Chief Technology Officer
Founded in 2015 by Charles Hoskinson and Jeremy Wood, IOHK is one of the world's pre-eminent blockchain infrastructure research and engineering companies. We are a fully decentralized remote working organisation committed to the highest principles of academic rigour and evidence-based software development. The company builds high-assurance blockchain infrastructure solutions for public, private sector and government clients. It is also the driving force behind the decentralized and smart contract platform, Cardano.
About Input Output
Founded in 2015 by Charles Hoskinson and Jeremy Wood, IOHK (Input Output) is a research and development company and one of the world's pre-eminent blockchain infrastructure research and engineering companies. As a fully decentralized remote organization, it is committed to the highest principles of academic rigor and evidence-based software development to build accessible financial services for all. The company builds high-assurance blockchain infrastructure solutions for public, private sector, and government clients. IOHK is the driving force behind the research and development of the Cardano blockchain and is contracted to design, build, and maintain the platform. They also work on other products such as wallets (Daedalus, Lace) and digital identity solutions (Atala Prism), while fostering a large community of developers, stake pool operators, and enthusiasts.
Skills
About the Role
You will partner with the CEO to define the future engineering strategy for the company, owning enterprise technology and architectural direction. You will shape the developer ecosystem, including the standards, culture, tooling, and working practices that determine how the company builds software. You will develop and embed an agentic programming philosophy across the organization, establishing how engineers and AI agents work together to build and ship at pace. You will work closely with the COO and CPO to keep the roadmap technically sound, resourced appropriately, and delivered at velocity, and you will partner with IO Labs and ventures to assess the technical feasibility of new ideas. You will set the technology thesis and standards that keep platforms coherent, scalable, and secure, and you will attract and develop world-class engineers through a Centre of Excellence model. You will hold enterprise-level budget responsibility for infrastructure, tooling, AI compute, and strategic technology investments, and you will represent the company as its primary external technical voice at conferences, panels, investor forums, and key partnerships.
Requirements
- A clearly articulated engineering philosophy with proven ability to set engineering, architectural, and security standards across a large, distributed organisation
- Deep expertise in Web3 technologies
- Strong systems thinking with the ability to see a developer ecosystem as a whole and predict emergent behaviour
- Clear point of view on how AI is reshaping software engineering
- Hands-on technical credibility, including committing code and reviewing engineering work
- Experience leading technical due diligence for acquisitions, partnerships, and venture investments
- Strong ability to translate complex technical concepts for board members, investors, and non-technical executives
- Strong external profile and ability to represent the company at senior industry levels
- Deep familiarity with formal verification methods and cryptographic correctness, including zero-knowledge proof systems and consensus protocol verification
- Progressive technology leadership experience including significant time in senior or executive technical roles
- Proven track record as a senior technical leader in a high-growth technology, blockchain, or venture studio environment
- Deep, demonstrable experience in Web3, blockchain, or distributed systems
- Direct experience shaping a developer ecosystem at scale
- Experience contributing to executive-level strategy, board materials, and investment decisions
- Experience operating at the intersection of research and product in a fast-moving environment
Responsibilities
- Work with the CEO to define the future engineering strategy
- Own enterprise technology and architectural direction
- Shape the standards, culture, tooling, and working practices of the developer ecosystem
- Develop and embed an agentic programming philosophy across engineering
- Work with the COO and CPO to ensure the roadmap is technically sound and delivered at velocity
- Assess venture viability and technical feasibility of new ideas with IO Labs
- Respect the autonomy of advanced ventures while ensuring alignment with the wider ecosystem
- Set the technology thesis and architectural standards across teams
- Attract and develop engineers through a Centre of Excellence model
- Hold enterprise-level budget responsibility for infrastructure, tooling, and AI compute
- Collaborate with the CEO and COO on cross-functional financial decisions
- Set policies and allocate technical resources with executive-level autonomy
- Recruit, mentor, and serve as the technical authority for engineers
- Provide technical health metrics including technical debt and architectural risks
- Participate in Investment Committee, Venture Acceleration Boards, and acquisition discussions
- Serve as the primary external technical voice at conferences, panels, and investor forums
- Maintain relationships with leading researchers, founders, and technical talent
- Translate technical strategy into language boards and investors can engage with
- Lead the technology function at enterprise level
- Own the leadership bench for the technology domain
- Champion diversity, culture, and leadership excellence within the technology function