Serv, a global executive recruitment partner, is hiring on behalf of our client Martell Ventures for a Chief Technology Officer.
Join the Team:
The Martell Group exists to build people, brands, and ventures that create meaningful impact. Founded by serial entrepreneur and investor Dan Martell, we combine audience, operators, and execution to launch and scale products in Media, B2B SaaS, and AI.
Martell Ventures is a software and AI company that happens to have two services companies in it. Dan is also an investor in companies like Udemy, Intercom, and Unbounce. Our values: Build the people. Be the example. Simple scales.
For more information, visit: https://www.danmartell.com/
Why you shouldn't work here: Radical Transparency from our CEO
Position Responsibilities:
Martell Ventures is looking for a highly technical builder and strategic thinker to lead engineering excellence across its growing portfolio of businesses.
This is not a traditional CTO role focused solely on executive oversight. We need someone who can think strategically, challenge assumptions, and get directly involved in the technical work when it matters most.
You will be the technical authority across the Ventures portfolio, helping companies build better products, solve complex engineering challenges, strengthen technical teams, and move faster with modern AI and agentic development.
You'll work closely with Dan Martell, portfolio business leaders, and experienced technology advisors to turn ambitious ideas into practical, scalable solutions.
A significant part of your mandate will be establishing Martell Ventures' technical presence in Waterloo, building a strong local engineering community, and creating the standards that enable our portfolio companies to scale.
This is an opportunity to shape how multiple businesses build, operate, and grow while remaining close to the technology itself.
This role includes:
Technical Strategy & Architecture
- Evaluate the technical infrastructure, architecture, codebases, and engineering practices across portfolio companies, identifying opportunities to improve quality, security, scalability, and performance.
- Work directly with engineering teams to diagnose technical challenges, improve architecture, and implement practical solutions.
- Establish consistent engineering standards, shared development practices, frameworks, and tooling across the portfolio.
- Drive adoption of modern AI and agentic development practices to improve engineering speed, efficiency, and product delivery.
- Ensure portfolio companies maintain appropriate technical infrastructure, security practices, backups, and operational resilience.
- Help portfolio leaders understand technical risks, opportunities, and priorities so they can make informed business decisions.
- Support technical readiness for future acquisitions, investment opportunities, and potential exits.
Building & Developing Technical Talent
- Establish and grow Martell Ventures' technical presence in Kitchener-Waterloo.
- Help recruit, assess, and develop exceptional engineering talent across the portfolio.
- Partner with portfolio business leaders on technical hiring decisions, including engineering leads and senior technical positions.
- Provide technical guidance and mentorship to portfolio engineering leaders while maintaining a dotted-line relationship with those leaders.
- Establish consistent technical practices, knowledge-sharing, and training opportunities across portfolio teams.
- Develop relationships with the University of Waterloo, Communitech, and the broader Waterloo technology ecosystem to build a sustainable talent pipeline.
- Collaborate with Waterloo-based technology advisors Michael Litt and Marcelo Cortes to strengthen the group's engineering capabilities and local network.
Product Development & Execution
- Translate ambitious business ideas into practical technical plans with clear priorities, realistic timelines, and measurable outcomes.
- Provide hands-on technical support when portfolio companies face complex engineering challenges or execution bottlenecks.
- Evaluate build-versus-buy decisions and help prioritize technical investments based on business value.
- Support engineering teams in delivering reliable, scalable products that meet customer needs.
- Identify opportunities to share technical capabilities, infrastructure, and resources across portfolio businesses.
- Balance long-term technical architecture with the immediate needs of fast-moving businesses.
Strategic Partnership & Leadership
- Serve as a trusted technical thought partner to Dan Martell and the Ventures leadership team.
- Bring independent technical judgment, including the confidence to challenge ideas, push back on unrealistic commitments, and recommend alternative approaches.
- Help establish a culture of technical excellence, accountability, and continuous improvement.
- Work across multiple businesses and priorities while maintaining a clear focus on the highest-impact opportunities.
