Chief Technology Officer

About the role

<div class="content-intro"><p>GiveDirectly has delivered more than $1B in cash directly to 2+ million people living in poverty across 15 countries since 2011. We believe cash transfers are one of the most scalable, cost-effective, and dignified forms of aid, with the <u><a href="https://www.givedirectly.org/gdresearch/" target="_blank">research</a></u> to back it up. Our work has been covered by&nbsp;<u><a href="https://www.economist.com/special-report/2024/01/10/givedirectly-does-what-it-says-on-the-tin" target="_blank">The Economist</a></u>, <u><a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2023/12/07/1217478771/its-one-of-the-biggest-experiments-in-fighting-global-poverty-now-the-results-ar" target="_blank">NPR</a></u>, <u><a href="https://www.ted.com/talks/rory_stewart_to_end_extreme_poverty_give_cash_not_advice" target="_blank">TED</a></u>, and <u><a href="https://www.givedirectly.org/washingtonpost-apr-2024/" target="_blank">The Washington Post</a></u><u>. </u>We are one of&nbsp;<u><a href="https://time.com/collection/time100-most-influential-companies/2026/givedirectly/" target="_blank">Time100’s</a></u> Most Influential Companies of 2026.<a href="https://www.givedirectly.org/washingtonpost-apr-2024/" target="_blank">&nbsp;</a></p> <p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]">Our culture is candid, analytical, and non-hierarchical. We support high ownership and real professional growth. Curious about what it's really like to work here? Read our <a class="underline underline underline-offset-2 decoration-1 decoration-current/40 hover:decoration-current focus:decoration-current" href="https://www.givedirectly.org/givedirectly-values/">values</a> and <a class="underline underline underline-offset-2 decoration-1 decoration-current/40 hover:decoration-current focus:decoration-current" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbdS9vB_XYg">hear from the people who do</a>. If they resonate, this could be a great fit!</p></div><p><strong>Priority application deadline: </strong>Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Early applications are heavily encouraged.</p> <p>We’re growing at incredible speed, and expect to hit $1B in revenue in 2026 with significant growth forecast for 2027. We’re hiring a <strong>Chief Technology Officer</strong> to lead the building and rebuilding of the technology, systems and ways of working that will enable a sustained $5B+ p/a operation.</p> <p>You will build software that safely and securely moves billions of dollars to millions of vulnerable people in some of the poorest and highest need parts of the world. This will require applying excellent engineering, team building and organizational judgment to complex, high-stakes operations: identity and fraud management, machine learning on large but imperfect datasets (cell phone data, satellite imagery, government registries), mobile money integrations, low-connectivity environments, rapidly evolving requirements all in diverse regulatory environments and country contexts. You’ll need to keep our legacy technology stack stable and performant, while in parallel building new systems from the ground up for our next level of scale.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>You will lead engineering, data, security and enterprise technology – with a small, mighty and rapidly growing engineering team of ~15, and the expectation that this can at least double to ~30 in the next 12 months if you want it to. You’ll report to a CEO with deep experience running technology companies, and partner with our VP Product.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>This role is remote, with working hours between US Eastern Time and East African Time, and some preference for candidates in our office hubs of New York, London, or Nairobi.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>What we’re looking for:</strong></p> <ul> <li><strong>An exceptional hirer, manager and organizer of technical talent.</strong> Proven record identifying, hiring, developing and retaining excellent engineers

Skills