Chief Technology Officer

Scratch Financial

. Lead the engineering, infrastructure, and security functions for an approximately 30-person team .

Posted 10/7/2026full-timeRemote • California • United StatesLead💰 $300,000 - $350,000 per yearWebsite

Core Competencies

Role fit

Core Competencies

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Demonstrates expertise in leading engineering and security functions, with a strong focus on building operational maturity, implementing security strategies, and leveraging AI applications. Proven ability to manage distributed teams while ensuring compliance and effective communication during organizational changes.

Highest-signal resume keywords

Leadership Of Security FunctionExperience With Agentic AI DevelopmentBuilding Observability And Security SystemsStrong FinOps DisciplineHands-On Technical Experience

ATS Keywords

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Applicant Tracking System Keywords

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Hard Skills

CloudOpsGitOpsSecurity PracticesAPI ArchitectureModular MonolithsSDLC RigorDatabase ScalingIncident ResponseApplication HardeningDiligence Preparation

Soft Skills

Communication With TransparencyAbility To Lead And DelegateComfort With AmbiguityCuriosity About Business ProblemsProactive Problem Solving

Tools & Technologies

Stripe Payment InternalsMonitoring ToolsAlerting SystemsObservability ToolsSecurity Audit Tools

Industry Keywords

Compliance ReadinessDistributed CloudRemote-First TeamFinancial FluencyThird-Party Integrations

Tech Stack

Tools & technologies

CloudMicroservicesSDLC

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Lead the engineering, infrastructure, and security functions for an approximately 30-person team
Build engineering process and operational maturity across architecture, coding standards, CloudOps, GitOps, and security practices
Improve monitoring, alerting, and observability
Own and revitalize the security function, including audits, compliance readiness, application hardening, and incident response
Establish a credible AI and engineering vision and identify practical applications of AI
Implement agentic security strategies
Lead and delegate within a distributed, remote-first engineering team
Review architecture, debug complex issues, and set technical standards
Tie technology decisions to cost and business value
Communicate with internal teams and external parties during organizational change and sensitive processes
Build structure, delegation, and bench strength so the organization can operate without the CTO as a bottleneck

Requirements

What you’ll need

Experience leading a company through a sell-side transaction, including hands-on diligence preparation
Experience building observability, alerting, and security systems from near-ground-zero
Direct leadership of a security function, with exposure to audits and compliance processes
Hands-on experience with agentic AI development
Background in distributed cloud backends, database scaling, and API architecture
Recent hands-on technical or coding experience; a decade or more away from technical work is not suitable
Knowledge of pragmatic, scalable architecture, including modular monoliths over premature microservices
Strong FinOps discipline around cloud cost
Experience with Stripe-style payment internals, including subscriptions, webhooks, and ledgering
Experience designing secure third-party integrations
Commitment to SDLC rigor
Ability to lead and delegate within a distributed, remote-first team
Commercial and financial fluency
Ability to communicate with transparency and discretion
Comfort with ambiguity and shifting business or product requirements
Ability to operate approximately 30% hands-on and 70% structuring, delegating, and managing
Curiosity about the business, customers, and problems being solved
Proactive approach to resolving process and structural gaps
Ability to work inclusively across a distributed, international team

Benefits

Comp & perks

Participation in the company's equity and leadership bonus programs
Remote-first work flexibility
Pasadena office space available for hybrid work, stocked with snacks and beverages
Unlimited PTO
Covered healthcare
401k match
Cell plan reimbursement
Monthly recognition opportunities
Learning platforms and resources
Equity retention policy
Generous parental leave