Chief Technology Officer

About Us

Since 2016, Basta has worked with thousands of first-generation college students to launch their careers and change the face of leadership in the workforce, resulting in the country’s best job placement outcomes.

Through personalized AI-powered career planning, best-in-class coaching, and networking with top 100 employers, New York-based job seekers in Basta’s Fellowship program find great jobs at nearly twice the rate of their peers. Our Discovery program is scaling this impact through game-changing analytics and online support that supercharges colleges’ career success programs so students nationwide can accelerate their professional journey.

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Scope and problem

American undergrads are facing a job market beset by systemic underemployment.The problem is especially severe for the nearly 5 million first-generation college students: only 44% of first-gen students of color land a job that requires their degree, and only 20% earn a living wage within a year of graduation.These trailblazers have the smarts, skills, and experience to land a job that leverages their degree, pays well, and forges a path to a thriving career. Basta partners with colleges, nonprofits, and employers to build that bridge of opportunity.

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Role Overview

Join Basta at a pivotal moment in our journey! As we invest in strengthening our digital product capabilities, we're seeking an experienced technology leader who can help build the foundation for our continued growth and deeper impact.In this fractional CTO role, you'll assess our current engineering capabilities, implement a strategic staffing model, align our technical roadmap with our product vision, and establish engineering best practices that will serve us well into the future.Your leadership will be critical in guiding architecture decisions while ensuring we build scalable solutions.

Success in this role will unfold over your first 90 days, beginning with a comprehensive technical assessment, progressing to an integrated 12-month roadmap by day 60, and culminating in a strategic staffing plan that positions us for sustainable growth. You'll also help us identify and attract the right permanent CTO who can build on the foundation you establish.

This is a unique opportunity to make a significant impact on our technical foundation during a transformative period, ultimately helping us further our missionof supporting first-generation students in their career journeys nationwide.

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Responsibilities

Technical Team Assessment & Development‍

• Evaluate current engineering capabilities
• Design, propose and implement a staffing model to significantly improve internal capabilities
• Guide team selection and management

Strategic Leadership

• Align technical roadmap with product strategy
• Establish engineering best practices
• Lead full-time CTO search process

Technology & Architecture

• Review and optimize current architecture
• Guide technical decision-making
• Ensure scalability of solutions

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Experience

• Prior experience in software engineering and/or technical architect roles, ideally in a successful startup environment
• Recent senior-level technical leadership positions
• Proven track record of:
  • Building/scaling engineering teams, ideally in early to mid-stage startups
  • Managing hybrid (staff, agency, etc.) development teams
  • Product strategy collaboration
  • Technical roadmap development
• Working knowledge of AI/ML technologies and their practical applications to product development - you don't need to be an expert, but should understand how to evaluate and integrate these solutions strategically
• Non-profit experience not required, but a plus!

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Success Metrics

30 days

• Complete technical team assessment
• Evaluate current agency performance
• Draft initial technical strategy aligned with product priorities
• Identify immediate technical risks and gaps

60 days

• Create integrated 12-month technical/product roadmap including:
  • Architecture evolution
  • Major technical initiatives
  • Dependencies and timelines
  • Staffing requirements
• Implement improved development processes
• Complete immediate staffing adjustments

90 days

• Finalize comprehensive staffing plan based on roadmap including:
  • Team structure and growth timeline
  • Capacity allocation across initiatives
  • Agency vs. FTE balance
  • Budget implications
• Establish framework for full-time CTO search

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How to Apply

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