CTO (m/w/d)

Job Description

GridX is seeking an experienced and visionary leader to join our team as our next Chief Technology Officer (CTO). Reporting directly to the CEO, this strategic and hands-on CTO will play a pivotal role in steering our technology and product development efforts to support our growth and expansion. The CTO will support the future of our data centric SaaS platform, focusing on advancing technological innovation and creating an ecosystem that drives value to our clients and stakeholders.

In this role, the CTO will lead the strategic direction of the technology stack with a roadmap that is aligned with Product, enable innovation that is consistent with the customer needs, identify technology and infrastructure cost-optimization opportunities, stay ahead of competitive challenges, and focus on GridX being a continued leader in the market. The CTO’s expertise will guide the continued expansion and potential transformation of our platform to support advanced AI and Machine Learning capabilities, enabling our customers to derive contextually relevant insights and enhance our operational value.

In addition, the CTO will participate in future M&A initiatives, leading efforts to identify and integrate technologies that expand our platform capabilities. You will need a strong understanding of market trends, which will help you strategically assess and incorporate them to drive synergy and innovation, strongly aligning with GridX’s mission and growth.

The successful candidate will shape our technology vision, drive product excellence, and lead a collaborative, distributed and dedicated team to develop and maintain products that empower our clients in a fast-evolving market. You will have the unique opportunity to shape our technology vision, drive product excellence, and lead a dedicated team to create and maintain products that empower our utility customers while fostering growth and transformation. If you are ambitious, hard-working, and passionate, GridX is the perfect fit for you!

Responsibilities

• Own technical architecture and development: Assume accountability for the design, implementation, and evolution of our technical systems. This includes making decisions regarding the selection of technologies and architecture design, and managing development time frames.
• Continue to build out and automate the technology backbone of the company: Includes, but not limited to: API design and development, Data pipelines, cloud and security infrastructure, and mobile app development.
• Data platform innovation: Drive the evolution of our data platform to support next-generation AI applications with robust data pipelines, scalable processing and fine-tuned data access layers optimized for machine learning and generative AI workloads.
• Execute, build, and scale: Develop and build a scalable vision for the development of a strong technology platform by aligning short term deliverables with long term objectives. Navigate complex decisions and set priorities that drive company-wide impact.
• Product direction: Engage with the wider organization to solicit feedback and identify opportunities where technology can serve as a competitive advantage. Work with Product, Design, Data Science, Sales and Customer Success to build out a technology roadmap that aligns with our goals and customer commitments.
• Operational Excellence: Strong emphasis on operational rigor, with a methodical approach to managing large-scale engineering and architecture. You’ll optimize processes for maximum efficiency, and establish key performance indicators (KPIs) and metrics to track department success and performance.
• Drive the team to deliver high-quality code in a fast-paced environment: You’ll oversee the iterative process, balancing speed and product development with maintaining a clean, maintainable codebase.
• Build and lead a high caliber team: Facilitate recruitment, retention, and professional development of employees across all technology profiles. Act as a mentor to technical team members.
• Build a culture of excellence and continuous improvement: Encourage open communication, feedback, and accountability. Ensure the team adheres to high standards in code quality, testing, and performance.
• Have fire in the belly: Never be satisfied with how much or how fast we are able to move. Always be looking for ways of getting more done within the budget you are working with. Get the most out of the team through inspirational leadership and setting clear expectations of where we need to be.
• Be a Visionary Leader: Review and evaluate latest technology developments with the goal to integrate them in the product to improve the user experience. Set a clear technical vision and drive strategic initiatives that align with company goals. You’ll think ahead and anticipate future technology trends and needs.
• Leadership for technology and product assessment and integration: Lead initiatives to identify, evaluate and integrate complementary and strategic products and technologies through M&A, and ensure seamless integration and alignment with the platform to expand capabilities and market reach.
• Budget Oversight: Design and review the department’s budget. Ensure resources are properly allocated to maximize ROI. Also monitor ongoing costs and adjust, as needed, to stay within budget.
• Collaborator on Company Culture: Work closely with the CEO and the rest of the leadership team to foster a collaborative, innovative, and growth-oriented company culture.

Qualifications

• 5+ years experience as a CTO, SVP of Engineering, or a similar senior leadership role, that includes building SaaS technology in a Big Data environment.
• Deep understanding of software engineering, cybersecurity, big data, and emerging technologies, with the ability to dive deep when necessary.
• Hands-on experience with Java, big data tools, and AWS services.
• Ability to audit deployment architecture and identify AWS/infrastructure cost-optimization opportunities.
• Demonstrated strong leadership skills with a focus on coaching, mentoring, and managing a distributed technical team.
• Proven experience strategizing and executing roadmaps, programs, and initiatives; Awareness of your own technical knowledge limitations and demonstrated collaboration with other thought leaders to create comprehensive solutions will be important.
• Demonstrated success driving fast-paced, innovative solutions using Agile methodologies while managing multiple departments and navigating complex matrixed relationships.
• Highly focused on delivering results, with an internal drive to build, scale, and optimize technology infrastructure that meets the demands of a complex, data-driven environment.
• Collaborative approach with a history of working closely with Product and executive leadership to align technology with business strategy.
• Strong communicator, with high EI/EQ and passion for leading top-notch technical teams, and the ability to articulate technical vision and strategy to diverse audiences.
• The ability to pull in expertise from multiple fields and manage complex, multi-application projects with varying constraints.
• Creative thinker with a results-driven approach and a passion for staying ahead of industry trends.
• Experience managing a distributed team of up to 100 people with a presence in India.
• Experience at a start-up or growth stage company under 200 employees is strongly preferred.
• Experience with M&A, performing technical diligence, and assessing/integrating independent technology and teams.

Your Location

Because much of the team is based in Denver, CO, it is strongly preferred that the selected candidate be located in the greater Denver area. The role will include occasional work at a GridX Industrious shared office or attendance at offsites and/or customer sites, as determined by your role’s responsibilities and agreed to with your manager.

Our Interview Process

Intro Call (20-30 minutes)

Interview #1 with CEO (45-60 minutes)

Interview #2 with CTO (45-60 minutes)

Interview #3 with CXO (45-60 minutes)

Interview #4 panel discussion with Engineering leaders (45-60 minutes)

We want to know how you think! Please refrain from using AI tools during your live interviews. We value getting to know candidates on a human level more than getting every answer "correct". Use of AI is monitored in all interviews.

Benefits

• Flexible PTO
• Excellent Medical, Dental and Vision Insurance
• 401k Match
• Stock Options
• Parental Leave
• Be part of creating our clean energy future

Our Values

Our values are closely-held beliefs designed to drive the right actions and the right decisions that are authentic to GridX. We expect results delivered in a way consistent with GridX values. In exchange, we reward high performance. We:

• eXplore the possible - Everyone is empowered to innovate, fail and iterate in delivering our clean energy future. Consistent progress is our default.
• eXecute on big goals - We are owners, taking responsibility for achieving results. We think long-term, sweat the details, and use resources wisely.
• eXcel together - Collaboration and camaraderie are at our core. We cheer for and challenge each other to be our best. We win together.
• eXemplify success - We do the right thing and act with integrity, even when no one is looking. We prove that it’s possible to do well by doing good.