Startup Co-Founder/CTO

We are seeking a Chief Technology Officer (CTO) to join our team in a fractional capacity, leading to full-time and co-founder status. The primary responsibility will be to lead the development of our space data product from its MVP stage, focusing on architecture setup and integration of scalable cloud solutions. The position is remote, work-from-home. Our team is in various locations around the Americas.

Who We Are

We’re developing our MVP for a space data product aimed at improving data translation processes. Our vision is to build a flexible system that scales well beyond the MVP phase, ultimately accelerating and turning space data into actionable knowledge for analysis by teams around the globe.

What You’ll Do

• Architect from Scratch: Design and implement the entire data and cloud infrastructure and the architecture of our modular software platform ensuring scalability, security, and future flexibility.

• Lead & Inspire: Build, manage and mentor the largest team in the company, guiding them through and ensuring a highly productive development output of the highest quality.

• Hands-on Technical Leader: Oversee DevOps and AWS infrastructure setup, perform code reviews, and steer data engineering efforts.

• Strategic Alignment: Collaborate with the founder and stakeholders to ensure technology decisions support and advance our business objectives.

• Data Management: Design secure, efficient data storage and exchange solutions (SQL/NoSQL) for real-time and large-scale data.

Must-Have Experience

• Cloud Infrastructure (AWS Preferred): Proven track record setting up secure, scalable environments.

• Data Architecture & Data Engineering: Comfortable designing robust data pipelines and solutions.

• APIs & Enterprise Integrations: Skilled in architecting and managing seamless data exchange.

• Technical Leadership: Experience building and motivating high-performance engineering teams.

• DevOps Expertise: Confidence in overseeing AWS or similar cloud-based DevOps environments.

Nice-to-Have Skills

• Geospatial Data (GIS)

• AI/ML Knowledge

• Python for prototyping and data manipulation

• Real-Time Analytics handling

• Security & Cybersecurity: Worked with zero-trust environments, Trusted Execution Environments (AWS enclaves), IAM, E2EE data encryption protocols (Familiarity with AES-256, TLS 1.3, and encryption at rest & in transit), AWS security best practices

Why Join Us

• Fractional to Full-Time Path: Start part-time and expand into a full-time CTO role if it’s a great fit on both sides.

• Competitive Industry Pay + Equity: Share in the success of the company you help build and directly benefit from our growth trajectory.

• Impactful Work: Shape the future of space exploration by modernizing secure data systems to translate complex space data faster and accelerate mission and project outcomes.

• Collaborative Culture: We believe in fair compensation, open communication, and fostering a diverse, inclusive team environment.

• Proven Leadership: You’ll be working alongside a serial entrepreneur who has successfully built four companies over the last 15 years. This is an opportunity to co-found a company with experienced leadership, strategic vision, and a strong emphasis on success.

• Validated Market Need: Our early product discovery has included direct engagement with industry stakeholders, validating our market-product hypothesis. Help define a technical roadmap with real-world pain points that will have international application.

• Managed Risk Entry Path: Start in a fractional role to manage your personal risk while we complete our current VC fundraising round. A full-time CTO path with competitive compensation and equity is planned once capital is secured later in 2025.

• Americas Time Zone: Ideal for those based in the Americas to enable real-time collaboration. This is a remote work position.

Ready to Help Us Launch?

If you’re excited about driving technical strategy and building an impactful space data platform from the ground up—while leading a team in a supportive, people-first environment—send us an email with a cover letter and resume to: work@m42.space. Let’s shape the future of space data, together!