About Lif3away
This is not a standard CTO position. We are offering a unique opportunity for a seasoned technology leader to step in at the foundation of a category-defining AI company. Compensation during the pre-funding stage is equity-based, with salary commencing post-Seed. This role is designed for a CTO who values long-term impact, and the chance to architect a global product from day one.
The Role
We are looking for a fractional CTO with senior-level experience in venture-backed companies, ideally with exposure to both fast-scaling startups and Big Tech environments.
As our CTO, you will lead the technical vision, architecture, and execution strategy across our engineering team and AI advisors. You will guide a team of full-stack and frontend engineers, supported by UI/UX designers and external AI/ML engineers, to deliver an AI-first platform ready to scale. You will also serve as a key technical face to investors, ensuring that Lif3away’s technology strategy is credible, defensible, and aligned with long-term growth.
This is an equity-only role during the pre-funding phase. You must be mission-aligned, highly responsive, and comfortable operating in an early-stage, high-intensity environment. Upon successful fundraising, this role is expected to transition into a full-time CTO position based in San Francisco, with competitive salary and continued equity participation.
Key Responsibilities
• Define and own Lif3away’s technical vision, architecture, and product scalability strategy.
• Oversee engineering execution across full-stack, frontend, and UI/UX design teams.
• Integrate AI/ML capabilities in partnership with AI engineers.
• Ensure code quality, best practices, CI/CD, DevOps, and security processes are in place.
• Act as technical lead in investor conversations, validating scalability, defensibility, and AI moat.
• Align technical priorities with business objectives in close partnership with the CEO.
• Prepare the company’s infrastructure for global scaling post-Seed round.
• Mentor and develop engineering talent, while planning future team growth.
What We’re Looking For
• 10+ years of senior engineering or technical leadership experience.
• Prior experience as CTO, VP Engineering, or senior technical leader in venture-backed startups.
• Strong background in cloud infrastructure (GCP preferred), DevOps, and AI/ML integration.
• Hands-on understanding of full-stack product development (frontend + backend + API-first).
• Skilled in setting up scalable, secure, and reliable architectures.
• Ability to present complex technical topics clearly to investors and non-technical stakeholders.
• Comfortable working as a fractional executive, highly accountable and independent.
Nice to Have
• Experience with SaaS, PropTech, or AI-first companies.
• Prior participation in successful Seed or Series A fundraising ($10M+).
• Familiarity with modern frameworks (React, Python, LangChain, Terraform/Kubernetes).
• Previous leadership in globally distributed teams or multi-market operations.
Why Join Lif3away?
• Shape the technical foundation of a category-defining AI-first company.
• Gain early equity in a company entering a major funding and growth phase.
• Work directly with a visionary founder and a driven, lean executive team.
• Play a key role in closing our Seed round and scaling Lif3away across global markets.
• Start with full flexibility, and transition into a full-time CTO role with salary + equity after the Seed round.
