, and compliance
• Represent technology leadership in board meetings, investor updates, and public speaking when needed
  
  

CTO qualifications

The ideal candidate for this CTO position will have:

• A bachelor’s or master’s degree in computer science, engineering, or related technical discipline
• 10+ years of technical leadership experience, with at least 3+ years in an executive or VP-level role
• Proven success scaling engineering teams in a SaaS, platform, or product-led company
• Deep understanding of cloud infrastructure, systems architecture, and security practices
• Experience managing budgets, timelines, and technical vendor relationships
• Demonstrated ability to build collaborative engineering cultures in global teams

CTO skills

Commonly required skills for CTO roles include:

• Strategic technical planning and executive decision-making
• Scalable systems architecture and infrastructure management
• Cross-functional team leadership and remote team scaling
• DevOps, CI/CD, and cloud-native development (AWS, GCP, Azure)
• Cybersecurity, compliance, and data privacy
• Budgeting, forecasting, and technical vendor evaluation
• Agile product development and stakeholder alignment
  
  

Paths to becoming a CTO 

Many CTOs start their careers as software engineers, system architects, or technical leads. A strong foundation in full-stack development or infrastructure engineering, combined with experience managing large teams and projects, forms a typical career path. Advanced degrees in computer science or engineering and executive education (e.g., MBA, product leadership programs) can also be valuable. Experience in VC-backed startups, enterprise systems, or hypergrowth environments helps distinguish top candidates.

Typical career progression for a CTO 

Depending on the organisation and structure, experienced CTOs may grow into:

• Group CTO / President of Technology – Oversees multiple technical product divisions
• Chief Innovation Officer – Focuses on R&D, strategic partnerships, and emerging tech
• CEO (with technical origin) – Moves into company-wide leadership
• Board Advisor / Venture Partner – Brings technical expertise to startups or investors
  
  

Other possible titles for this role

This position may also appear as:

• VP of Engineering
• Head of Technology
• Chief Innovation Officer
• Chief Product & Technology Officer
• Technical Co-Founder (for startups)