Chief Technology Officer

This technical leader will establish the product architecture, define infrastructure needs, and set the budget baseline for technical scaling., Technology Strategy and Architecture

• Define and execute a comprehensive technology roadmap that aligns with Whissle’s business objectives and growth strategy.
• Design, build, and oversee the scalable platform architecture required to deploy and manage real-time voice AI agents and derivative applications across diverse cloud and edge environments. At this point in Whissle’s existence, the CTO will also be the platform and software architect.
• Ensure the security, reliability, and performance of the core Streaming Intelligence platform.
• Evaluate, select, and manage the technology stack, ensuring it is optimized for high performance, low latency, and cost efficiency.
• Drive continuous innovation by evaluating emerging technologies, specifically in multi-modal AI, speech, and distributed computing., * Hire, Lead, mentor, and scale the engineering, data infrastructure and science, and MLOps teams, fostering a culture of technical excellence, collaboration, and continuous delivery (CI/CD, DevOps).
• Set and enforce technical standards, best practices, and agile methodologies for software development and platform operations.
• Manage the technology budget, resources, and vendor relationships efficiently.
• Remove technical barriers and manage technical debt to allow founders to focus more on the business strategy.

Intellectual Property (IP) and Invention

• Establish and formalize the company’s process for documenting inventions and establishing a timeline record for Whissle’s proprietary algorithms, platform architecture, and models.
• Work closely with the leadership team and IP counsel to review invention disclosures and assess patentability based on criteria like defensibility, detectability, and non-obviousness in the context of the solution and end-application UX.
• Help define a program that rewards and encourages team members for their commitment to the invention and patent process.

We are seeking a visionary and technically deep Chief Technology Officer to partner with the founding team and take full ownership of our technology strategy and execution. This role is essential for architecting a robust, scalable platform that can support many applications and their derivatives across cloud and edge environments. The ideal candidate will be a senior leader with a passion for cutting-edge AI, who can build and lead a high-performing team while establishing best-in-class technical standards., * 10+ years of progressive technical leadership experience, with 5+ years in an executive CTO, VP of Engineering, or similar role at an early-stage or high-growth company.

• Deep expertise in designing and implementing complex, scalable platform architectures for enterprise-grade solutions with a focus on supporting real-time products/services .
• Strong, hands-on experience in the AI/ML domain, specifically with building and deploying models at scale (MLOps).
• Proven track record with cloud-native architectures (e.g., AWS, Azure, GCP) and experience with edge/embedded device deployments.
• Demonstrated ability to attract, hire, mentor, and lead diverse, high-performing engineering teams., * Experience with real-time data streaming, multi-modal systems, and low-latency processing.
• Familiarity with the patent process, invention disclosure, and the principles of IP protection, especially for software and AI-related technologies (e.g., non-obviousness test).
• Strong business acumen and experience in aligning technology investment with SaaS and API-based business models.
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to clearly articulate technical vision to non-technical stakeholders, including investors.
• Strong coding skills in the various languages that will be required in the space. CTO is expected to be a hands-on employee, during the early stages of the company.

• Equity: 5-15% (commensurate with experience & stage)
• Competitive cash once we close our next round
• Direct influence on the product and research roadmap alongside a PhD-level AI team
• Help build the operating system for voice, vision and multi-sensory AI before anyone else