> Markdown version of [/jobs/ext/139987-chief-technology-officer](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/jobs/ext/139987-chief-technology-officer). Every page supports `.md` or `Accept: text/markdown`. Links point to the HTML versions so they work for humans too. Agent guide: [/agents.md](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/agents.md). --- # Chief Technology Officer - **Company:** Kaizen Laboratories Inc. - **Location:** New York, NY, United States - **Experience:** Expert - **Salary:** $300,000.0 - $350,000.0 - **Contract:** Permanent contract - **Skills:** Artificial Intelligence, Mobile Application Development, Api Management - **Published:** May 29, 2026 - **Apply:** https://www.indeed.com/viewjob?jk=69ced4df9c61b65f ## About the Role Do you have experience in Tooling?, * The architectural credibility to make hard calls on platform discipline vs. delivery speed - and enough organizational authority to make those calls stick under pressure * A track record of running parallel technical workstreams across multiple high-stakes engagements without losing accountability on any of them * Native fluency with AI-native development - you build with AI tools yourself, you've thought seriously about agentic pipelines and AI-assisted delivery, and you set the standard rather than follow it * Experience leading both product engineering and delivery engineering, with a real understanding of what makes each culture different and why conflating them produces the worst of both Strong Candidates May Also... * Have built or contributed to an internal AI tooling layer (agentic pipelines, AI-assisted scaffolding, or similar) that measurably accelerated team throughput * Have direct experience navigating FedRAMP authorization processes or DoD IL4/IL5 environments - the bureaucratic context, not just the acronyms * Have led a technical organization through a platform re-architecture under active delivery pressure, and have the scar tissue to prove it ## Description Kaizen is building the constituent services operating system for the American government - and the 2.0 build cycle is the moment that determines whether we become a platform company or stay a vertical one. We have live federal deployments, real pull from USDA, DoW, DHS, and Commerce, and a product thesis proving out in production. What we need now is a technical general to command both Platform and Delivery: two fundamentally different operating modes that must run in parallel without collapsing into each other. Platform builds the reusable, compounding foundation - disciplined, architectural, built to last. Delivery wins and executes federal engagements at speed - high-tempo, AI-native, ships-or-dies. The CTO owns both, defines the interface between them, and ensures neither sacrifices what makes it effective., * Command the Platform and Delivery organizations as distinct operating units - each with its own culture, mandate, and accountability structure - and be the single point of accountability for the output of both * Own the Kaizen 2.0 architecture: sequence the build of 12 core modules in the right order, hold the line on abstraction, and ensure the foundation compounds rather than fractures under delivery pressure * Lead the Blacksmith initiative - Kaizen's internal AI configuration harness that transforms agency requirements documents into runnable, pre-configured repositories and eliminates the time-to-first-commit tax on every new federal engagement * Define and enforce the Platform-Delivery interface: module readiness maps, API contracts, and Blacksmith handoff protocols that keep Delivery fast and Platform honest * Drive federal technical strategy - FedRAMP posture, DoD IL4/IL5 readiness, and procurement-aware architecture decisions that keep Kaizen competitive in federal BD conversations * Recruit, develop, and retain builders who operate at the frontier of AI-native government technology - and who understand that shipping for government is different from shipping for anyone else, * You need product and engineering to be separate reporting lines - this role commands both, and the organizational separation between Platform and Delivery is load-bearing * Federal procurement cycles feel like a tax rather than terrain - FedRAMP, ATO timelines, and agency BD dynamics are part of the operating environment, not exceptions to it * You've operated exclusively in one mode - pure platform architecture or pure delivery execution - and have never had to hold both accountabilities without letting either slip * You think architectural rigor and delivery velocity are fundamentally in tension - the entire Kaizen 2.0 model depends on them being complementary, and you'll need to demonstrate that in practice * Forty million Americans interact with government services that don't work. If modernizing that infrastructure isn't a sufficient reason to build something harder than you've built before, this isn't the right mission. ## Related Videos - [From APIs to MCP: Enterprise Governance, Registry, and Controls](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/100336-from-apis-to-mcp-enterprise-governance-registry-and-controls) - [Edit Your Future: Queerverse Radical AI](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/909-edit-your-future-queerverse-radical-ai) - [Making the switch from web to mobile development](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/274-making-the-switch-from-web-to-mobile-development) - [AI Driven Development](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/100340-ai-driven-development) - [AI is dead, long live AK](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/1093-ai-is-dead-long-live-ak) - [Say goodbye to building boring APIs with Azure Data API Builder](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/1194-say-goodbye-to-building-boring-apis-with-azure-data-api-builder) ## Related Articles - [Navigating the AI Shift](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/629-navigating-the-ai-shift) - [Best US AI Conferences for CTOs in 2026: Build vs. Buy, Vendor Evaluation, and Peer Intelligence](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/736-best-us-ai-conferences-for-ctos-in-2026-build-vs-buy-vendor-evaluation-and-peer-intelligence) - [Transforming Software Development: The Role of AI and Developer Tools](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/527-transforming-software-development-the-role-of-ai-and-developer-tools) - [Stephan Gillich - Bringing AI Everywhere](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/489-stephan-gillich-bringing-ai-everywhere) - [Exploring AI: Opportunities and Risks for Developers](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/522-exploring-ai-opportunities-and-risks-for-developers) - [MLOps And AI Driven Development](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/82-mlops-and-ai-driven-development)