Interim CTO

THE COMPANY: A Los Angeles-based crime prevention and remote monitoring company serving multifamily housing vehicle storage campus and commercial clients. The company delivers white-glove 24/7 facility protection through a proprietary AI-enabled monitoring platform that filters false alarms and coordinates real-time law enforcement response typically on 5-year managed service contracts. Platform performance is the core value proposition and the primary driver of client retention and enterprise value.

WHAT YOULL DO:

Executive Technology Leadership

• Serve as the senior technology executive sitting above the existing product CTO VP of Engineering and VP of IT
• Translate business strategy into a clear technology direction and operating model that each functional leader can execute against
• Relieve the CEO of technology strategy responsibilities allowing them to focus on running and growing the business
• Serve as the primary technology liaison to company leadership and investors providing structured reporting on priorities risks and progress

Team Alignment and Operating Model Design

• Assess the current technology operating model and define clear ownership boundaries between product engineering enterprise IT and cybersecurity
• Support the product CTOs transition into a focused Product and Engineering role: define scope success metrics and working rhythms that set him up for long-term success
• Provide leadership coaching and strategic direction to the VP of Engineering and VP of IT who are capable but currently operating without executive guidance above them
• Establish governance cadence: technology steering vendor accountability budget oversight and team performance management

Cybersecurity Oversight

• Take executive accountability for the cybersecurity program as it moves from remediation into steady-state operations
• Ensure the program is fully operationalized: incident response identity and access management DR/BCP and ongoing vCISO engagement where applicable
• Manage cybersecurity as an enterprise risk in a 24/7 live monitoring environment where SLA exposure and client trust are existential concerns

Platform and Product Strategy

• Partner with the product CTO on roadmap governance SDLC discipline and engineering priorities supporting rather than displacing their domain expertise
• Ensure the proprietary AI-enabled monitoring platform is scaling appropriately to support growth across multifamily vehicle storage commercial and campus verticals
• Identify and address technology risks that could affect platform reliability SLA performance or client retention

Permanent CTO/CIO Hiring Support

• Define the long-term technology leadership structure and permanent hire profile based on where the business is headed not just where it is today
• Support company leadership in identifying interviewing and selecting the right permanent technology executive
• Lead a structured handoff that ensures Day 1 continuity for the incoming leader and protects the momentum built during the engagement

WHAT THEY NEED:

Required

• 15 years of technology leadership experience including time as a CTO in a scaling mid-market operating environment
• Demonstrated success in building or restructuring technology organizations: right-seating functional leaders clarifying ownership and establishing governance without disrupting momentum
• Comfortable operating as the new layer above existing senior technology talent collaborative additive and not territorial
• Cybersecurity leadership experience: program oversight vendor management and risk governance in an operational or mission-critical context
• Strong executive presence with the ability to earn credibility quickly across a CEO a founder-adjacent CTO and two VP-level hires
• Located in or able to commute to the Los Angeles area; hybrid on-site presence required

Preferred

• Background in physical security technology remote monitoring AI-enabled platforms or 24/7 SLA-governed service environments
• Prior interim fractional or operating partner-style executive engagement
• Experience navigating founder-adjacent leadership dynamics with professionalism and clarity