Chief Technology Officer

Founding CTO / Head of Engineering – Stealth Mode

Agentic Commerce | Category-Defining Platform

Company Snapshot

Status: Stealth

Stage: Formation / Pre-Seed

Category: Agentic Commerce

Market: ~$1.3T projected by 2030

Location: (flexible)

We are building a company at the frontier of Agentic Commerce, where AI becomes the primary interface for discovery, decision-making, and transactions. This is a once-per-cycle platform shift—comparable to mobile and cloud—that requires new technical primitives, architectures, and systems of trust.

Role Overview

We are seeking a Founding CTO / Head of Engineering to partner directly with the founder as a true co-creator—owning the technical vision, architectural foundations, and engineering culture of a category-defining platform.

This is a 0→1 founding role, not a staff CTO position. You will make early, high-leverage decisions that shape the company for years, balancing speed with durability and ambition with rigor. The role requires deep systems thinking, strong product intuition, and hands-on execution—paired with the judgment to know when not to overbuild.

The ideal candidate brings founder-level ownership, operates with low ego and high accountability, and has driven prior platform or interface shifts across commerce, AI, and developed large-scale systems.

What You’ll Own

* Technical vision & architecture: Define the core technical strategy and platform architecture from first principles, aligned with long-term product, GTM, and ecosystem goals

* Agent-native foundations: Design and build systems that support AI-driven discovery, decisioning, and transactions—optimized for trust, extensibility, and interoperability

* 0→1 execution: Translate an early thesis into real, working systems quickly, while making architectural decisions that compound rather than constrain

* Judgment under uncertainty: Navigate tradeoffs between speed, quality, and durability in a stealth environment without hiding behind process or perfectionism

* Engineering culture & talent bar: Hire early engineers, set the technical and cultural bar, and model ownership, clarity, and accountability from day one

* Founder-level collaboration: Operate as a thought partner to product and GTM leadership, shaping what gets built—not just how it’s built

* Long-term defensibility: Build systems that accrue durable advantage through data, workflows, and ecosystem integration over time

Who We’re Looking ForRequired

* 15+ years of experience building and scaling complex platforms and systems

* Proven 0→1 engineering leadership, followed by meaningful scale

* Deep background in commerce platforms, AI-driven systems, marketplaces, or distributed systems

* Strong architectural judgment in ambiguous, fast-moving environments

* Founder mentality: high ownership, comfort with responsibility, and willingness to make irreversible decisions early

Strong Preference

* Senior technical leadership experience at Google, Meta, Amazon, or similarly scaled global technology companies (seniority Director +).

* Experience operating across both big-tech rigor and startup velocity

* Prior founder, co-founder, early-stage CTO experience or 0-1 platforms in Large enterprises

* Demonstrated ability to lead with low ego, strong opinions, and clear decision-making

* Pattern recognition from prior platform or interface shifts (e.g., marketplaces, mobile, cloud, AI)

* Formal training in Computer Science, Data Science, Statistics, Mathematics, Physics, or Engineering from a top-tier U.S. institution (e.g., MIT, Stanford, Berkeley, Caltech), or equivalent depth demonstrated through exceptional real-world execution and technical leadership.

What Success Looks Like

* You are an inspirational leader who sets the cultural bar, brings people together, and builds high-trust, highly collaborative teams.

* You turn an early thesis into a credible, scalable, and defensible technical platform

* You make early architectural decisions that age well as complexity grows

* You enable fast product iteration without compromising long-term integrity

* You attract exceptional engineers who value ownership and clarity

* You build technical foundations capable of supporting category leadership

Why This Role

* Founding-team ownership and leadership in a once-per-generation platform shift

* Direct partnership with an experienced founder and former executive at the world’s largest commerce and AI platforms

* Opportunity to lead and define the technical backbone of Agentic Commerce

* Equity, influence, and genuine co-founder-level impact from day one

Company: Stealth Mode

Compensation: Equity + cash (stage-appropriate)