A simple distinction is that the CIO typically looks inward, aiming to improve processes within the company, while the CTO looks outward, using technology to improve or innovate products that serve the customers. Exceptional management and communication skills could encourage a chief technology officer to understand and solve technical issues. CTOs are responsible for translating the wishes, visions, and ideas of the company’s upper management into the realm of technology. In other words, a CTO is a go-to guy for the other leaders when they have technical issues like “how can we accomplish this? By comparison, the CTO role in a huge listed company is more about evangelism, choosing the right technology trends, and being the face of technology for the customers.

Though, promising projects led by talented people and required on the market can also fail. CTOs on average earn a salary of $163,309 per year, according to PayScale, chief technology officer roles a firm that provides a compensation platform to calculate compensation rates. Total compensation for these positions ranges from $89,000 to $294,000 per year.

One typical working day to describe the skills

This helps us build better products, but with many new teams it takes intentional focus to make sure our company remains primarily technologists. We do leading work across a wide range of advanced technologies and then distill that into inspiring products that improve people’s lives. I understand that this update may still feel surprising, so I’d like to lay out some broader context on our vision, our culture, and our operating philosophy. There are many individual obstacles watching every chief technical officer on their post (that aren’t written in the CTO job description software company frequently offers), and they need to be aware of it. Like any other C-level manager, they must examine the company objectives and assign needed duties.

Thuan Pham is a visionary leader who keeps up with his CTO responsibilities (such as developing technology, eagerness to expand the company’s reach to new platforms). Great intuition, paired with a winning managerial style, were the difference in his instance. The larger the company is, the more administrative levels are between a startup CTO and personnel performing fundamental tech-related activities. If a tiny startup does a good job (considering product development, new clients attraction, etc.), the swiftly developing enterprise may already lack capacities. Of course, the mentioned challenges are far from the whole list of the CTO duties.

For example, the chief information officer role is concerned with internal systems and operations. As this is a cost driver, the CIO is usually considered part of the finance function, sometimes reporting to the chief financial officer. Where CIOs predominantly have a background in IT administration, CTOs typically have a grounding in software engineering or computer science, equipping both with differing skill sets.

Also, ensure that the product possesses all of the necessary security certifications. These executives, in many cases working in collaboration with CIOs, are oftentimes at the forefront of innovative technology products and services. And they can help steer their organizations toward greater efficiencies and better performance by adopting these tools. The chief technology officer has emerged as a key player in the C-suite, as digital transformations become high strategic priorities for so many organizations. Infrastructure Overseer looks into the company’s security, maintenance, and implementation of policies. Strategic Planner’s role is to manage and oversee the development and implementation of strategy for the prosperity of the company.

What are the Chief Technology Officer’s key responsibilities?

From the start of a business, the CTO role and responsibility include employee recruiting, onboarding, training, and management. The CTO’s knowledge in the area is crucial for discovering talent without an experienced HR department. The job of CTO is thinking up a technology stack, offering financial suggestions, and generally striving to improve the digital product. The CTO role on such a step is more of a tech visionary, HR professional, and team leader than a full-fledged developer.

Also known as a chief technical officer, this individual examines the short- and long-term needs of an organization and utilizes capital to make investments designed to help the organization reach its objectives. The CTO usually reports directly to a company’s chief information officer , but may also report to the chief executive officer of the firm. The CTO position often overlaps with other jobs, in particular, that of the chief information officer or chief science officer. Depending on the company’s size and focus, it may have some or all of these positions. In some environments, the CTO might oversee infrastructure or act as a strategic planner or customer relations liaison. A chief technology officer is the highest technology executive position within a company and leads the technology or engineering department.

Chief technology officer

In addition, you will participate in a team on a series of assignments that will culminate in a final presentation at the MIT campus. The 12-month program is an all-encompassing, 360° certificate program that supplies you with the necessary tools to accelerate your career. CTOs start out with bachelor’s degrees in a computer-science-related field. They often earn master’s degrees as well, again in computer sciences or mathematics fields—though more general MBAs are common as well. However, they may report directly to a company’s CEO, especially if there is no CIO position. The average base salary of a CTO in 2022, according to Salary.com, as of Jul. 14, 2022.

