Shiftgig, one of Chicago’s hottest and fastest growing technology companies, is seeking a Chief Technology Officer (CTO). We are looking for a technology visionary and strong leader to help take our engineering operation to the next level. This position reports to the CEO, is on the exec team, and will lead technology strategy, operations, and management (including infrastructure).

 

About Shiftgig

Shiftgig is a venture-funded startup founded on the simple premise that many people want flexible work opportunities that fit into the rest of their lives. We build technology that is focused on one thing: connecting people who want temporary work right now with businesses that need them. Our apps make it easy for businesses to post gigs and for qualified and skilled workers to claim them. Our platform handles shift fulfillment and all the messy bits associated with labor management.

What you'll lead as CTO:

 1. Strategy

• Establish the company's technology vision and strategy
• Help shape the company’s overall business strategy, particularly as it relates to technology risks, opportunities, and resource allocation / spend
• Foster innovation and efficiency throughout the company, working in a consultative fashion with other department heads such as operations, marketing, sales, and accounting to leverage technology
• Collaborate with other senior executive team members to set and manage towards the company’s business objectives, oversee how those can be achieved through technology, and measure the product/technology effectiveness.
• Lead conversations with partners or clients about potential data exchanges or API integrations
• Evangelize the company’s technology vision internally and externally

 2. Operations

• Working collaboratively with the heads of product and data, prioritize and deliver according to agreed upon timelines the highest impact product and technology initiatives to further business objectives
• Ensure high quality output, effectively managing speed vs. risk
• Set up and maintain cost-effective and scalable infrastructure
• Working with the head of product, champion efficient internal development processes and tools including Agile
• Lead build vs. buy evaluations that relate to core technology, and assist other departments with due diligence on technology tools

3. Management

• Lead all aspects of the company's technology engineering, successfully delivering complex initiatives according to anticipated timelines
• Attract and retain a top-notch team of engineers
• Actively mentor engineering management
• Establish a culture with clear career growth opportunities, responsibility and accountability, including appropriate R&D investments
• Manage the technology team budget and resource prioritization

To be successful, you’ll need a strong and diverse background, including:

Desired Experience:

• Significant management experience (> 80 - 100 people), including scaling an engineering team in multiple locations at a startup or high growth company
• Proven history delivering applications for both B2B and B2C audiences
• Experience supporting data science & business analytics with product derived data
• Demonstrated experience integrating / transitioning engineering teams from mergers / acquisitions
• Executive team experience that resulted in a successful exit (IPO or acquisition)
• Significant experience with Agile
• Bonus: experience with marketplace platforms

 

Desired Skill / Qualifications:

• BS or MS in related field and 15 years of experience in software development with at least 10 years in technology management
• Ability to think and act strategically, proactively, and with demonstrably excellent judgement
• Must be metric-driven and results-oriented
• Excellent communication skills including the ability to clearly communicate complicated technical topics to non-technical audiences, and ability to inspire and motivate all levels of staff
• Intimate knowledge of modern software development languages, frameworks, and databases including Python, Javascript, native mobile Javascript and relational and non-relational open source data stores
• Thorough understanding of modern software development architecture best practices such as microservices, RESTful API design, mobile-driven development, and single-page web applications
• Knowledge of best practices for leveraging cloud and physical server infrastructure for scalability, and familiarity with options for creating easily maintainable development, staging and production environments
• Familiarity with information security vulnerabilities and risk management
• Familiarity with consumer privacy and payments industry compliance requirements
• Excellent analytical, project management, presentation and organizational skills with keen attention to detail