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. THE SITUATION: The company has a strong product-focused CTO who built its composite monitoring and AI-filtering toolset. As the business scales, this individual is being right-seated into a true Product and Engineering leadership role where he can have the most impact. The company has also recently hired a VP of Engineering (product) and a VP of IT (infrastructure and helpdesk). What is missing is the executive technology layer above all three: someone to set strategy, align the org, provide governance, and give the CEO back their bandwidth. The Interim CIO/CTO is not a replacement. They are the strategic quarterback who unlocks the potential of the existing team by giving each leader clear direction, accountability, and a coherent operating model to work within. What You’ll Do: Serve as the senior technology executive above the product CTO, VP of Engineering, and VP of IT. Translate business strategy into clear technology direction and operating model for each functional leader. 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. Assess the current technology operating model and define clear ownership boundaries between product engineering, enterprise IT, and cybersecurity. Support the product CTO’s 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. 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. 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. Define the long-term technology leadership structure and permanent hire profile based on where the business is headed. Support company leadership in identifying, interviewing, and selecting the right permanent technology executive. Lead a structured handoff that ensures Day1 continuity for the incoming leader and protects the momentum built during the engagement. Qualifications: 15+ years of technology leadership experience, including time as a CTO or CIO 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‑governmented service environments. Preferred: Prior interim, fractional, or operating partner‑style executive engagement. Preferred: Experience navigating founder‑adjacent leadership dynamics with professionalism and clarity. #J-18808-Ljbffr