Freelance Cto Jobs (NOW HIRING)

About Client

Client  is a venture-backed leader in biometric security, headquartered in Cupertino, California. We build privacy-first, AI-powered access control systems used by Fortune 50 enterprises and operators of the world’s most critical infrastructure.

Our flagship product is a tightly integrated hardware, edge AI, and cloud platform that enables frictionless, high-assurance authentication across hyperscale data centers, financial institutions, airports, universities, and secure facilities. As digital identity becomes foundational to global security, Client is positioned to define what comes next.

The Role

We are seeking a Chief Technology Officer (CTO) to own the end-to-end technical vision and execution of Client ’s platform and products.

This is a builder CTO role for a systems-level leader who can architect, scale, and ship deeply integrated hardware, software, and AI systems. The CTO will lead large, multidisciplinary engineering teams and will be responsible for designing and delivering the next 1–3 generations of Client ’s core products.

This role is not advisory, not research-only, and not business development–oriented. The CTO is the company’s senior-most technical authority, accountable for turning long-term product vision into reliable, manufacturable, and globally deployable systems that win in the market.

What You’ll Own

Technology Vision & Architecture

-Define and own Client ’s technology and platform roadmap with a 3–10 year horizon.

-Architect next-generation biometric identity systems across facial authentication, edge AI, secure hardware, and cloud services.

-Ensure all product evolution balances accuracy, latency, security, privacy, cost, and scalability.

Engineering Leadership

-Lead and scale engineering organizations spanning hardware, firmware, embedded systems, AI/ML, and cloud software.

-Set technical standards for reliability, security, performance, and manufacturability.

-Make final architectural decisions and drive disciplined execution across teams.

Product Evolution

-Own the evolution of Client ’s core products across multiple generations, delivering step-function improvements in customer value and market differentiation.

-Partner closely with Product and Design to translate customer needs and market opportunities into shipped capabilities.

-Ensure innovation moves from concept → prototype → production → deployment.

AI, Edge & Privacy

-Guide the development of computer vision and AI systems optimized for on-device inference and real-world environments.

-Champion privacy-first and security-by-design approaches across the stack.

-Build platforms that can adapt to future identity modalities and regulatory requirements.

Market & Technical Leadership

-Represent Client  as a technical leader with customers, partners, and at industry forums.

-Maintain awareness of relevant standards and compliance frameworks (e.g., GDPR, NIST, FedRAMP) as design constraints—not ownership areas.

Culture & Talent

-Build a culture of strong technical judgment, systems thinking, and high accountability.

-Mentor senior engineering leaders and develop next-generation technical talent.

-Encourage fast iteration paired with production-grade rigor.

What We’re Looking For

-10+ years in senior technical leadership roles (CTO, VP Engineering, VP Product Engineering, or equivalent).

-Proven experience leading both hardware and software engineering teams at scale.

-Deep expertise in hardware/software convergence, edge computing, embedded systems, and cloud-connected devices.

-Track record of shipping complex, high-reliability products into production.

-Strong product intuition and the ability to think in product generations, not just features.

-Background in security, biometrics, AI, computer vision, or adjacent deep-tech domains.

-Technical degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or related field; advanced degree preferred.

Bonus Experience

-Hands-on experience with AI/ML systems for computer vision or biometric applications.

-Experience designing privacy-first or security-critical platforms.

-Patent portfolio or history of shipping novel, defensible technology.

-Exposure to relevant standards bodies or technical working groups.

What we’ll filter out is this:

-Strategy-only execs

-“Innovation lab” leaders

-Non-technical product leaders

What we hope to attract instead:

-Former VP Engs who should be CTOs

-CTOs from edge AI / robotics / security / infra

-Product-minded technologists who’ve shipped hardware multiple times