Chief Technology Officer

This role is for a builder who wants full ownership of engineering, manufacturing execution, and product delivery at a company about to scale.

About the Position:

We are a seed funded food technology startup commercializing systems that significantly extend fresh food shelf life. Our products span consumer devices, commercial kitchen equipment, food containers, retrofit lids, and proprietary gas systems.

We are at an inflection point. Our CEO has been deeply embedded in engineering execution, and we are now ready to bring on our first Chief Technology Officer to take full ownership of engineering and product development so the business can scale.

This is a hands on, execution focused CTO role. You will not be managing from a distance. You will be accountable for shipping physical products, improving engineering velocity, tightening quality systems, and building an engineering organization that can scale with the company.

Key Responsibilities:

Own engineering end to end

• Take full ownership of all product development across multiple active product lines
• Own schedules, budgets, vendors, and delivery commitments
• Build and lead the engineering team, including internal staff and external partners
• Establish engineering processes around design reviews, change control, risk management, and documentation

Drive products from concept to production

• Lead products from early design through mass production
• Own DFM decisions and production intent design from day one
• Personally review critical engineering outputs including drawings, tolerances, materials, and test criteria
• Ensure clean transitions from prototype to production using structured validation and inspection processes

Own quality and vendor accountability

• Build acceptance testing protocols that catch issues before they reach customers
• Drive rigorous DFMEA and risk management across all product lines
• Manage international manufacturing partners and hold them accountable to specifications
• Verify everything. Assume nothing.

Be the technical leader of the company

• Serve as the technical voice in investor and board discussions
• Partner with the CEO on product and technology roadmap decisions
• Support fundraising and due diligence with credible technical leadership
• Protect and expand the company’s IP portfolio

Who this role is for

You are a senior engineering leader who has shipped real, physical products. You have lived through the hard parts of going from prototype to production and know where companies get burned. You enjoy being close to the details, but you also want to build systems and teams that scale.

You are comfortable with ambiguity, limited resources, and ownership. You are not looking for a polished organization. You are looking to build one.

Qualifications:

• 12 plus years of experience designing and shipping electromechanical consumer or commercial products
• At least 5 years in an engineering leadership role such as Director of Engineering, VP Engineering, or CTO
• Proven experience taking products from concept through mass production
• Deep understanding of materials, tolerances, seal systems, and manufacturing realities
• Experience managing international manufacturing partners
• Strong grasp of quality systems, DFMEA, and acceptance testing
• Ability to operate hands on while building long term structure

Why this role matters

This is an opportunity to become the technical owner of a company at a critical growth stage. You will shape not only the products, but the engineering culture, processes, and long term technical direction of the business.

If you are looking for a career defining build, we would love to talk.