Vetted on a call by a Wave consultant, not scraped. £150,000 and above.
Three years as CTO of a defence and intelligence data analytics business, reporting to the founders, running teams of 8 through to the company's sale to a listed risk analytics group. Before that they were Director of Data at a venture-backed app development company where they built the data team from 0 to 15. Data platforms, data lakes and system architecture are the core, with Python, SQL and ETL still in their hands.
Looking forCTO or Chief Data Officer at a startup or scale-up with AI genuinely at the centre of the product and enough runway to be past product-market fit. They want to build their own team again and stay hands-on, and they can start now.
How they came acrossMade redundant in April when the company sold, and they think it was because they were the highest paid person on the payroll rather than anything about the work. They said that without rancour and took a settlement. Clear about not wanting to compete with other ex-founders for a title.
Python, SQL, Pandas, ETL · Data platforms, data lakes, data warehousing · Flask, Django, JavaScript, Linux · Tableau, business intelligence, cloud infrastructure
Electronics and networking into middleware and cloud consultancy, then data engineering, then data and technology leadership across edtech, energy access and defence analytics. 9 employers, average tenure 1 year 9 months, longest 3 years.
Their hands-on coding has thinned out over recent years, so a technically demanding process could catch them, though they're comfortable with Python and system design.
Masters in intelligent systems.
Built and held together cross-functional teams of 30-plus engineers, data scientists and designers, with zero resignations across four years in their most recent leadership run. Scaled startups from pre-seed through Series A and beyond, led M&A due diligence and supported fundraises of up to $22m. Still technical, JavaScript and TypeScript with Python and PHP, React and React Native, TensorFlow and on-device custom-trained models alongside the LLM integration work.
Looking forCTO, VP of Engineering or a founding engineer role with a defined path to leadership, at a fast-growing AI-driven company. They've already told their current employer it isn't working and the employer is flexible on notice.
How they came acrossDescribed themselves as stuck in a very small room, which is a fair summary of a company that promised growth and didn't deliver it. They're being deliberate about the next move, in their words very determined to find the right thing, so expect them to read a spec properly before engaging.
JavaScript, TypeScript, Python, PHP · React, React Native, Node.js, Vue.js · AWS, GCP, Azure, Docker, microservices · TensorFlow, machine learning, LLM integration
Electronics and software engineering into a long run of technical co-founder, CTO and CEO roles across marketing, education, consumer and proptech businesses. 9 employers, average tenure 3 years 4 months, longest 8 years 8 months.
They've ruled out forward deployed and standard backend roles, and any founding engineer role without a written leadership path, so the title and trajectory need to be real before you approach them.
Bachelors in mechatronics, robotics and automation engineering.
Twenty years of infrastructure and platform leadership, currently Director of Engineering at a B2B SaaS business. The titles before it are Director of Platform Engineering, CTO, Head of Platform Engineering and Head of Site Reliability Engineering, across a used car marketplace, a property portal, a fundraising platform and a foreign exchange business. Came up through desktop support, systems analysis and DevOps into cloud architecture.
Looking forThey need out. A new VP arrived with a directive style, several people have already gone, and they're looking for £150,000 plus. Wants to move quickly.
How they came acrossThe call was mostly about the culture problem and the exits it's caused, so we have a clear read on why they're going and less on how they work day to day.
Support and systems administration into DevOps, cloud architecture and then platform and site reliability leadership, across foreign exchange, fundraising, property, automotive and B2B SaaS. 8 employers, average tenure 1 year 6 months, longest 2 years 10 months.
They're leaving an environment they describe as toxic and want out fast, so motivation is push rather than pull and worth probing.
Bachelors in computer systems engineering.
Tell me which came closest and I recalibrate, then come back with 10 to 15 more inside 24 hours.
Show me the wider bank