Lead end-to-end technology for a greenfield, white-label consumer engagement and rewards platform. Define architecture, build scalable backend and infra for real-time events, points/wallet systems and tokenised rewards, oversee web and mobile products, integrate external systems, ensure production readiness and security, and hire and scale the engineering organisation while transitioning from hands-on delivery to strategic leadership.
We are supporting a venture-backed, early-stage technology company building a white-label consumer engagement and rewards platform for global brands. The platform enables large-scale fan and customer experiences (e.g. predictions, quests, digital rewards, ticketing and commerce) while incorporating tokenised settlement and rewards infrastructure.
This role represents a true greenfield build. The Founding CTO will define the overall system architecture, technical standards, and engineering culture from day one, while delivering a production-grade platform designed to scale to millions of users.
As Founding CTO, you will take end-to-end ownership of the technology organisation, from initial architecture and hands-on development through to team build-out and long-term technical strategy.
You will work closely with founders and commercial stakeholders, translating product vision into scalable systems and ensuring the platform can support multiple partners, brands, and regions.
Responsibilities- Platform & architecture
- Define and build the core platform architecture supporting engagement mechanics, rewards, commerce, and analytics
- Establish system design principles covering scalability, security, and performance
- Make key build-vs-buy decisions and select vendors, tooling, and infrastructure partners
- Backend & infrastructure
- Architect and implement backend services supporting real-time event ingestion, points/wallet systems, identity, and compliance controls
- Design robust data pipelines, storage, and API layers
- Own production readiness, including monitoring, alerting, SLOs, and incident response processes
- Consumer products
- Oversee development of mobile (iOS/Android) and web applications delivered under partner branding
- Ensure high-quality user experience across consumer touchpoints
- Token & rewards infrastructure
- Lead design and integration of tokenised reward systems, including smart contracts and distribution logic
- Manage wallet integrations and fiat on/off-ramps in collaboration with external providers
- Integrations
- Build and maintain APIs connecting to external data feeds, ticketing systems, commerce platforms, and sponsor tools
- Leadership & team
- Hire, mentor, and scale a high-performing engineering team
- Establish engineering standards, documentation practices, and development workflows
- Act as a hands-on technical leader while progressively transitioning to strategic oversight
- 8+ years of experience building consumer-facing technology products
- Proven experience delivering at least one 0-to-1 platform
- Track record of shipping and operating products at scale (100K+ users)
- Strong backend engineering background (distributed systems, real-time data, API design)
- Experience designing production-grade systems with high reliability requirements
- Comfortable working across frontend, backend, and infrastructure layers
- Strong written and verbal communication skills (architecture docs, technical strategy, roadmap planning)
- Experience with loyalty, gaming, or marketplace-style mechanics (e.g. rewards, auctions, prediction-style systems)
- Familiarity with blockchain or tokenised systems (smart contracts, wallets, settlement flows)
- Background in security-sensitive or compliance-aware systems
- Experience building white-label or multi-tenant platforms
- Languages: TypeScript/JavaScript, Node.js, Python; Go or Rust exposure is a plus
- Mobile: React Native or Flutter; native iOS (Swift) / Android (Kotlin) experience advantageous
- Infrastructure: Cloud-native (GCP), Docker/Kubernetes, CI/CD pipelines
- Data: PostgreSQL, Redis, event streaming (Kafka or equivalent)
- Web3 exposure: Solidity fundamentals, wallet integrations, token mechanics
Similar Jobs
Information Technology • Insurance • Software
Leads complex customer software implementations from initiation through completion, managing scope, schedules, budgets, resources, risks, change control, and financial performance. Acts as the primary customer and executive stakeholder partner, coordinates cross-functional teams, resolves escalations, delivers project reporting, and ensures implementation quality. The role also mentors project managers, promotes project governance and best practices, identifies process improvements, and provides strategic implementation guidance.
Top Skills:
ExcelMS OfficeMicrosoft ProjectOutlookPowerPointWord
Information Technology
Design, implement, administer, and maintain Splunk environments across on-premises and cloud infrastructures. Responsibilities include upgrades, patching, system health monitoring, troubleshooting, data onboarding, log parsing, indexing, normalization, SPL query development, and creation of dashboards, reports, and alerts. The role partners with application and network teams to identify data sources and supports operational, security, and business analytics.
Top Skills:
Regular ExpressionsSearch Processing Language (Spl)Splunk
Information Technology
Develops and sells Dell-centric infrastructure solutions in a field-based technical pre-sales role. Responsibilities include customer assessments, solution architecture, technical health checks, SOW authoring, sales strategy, customer and partner relationship management, competitive analysis, technical enablement, marketing contributions, coaching, and training. The role focuses on Dell compute, storage, data protection, datacenter, and hybrid solutions while serving as a trusted technical advisor.
Top Skills:
AWSAzure LocalDell Data ProtectionDell PoweredgeDell PowerflexDell PowerscaleDell PowerstoreDell VxrailHyper-VAzureMicrosoft ServerNutanixVeeamVMware
What you need to know about the San Francisco Tech Scene
San Francisco and the surrounding Bay Area attracts more startup funding than any other region in the world. Home to Stanford University and UC Berkeley, leading VC firms and several of the world’s most valuable companies, the Bay Area is the place to go for anyone looking to make it big in the tech industry. That said, San Francisco has a lot to offer beyond technology thanks to a thriving art and music scene, excellent food and a short drive to several of the country’s most beautiful recreational areas.
Key Facts About San Francisco Tech
- Number of Tech Workers: 365,500; 13.9% of overall workforce (2024 CompTIA survey)
- Major Tech Employers: Google, Apple, Salesforce, Meta
- Key Industries: Artificial intelligence, cloud computing, fintech, consumer technology, software
- Funding Landscape: $50.5 billion in venture capital funding in 2024 (Pitchbook)
- Notable Investors: Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Bessemer Venture Partners, Greylock Partners, Khosla Ventures, Kleiner Perkins
- Research Centers and Universities: Stanford University; University of California, Berkeley; University of San Francisco; Santa Clara University; Ames Research Center; Center for AI Safety; California Institute for Regenerative Medicine
