Chief Technical Officer

Summary

Join GoodParty.org as their Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and lead their growing engineering team. You will spearhead the development of new products, integrate AI into the platform, and shape the engineering culture. This is a unique opportunity to influence the technical strategy of a high-growth startup tackling crucial issues in American democracy. You will work autonomously, contribute code, and collaborate with cross-functional teams. The role involves leading and mentoring engineers, driving product development, and ensuring the technical excellence of the platform. The ideal candidate possesses extensive engineering experience, a strong understanding of AI, and a passion for using technology to improve civic engagement.

Requirements

• You have 15+ years of engineering experience with recent years spent directly managing both frontend and backend focused engineers (including junior developers) and owning product delivery
• You’ve built and scaled products in a startup or early-stage environment and thrive in a hands-on environment leading through ambiguity
• You’re comfortable doing 0 to 1 work, leading greenfield builds, launching MVPs, and making pragmatic decisions with limited data
• You’re confident developing across our tech stack — React, Next.js, Node.js, Python, Postgres — and excited to lead in an AI-native environment
• You’ve worked with and are a champion of AI-native workflows for coding, including Cursor, OpenAI/Anthropic, Gemini/Perplexity, MCPs, and other similar tools
• You bring strong opinions loosely held and advocate for engineering excellence and are open to evolving with new ideas and team input
• You have a track record of creating inclusive team cultures, mentoring engineers, and building feedback loops
• You thrive in a remote, fast-paced environment, balancing strategic thinking with a bias toward action
• You communicate clearly, directly, respectfully, and you’re open to delivering and receiving candid feedback that helps the team grow
• You’re up for the audacious challenge of using technology to transform civic leadership in America and you believe we can do better than the two-party system

Responsibilities

• Lead and empower a mission-critical engineering team, balancing strategic scaling of core systems with ground-up innovation to tackle new challenges
• Recruit, lead, and develop top-tier Frontend, Backend, and QA engineers, fostering individual growth, overseeing performance, and continuously advancing AI fluency in an ever-changing technological landscape
• Foster a fast-paced and collaborative culture where engineers feel empowered, supported, and see the impact of their work on democracy
• Collaborate on embedding AI deeply across our platform — from campaign tools to voter engagement features — in an empowering and responsible way
• Own and evolve our engineering OKRs and roadmap. Drive clarity and momentum by balancing speed and thoughtful decision-making — you know when to ship fast and when to invest in long-term scalability
• Partner closely with Product, Design, and Data teams to ideate, prototype, and ship user-facing features and internal tools quickly and iteratively
• Guide the team through ambiguity, building MVPs to test hypotheses, and continuously improving based on feedback and data
• Remove blockers, resolve technical challenges quickly, and keep teams focused on progress and outcomes. Leverage cutting-edge AI tools to accelerate development cycles, automate tasks, and support team productivity
• Champion best practices that enable speed and quality, including clean architecture, code reviews, and scalable patterns
• Balance leadership with technical contribution by dedicating up to 25% of time to hands-on coding and architecture decisions
• Report directly to the CEO, serve on the organization’s leadership team, and play a critical role in shaping the engineering culture and roadmap at a high-growth stage

Preferred Qualifications

• You have experience working or volunteering in civic tech, democracy reform, campaigns, or social impact
• You’ve contributed to open-source projects or developer communities
• You’re sick of sitting on the sidelines watching our democracy fail to meet its potential

Benefits

• Innovative Bitcoin denominated deferred bonus plan, allowing you to have the amazing upside of being in a startup while working on a truly meaningful mission
• Work where and how you like, on a fully remote team spread across the country
• Join a passionate team with diverse political views focused on one mission
• 100% coverage of health, dental, and vision benefits for you and your dependents
• We encourage you to take time off to recharge and have an unlimited PTO (sick and vacation) policy. This is a marathon, not a sprint. We believe a work-life balance is needed to get there
• 401(k) program available so you can contribute toward retirement savings (no employer match)
• Individual learning & development budget to fund your growth
• We’ll make sure you’ve got what you need to work remotely through our workspace setup stipend
• If you work from home, we give $50/month to help with your internet and other expenses. If you prefer co-working, that’s an option we can discuss too
• Fully funded for our mission. No stressing over whether the next round of funding will come through. Focus on making an impact. That’s what matters here