They are a lean and agile team shipping infrastructure products to enterprise customers. We need a leader thats passionate about interfacing with core customers to modernize their systems, recognize areas of opportunity, and shape the organization to be in a winning position. Roughly 15+ years of experience in a tech role are critical to climbing the corporate ladder and becoming CTO.

Successful CTOs For You to Consider

And, in looking at the last couple of years, the grand majority of the capital budget is mine as well. But really and truly my teams and those managers are actually doing the real work. I just get to show up and offer an opinion and help design what the future is going to look like. So a lot of my job is managing the managers, making sure that they’re getting what they need and removing the barriers for them to be successful. Chief Technology Officer leads the team of engineering and products in a tech company. In this article, we learned what a CTO is, what a CTO does, and how to become a CTO.

Still, the CTO is responsible for preparing a development plan that fulfills all of the company’s criteria and objectives, carefully considering the following steps to the future. Chief Technology Officers are more likely to incorporate new technologies or follow the company’s goal. As a result, a trained and experienced CTO must have a certain set of skills. However, in addition to technical ability, the CTO job responsibilities have to be performed with the help of social skills such as empathy, leadership, and management. A CTO should be able to communicate with senior leadership, technical teams, customers, vendors, and other departmental employees and convenience them why they all should believe in his or her vision and help execute it. The California Housing Finance Agency is seeking a chief technology officer for the Technical Support Unit who would also serve as infrastructure manager .

• Assist with the recruitment, retention, acquisition and sales efforts of the company.
• That way, their organization will be equipped to facilitate operations and development.
• It’s important to ensure that files are secure and easy to work with on enterprise mobile devices.
• When it comes to building software products, the responsibility of CTO is to be adaptable, have an open mind, and strive to alter.
• In fact, Haake says CTOs are well placed to move up the executive ladder.

Often, CTOs adopt this role in industries that have been heavily disrupted such as retail, technology, media, and banking. The most important role a CTO has is to use technology to generate value for a company and help it achieve its business objectives. At their core, they must develop a technology vision and strategy that will allow the company to thrive and build a solid competitive advantage. This Chief Technology Officer job description template is optimized for posting to online job boards or careers pages.

The CTO title is common in startup and scale-up organisations that are using technology to help the business grow quickly. While the CIO focuses on internal applications of technology, the CTO is very much externally focused. In these companies, the CTO – as well as being an expert technologist – becomes the external face of the vendor’s technology offering. That’s a good question, seeing as the chief information officer is also often defined as the most senior IT executive in the business.

The evolving CIO role: From IT operator to business strategist

We are a technology company, and our ultimate output is what we build for people. It can be time-consuming and expensive to hire a perfect Chief Technology Officer these days. But it’s always possible to find a reliable IT consultancy firm that’d be able to perform the roles and responsibilities of a CTO. To decide when to update the product or adopt technology is one of the significant CTO duties.

Software Engineer

CTOs are responsible for building technological products/services that meet the customer needs. The role of a CTO requires constant research for high-tech solutions to improve the company’s product/services. They manage engineers and developers who design the products/services and evaluate the appeal and functionality of the final product/service versions. They apply technological systems and products to simplify internal business processes.

What Is a CTO’s Role in a Startup?

At that time, the director of the laboratory was a corporate vice president who did not participate in the company’s corporate decisions. Instead, the technical director was the individual responsible for attracting new scientists, to do research, and to develop products. This isn’t confined to digital natives; any organization that builds its own software internally stands to benefit. If you make software that’s unique to your business—not just add-ons to existing systems—taking a “tech-first” approach could open doors. Perhaps you’ve built your own supply chain solution, or you work for a public sector organization that has a citizen portal. If you don’t already have a CTO, you should seriously consider putting one in place.

What Does a CTO Do in a Startup: Essence, Types Guide, and More

Although there is overlap between the two positions, since both deal with IT, CTOs generally look outward, using technology to improve the company’s customer experience—the use of the goods and services. CIOs generally look inward, developing and using technology to improve the company’s procedures and operations. Companies focusing on scientific and electronic products employ CTOs who are responsible for the oversight of intellectual property and have backgrounds in the industry.