FirstWave Talent Strategies is in search of an innovative and strategic Chief Technology Officer (CTO) to lead the technology vision and development for our dynamic client organization. As the CTO, you will be responsible for overseeing all technical aspects of the company, managing the technology team, and driving the adoption of new technologies that align with business goals. In this pivotal role, you will ensure that the technological resources are aligned with the company's business needs, fostering a culture of innovation and collaboration. Your expertise will guide the development of cutting-edge technology solutions and the overall technological strategy. Key Responsibilities - Develop and implement the organization’s technology strategy, aligning it with the overall business strategy. - Lead and manage the technology team, ensuring effective collaboration and high-performance standards. - Drive technology innovation to enhance products and services and improve operational efficiency. - Evaluate and integrate new technologies to support business initiatives and enhance customer experience. - Oversee the development of IT policies, strategies, and procedures to ensure data security and compliance. - Collaborate with other executives to define the organization’s technological requirements and goals. - Stay abreast of market trends and advancements to inform strategic technology decisions.

Position Background: Intelligent Payload Solutions is undergoing a transformative phase, marked by a new vision, a forthcoming name change (TBA), and an unwavering commitment to product excellence and customer service. As we embark on a new era, we are seeking a versatile technical executive to play a pivotal role in our journey of growth. This role entails shaping our technology strategy, envisioning a robust intellectual property (IP) portfolio, recruiting top-tier talent, and providing strategic leadership.  Our technology centers on utilizing AI/ML in automatic Digital Twin generation, complex data system analysis, MLOps and credential authentication.  Your background should fit these areas. About Intelligent Payload Solutions: At Intelligent Payload Solutions, we are at the forefront of technological innovation, revolutionizing data science, AI, and cybersecurity. Located in Colorado Springs, we are not just a software company but a team of visionaries shaping the future. Our work spans from architecting cloud solutions for the U.S. Government to modernizing legacy systems for FinTech organizations. We prioritize work-life balance, offering generous time-off benefits, a 401k match, an equity sharing program, and a remote-first work approach. Join us to become part of something significant! Key Responsibilities: Technology Strategy and Vision: Collaborate with the executive team to shape the long-term technology strategy, aligning it with our IP goals and potential market expansion. Capture Management: Lead and participate in capture efforts for current projects, leveraging your technical expertise to enhance our competitiveness. Team Building: Recruit and assemble a dynamic technical team capable of executing projects and fostering in-house innovation. Thought Leadership: Provide thought leadership during relationship-building, proposal development, and capture efforts. Multi-Company Collaboration: Lead and advise multi-company capture teams in areas such as teaming, solution development, staffing, and pricing to support our overall bid strategy. High-Growth Environment: Thrive in a dynamic, high-growth environment, helping us adapt and scale effectively. Why Join Us: Deep Technical Expertise: We have extensive experience in space systems, sensor systems, data analytics, data center migration/development, and other technical domains. Cutting-Edge Projects: We are actively involved in groundbreaking projects in artificial intelligence, machine learning, blockchain, decentralized identification, and zero-trust security. Excitement for and familiarity with these areas are essential. Ideal Requirements include the following:

• Own the end-to-end strategy and execution of high-impact technology partnerships designed to transform external platforms and ecosystems into scaled, durable referral channels. • Identify, prioritize, and structure partnerships with category-defining technology platforms and AI-forward ecosystem leaders capable of driving meaningful distribution and long-term strategic leverage. • Establish senior-level credibility and navigate complex technical and legal landscapes. • Unlock embedded workflows and native integrations that create sustained, platform-driven growth. • Turn strategic external relationships into measurable revenue outcomes through deeply integrated, scalable partnership models.

• Own the end-to-end technical strategy for lighthouse deals — including Agency Global Hold Co data consolidation projects and AAA Studio infrastructure migrations — engineered to survive real-world scale, not just pass a POC • Fluently translate infrastructure decisions (e.g., data lake locality, storage tiering) into direct business impact for executive stakeholders, connecting the physics of the stack to the P&L • Go beyond the stated problem to uncover the technical truth — translating vague business goals (e.g., "We need lower ad costs") into precise engineering requirements (e.g., "Optimize inference batch size on L40s to reduce cost-per-token by 30%") • Identify exactly where each customer sits on the curve from Service Bureau to Tech Platform, and prescribe the specific infrastructure intervention needed to move them forward • Identify, court, and technically validate relationships with the most critical ISVs in the media landscape • Define reference architectures for how key tools run optimally on the platform — not just "support" them, but set the standard • Chair a quarterly M&E Product Summit with Core Engineering leadership, using forensic field evidence to prioritize and justify the vertical roadmap • Drive alignment between field learnings and internal product and engineering priorities • Direct engineering teammates to build the right things at the right time, including high-leverage assets such as scalable quick-start reference architectures (e.g., "Deploying Llama-405B for Ad Copy Creation")