- Communicate technical decisions, risks, and progress clearly to both technical and nontechnical stakeholders.
- Lead by example through a combination of strategic thinking, practical execution, and strong technical credibility.
Qualifications
We are looking for someone with exceptional technical depth, strong product judgment, and the ability to build in fast-moving environments.
You may have held a CTO or VP of Engineering position, or you may be an exceptional Staff Engineer, Principal Engineer, or technical founder ready to take on broader responsibility.
What matters most is your ability to solve difficult technical problems, raise engineering standards, and build products that work.
- Deep hands-on experience in software engineering, systems architecture, and building scalable production applications.
- Recent, practical experience developing with modern AI technologies, LLMs, agents, and agentic development tools.
- Demonstrated ability to evaluate existing software architecture, identify technical weaknesses, and implement effective solutions.
- Strong technical credibility and the ability to work directly with experienced engineers on complex technical challenges.
- Experience building and shipping software products in startup, scale-up, or similarly fast-moving environments.
- Strong product and business judgment, with an understanding of how technical decisions affect customers, revenue, and growth.
- Experience assessing engineering talent, making technical hiring decisions, and helping build high-performing teams.
- Ability to balance technical quality with speed, pragmatism, and commercial priorities.
- Confidence working with strong founder personalities and challenging ideas when necessary.
- Strong communication skills, with the ability to translate complex technical concepts into clear business recommendations.
- High ownership, adaptability, and comfort operating across multiple businesses with changing priorities.
- Based in, or willing to relocate to, Kitchener-Waterloo and work in person full-time.
Nice-to-Haves
- Previous experience as a CTO, technical co-founder, VP of Engineering, or senior technical leader.
- Experience supporting multiple products, portfolio companies, or venture-backed businesses.
- Experience building or scaling an engineering function from an early stage.
- Involvement in a successful company exit or technical due diligence process.
- Existing connections within the Waterloo technology ecosystem, including the University of Waterloo or Communitech.
- Experience establishing engineering standards and shared infrastructure across multiple teams.
Our Dream Teammate Is Someone Who:
- Is a builder at heart and genuinely enjoys getting into the technical details.
- Is excited by the pace of change in AI and is actively experimenting with emerging tools and technologies.
- Can move comfortably between high-level strategy and hands-on execution.
- Knows when to challenge an idea, when to simplify a solution, and when to move quickly.
- Has strong technical opinions but remains open to learning and feedback.
- Thrives in entrepreneurial environments where priorities evolve and ownership matters.
- Is proactive and accountable.
- Thinks strategically and executes consistently.
- Communicates with clarity and confidence.
- Brings a positive, growth-oriented mindset.
- Is highly organized and dependable.
- Cares deeply about building great products and developing great people.
Hiring Process
We take our hiring process seriously and evaluate candidates based on both capability and culture fit. Our goal is to ensure you step into a role where you feel genuinely excited and fulfilled. That's important for you, and it's equally important for us.
Below is a snapshot of what you can expect throughout our hiring process.
Please note that steps may vary slightly depending on the position.
- Initial application review and introductory conversation with Serv.
- Leadership and culture-fit conversation with Martell Ventures.
- Technical evaluation with members of the Martell Ventures technical leadership or advisory network.
- Final-stage conversations with key stakeholders.
Location
Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
This is a full-time, in-person position. The CTO will play a central role in establishing and leading Martell Ventures' Waterloo technical hub.
Compensation
$150,000- $250,000 CAD base, based on experience.
The opportunity also includes a proposed portfolio-level phantom equity component designed to align long-term incentives with the performance and success of the Ventures portfolio. Final terms are subject to confirmation.
This isn't just a job. It's a platform to build, grow, and win.
Serv uses AI tools in our recruitment process, including developing job postings and note-taking during interviews. AI is not used to screen, assess, or select candidates. All resumes are reviewed by a human, and all hiring decisions are made by humans. Any AI-generated output used during the recruitment process is reviewed by a human before action is taken.
