Chief Technology Officer - Player/Coach for a PE backed scale-up (Remote UK/Europe)

<p><span><strong>Location:</strong> Remote-first (UK/Europe-based) with <strong>monthly</strong> in-person days in the UK (typically <strong>Manchester</strong>, 2 days)</span></p><p><span><strong>Compensation</strong>:<strong> £150k base + bonus</strong> (structure to be agreed, tied to delivery)</span></p><p><span><strong>Reports to</strong>: Co-Founders&nbsp;</span></p><p><span><strong>Seniority Level:</strong> SLT</span></p><p><span><strong>Team</strong>: ~12 in Engineering today, scaling thoughtfully as we grow</span></p><h4><strong>About ClickTech</strong></h4><p>ClickTech is a global AdTech and EdTech company empowering the next generation of digital entrepreneurs. Through our award-winning suite of advertising tools and our flagship platform <strong>ClickTech HUB</strong>, we make AI, digital marketing, and entrepreneurial education accessible to everyone — from freelancers and small business owners to agency leaders and ambitious professionals.</p><p>We already support over <strong>50,000 businesses in 135+ countries</strong>, and we’re just getting started.</p><p><span>We operate two business models:</span></p><ol><li><p><span><strong>A stable legacy partnership:</strong> where we’re one of Microsoft’s largest partners</span></p></li><li><p><span>Our main growth focus: <strong>ClickTech HUB + Omni AI</strong>, a subscription product helping solopreneurs and individuals learn how to use AI and apply it to online marketing/business growth</span></p></li></ol><p><span>We’re <strong>PE-backed</strong> with long-term investors and are scaling from <strong>~50 people to ~100 </strong>over the next 12 months. The goal: aggressive scale <strong>without the wheels falling off.</strong></span></p><h4><strong>The Opportunity</strong></h4><p><span>We’re hiring a full-time <strong>CTO</strong> to replace our interim CTO.</span></p><p><span>This is a role for an <strong>entrepreneurial builder-operator</strong>: curious, driven, commercial, and technically credible. Someone who can run a high-performance engineering org, stay close to the product, and introduce just enough operational structure (release/incident/standards) to increase reliability and predictability—without creating bureaucracy.</span></p><p><span><strong>In the early months you’ll be hands-on (“player/coach”)</strong>—close to architecture, delivery, and unblocking. Over time, as the company scales, you’ll <strong>transition into more of an org-scaling CTO</strong> while keeping a builder mindset.</span></p><h4><span><strong>How we work (culture snapshot)</strong></span></h4><p><span>Our culture is explicitly high-performance and outcome-focused:</span></p><ul><li><p><span><strong>Act fast, learn faster</strong> (speed + iteration over perfection)</span></p></li><li><p><span><strong>Build with impact</strong> (outcomes over output)</span></p></li><li><p><span><strong>Own the outcome</strong> (high autonomy + high accountability)</span></p></li><li><p><span><strong>Raise the bar, then raise it again&nbsp;</strong></span></p></li><li><p><span><strong>Win together </strong>(no ego, strong collaboration)</span></p></li><li><p><span><strong>Obsess over the customer and long-term value </strong>(retention and expansion matter)</span></p></li></ul><p><span>We work in <strong>Pods</strong> aligned to <strong>company OKRs</strong>. Each pod has a clear lead as the final decision maker to avoid committee drag.</span></p><p><span>Remote-first, flexible hours — but we expect flexibility back when the business needs it (incidents, urgent customer-impacting issues).</span></p><h4><span><strong>What you’ll own</strong></span></h4><p><span><strong>1) Technology &amp; delivery leadership</strong></span></p><ul><li><p><span>Own Engineering and DevOps/SRE (data/security ownership to be shaped as we scale)</span></p></li><li><p><span>Keep the Microsoft legacy model stable and well-supported</span></p></li><li><p><span>Drive the build-out of ClickTech HUB + Omni AI into a broader ecosystem (education → gamification → creator marketplace → remuneration engine)</span></p></li></ul><p><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;"><br></span><span><strong>2) Reliability and “foundations for scale”</strong></span></p><p><span>Our biggest pain points today are<strong> release reliability,</strong> quality/reliability, and delivery predictability (without heavy process). You’ll:</span></p><ul><li><p><span>Introduce pragmatic <strong>release management</strong> (lightweight but real)</span></p></li><li><p><span>Establish <strong>incident management</strong> and clearer comms during issues</span></p></li><li><p><span>Improve<strong> testing discipline</strong> (coverage and the right tests in the right places)</span></p></li><li><p><span>Strengthen <strong>observability and bug-clearance focus</strong></span></p></li><li><p><span>Set practical standards (checklists + automation where it matters)</span></p></li></ul><p><span><strong>3) People + performance</strong></span></p><ul><li><p><span>Continue building a high-performance culture: high ownership, high throughput, high standards</span></p></li><li><p><span>Increase ownership and accountability across pod leads / team leads</span></p></li><li><p><span>Coach, develop, and retain strong engineers in an autonomous environment</span></p></li><li><p><span>Partner tightly with SLT (Head of Product, CMO, CFO) and be a strong voice in quarterly priority setting</span></p></li></ul><p><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Calibri, sans-serif;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;"><br></span><span><strong>Org note</strong>: we have a VP of Engineering; this role will partner closely with them. Current intent is that the VP Eng drives tech quality, while the CTO owns people leadership and org performance, delivery outcomes, and alignment with founders/SLT.</span></p><h4><span><strong>Success looks like…</strong></span></h4><p><span><strong>In the first 90 days</strong></span></p><ul><li><p><span>You deeply understand the product, users, unit economics, and the real bottlenecks behind incidents</span></p></li><li><p><span>You’ve implemented a lightweight <strong>release/rollback discipline </strong>that reduces avoidable production issues</span></p></li><li><p><span>Engineers feel clear on what “great” looks like (standards) without feeling slowed down</span></p></li><li><p><span>Communication during incidents is calm, fast, and trusted across the business</span></p></li></ul><p><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;"><br></span><span><strong>In 6–12 months</strong></span></p><ul><li><p><span>Incident rate materially down; reliability is no longer a recurring leadership concern</span></p></li><li><p><span>Predictable delivery against OKRs (without heavy ceremonies)</span></p></li><li><p><span>HUB retention and conversion are positively impacted by better quality, fewer regressions, and faster iteration</span></p></li><li><p><span>The org scales smoothly from 50 → 100 with foundations that enable speed (not process for process’ sake)</span></p></li></ul><h4><span><strong>What we’re looking for</strong></span></h4><p><span><strong>The kind of CTO who thrives here</strong></span></p><ul><li><p><span>Entrepreneurial and commercially-minded: you care about <strong>CPA, retention, profit</strong></span></p></li><li><p><span>A credible technical leader who can go deep when needed (architecture, debugging, delivery unblocking)</span></p></li><li><p><span>Comfortable in a <strong>scale-up</strong> (roughly 50–250 people) where speed and ambiguity are real</span></p></li><li><p><span>Strong opinions, loosely held: you move fast, learn fast, and iterate</span></p></li><li><p><span>You can implement <strong>lightweight operating rhythm</strong> that improves delivery predictability without bureaucracy</span></p></li><li><p><span>You lead with ownership, clarity, and trust—not control</span></p></li></ul><p><span><strong>Experience that maps well</strong></span></p><ul><li><p><span>Ex-founder / ex-agency owner / startup CTO / product/platform scale-up leader</span></p></li><li><p><span>Track record improving reliability and release quality in a fast-moving environment</span></p></li><li><p><span>Experience building subscription products and/or platforms with payments and partner integrations</span></p></li><li><p><span>Bonus: experience with marketplaces, creator payouts/rev share/CPA attribution, gamification mechanics, or multi-modal AI product work</span></p></li></ul><p><span><strong>Red flags (this role will feel wrong if…)</strong></span></p><ul><li><p><span>You’re a corporate “middle manager CTO” who leads via committees and process</span></p></li><li><p><span>You avoid accountability for measurable outcomes</span></p></li><li><p><span>You need a slow, methodical environment with heavy upfront planning and perfect specs</span></p></li><li><p><span>You don’t enjoy being close to the product and occasionally getting your hands dirty</span></p></li></ul><h4><span><strong>Our stack (current)</strong></span></h4><ul><li><p><span><strong>TypeScript</strong> across the stack</span></p></li><li><p><span><strong>NestJS</strong> (backend), <strong>Next.js</strong> (frontend)</span></p></li><li><p><span><strong>Vercel Enterprise</strong> (web), <strong>AWS + Kubernetes</strong> (backend scale)</span></p></li><li><p><span>Postgres / MySQL</span></p></li><li><p><span>Integrations: <strong>payments</strong>, <strong>Microsoft</strong>, and a growing set of <strong>AI tools</strong></span></p></li><li><p><span>CI/CD is strong; testing needs work; observability exists and needs sharper operational discipline</span></p></li></ul><h4><span><strong>Interview process</strong></span></h4><ul><li><p><span>Interview(s) with: <strong>Interim CTO, Head of People &amp; Culture, Co-Founders</strong></span></p></li><li><p><span>We’ll assess both: (1) technical depth + decision-making, and (2) culture fit in a high-autonomy, high-accountability environment</span></p></li></ul><p><br></p>