[Hiring] Field Chief Technology Officer @8th Light

Role Description

We win work by earning technical trust before a contract is ever signed, and by being genuinely present in the market the rest of the time. This role carries both. You’ll report to the CEO and work most closely with the CEO, the VP of Growth, our practice Partners, and senior technologists.

Your primary focus will require you to:

• Join deal teams to help win new engagements. In a pitch that can mean proposing an architecture, shaping scope, sequencing the work into sensible stages, or recommending how to staff it. On our most important accounts, you’ll stay a technical presence the client trusts well after the work begins.
• Represent us and build relationships in the market. Give talks, write, and show up in person at events. In-person presence matters here, and writing alone won’t carry the role.
• Shape and sharpen what we sell. Turn what you’re seeing in the market into clearer, more current offerings, and keep our position honest: agentic products, deep platform expertise.
• Work with our Growth team to help identify and build relationships with platform and AI partners that put us in front of the right work and keep our teams current.
• Drive our go-to-market direction rather than wait for it. Bring a point of view and help us continuously iterate on where we should show up, what we should say, and which opportunities are worth chasing.
• Internally, your footprint is lighter but real. You’re the standard other technologists measure themselves against, and you’re a mentor to those working on their business leadership and impact. You’ll weigh in from time to time on technical job standards and career pathing. You’ll start without direct reports and lead through influence, and as we grow, the role could grow into leading a small team.

Qualifications

• 10+ years in custom software consultancies.
• Highly articulate and commercially fluent.
• Comfortable leading by influence rather than authority.
• Excellent communicator, in writing and on your feet.
• Strong presence in the communities you’re part of.

Requirements

• A track record of pitching and winning enterprise engagements inside a consultancy.
• A public technical presence: talks you’ve given, things you’ve written, communities you help lead.
• Experience shaping the service offerings or the technical point of view a firm takes to market.
• Relationships with cloud or AI platform partners, and the standing that comes with them.
• A working grasp of where AI and agentic tooling is heading, enough to judge where the real opportunities are.
• Experience mentoring senior technical talent and raising the bar around them.

Compensation

Our pay range for the Field CTO role is $230,000–$287,500 USD, plus 20–30% variable compensation based on performance.

Travel Expectation

This role involves regular but not frequent travel, mostly for in-person events, client pitches, and the occasional team gatherings.

How You’ll Be Supported

At 8th Light, our culture is built on the belief that our collective growth and well-being are the drivers of our future. Our wellness package is designed with the Whole YOU in mind and includes:

• A robust L&D program featuring unlimited access to thousands of books, courses, and expert-led training on the O'Reilly learning platform.
• Annual financial stipend and time allotment for learning & development.
• Coworking support for our global team.
• Flexible PTO with floating company holidays.
• 12 weeks of new parent leave available for eligible employees.

8th Light Hubs and Geographies

8th Light’s culture is rooted in strong connections that extend across our teams, regions, and beyond client work. We are a distributed team across the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom, with hubs in Chicago, London, Los Angeles, New York, and Seattle.

If you are hired into a hub, you will be part of a team with regular rituals around co-working and community building. For team members outside of those cities, we offer access to coworking spaces to foster continued collaboration and connection across our global team.