Kaizen Labs - Chief Technology Officer

• Deep federal technology experience — you've built or scaled production software at the intersection of modern engineering and government procurement (backgrounds like Palantir, Anduril, major federal integrators, or defense-adjacent tech companies are a strong signal) • The architectural credibility to make hard calls on platform discipline vs. delivery speed — and enough organizational authority to make those calls stick under pressure • A track record of running parallel technical workstreams across multiple high-stakes engagements without losing accountability on any of them • Native fluency with AI-native development — you build with AI tools yourself, you've thought seriously about agentic pipelines and AI-assisted delivery, and you set the standard rather than follow it • Experience leading both product engineering and delivery engineering, with a real understanding of what makes each culture different and why conflating them produces the worst of both • Strong Candidates May Also... • Have built or contributed to an internal AI tooling layer (agentic pipelines, AI-assisted scaffolding, or similar) that measurably accelerated team throughput • Have direct experience navigating FedRAMP authorization processes or DoD IL4/IL5 environments — the bureaucratic context, not just the acronyms • Have led a technical organization through a platform re-architecture under active delivery pressure, and have the scar tissue to prove it • Don't Apply If... • Don't Apply If... • You need product and engineering to be separate reporting lines — this role commands both, and the organizational separation between Platform and Delivery is load-bearing • Federal procurement cycles feel like a tax rather than terrain — FedRAMP, ATO timelines, and agency BD dynamics are part of the operating environment, not exceptions to it • You've operated exclusively in one mode — pure platform architecture or pure delivery execution — and have never had to hold both accountabilities without letting either slip • You think architectural rigor and delivery velocity are fundamentally in tension — the entire Kaizen 2.0 model depends on them being complementary, and you'll need to demonstrate that in practice • Forty million Americans interact with government services that don't work. If modernizing that infrastructure isn't a sufficient reason to build something harder than you've built before, this isn't the right mission. • What Kaizen Offers • What Kaizen Offers • Health & Insurance • Health & Insurance • Comprehensive medical through Oxford/United — Gold and Platinum PPO plans, with 85% of premiums covered on the Platinum plan and a $0 employee premium option. Dental through Guardian PPO and vision through Beam, with 99% of employee premiums covered and 50% for dependents. • $100,000 in fully paid life insurance. FSA and Dependent Care FSA. 401(k) access through Guideline. • Family & Time Off • Family & Time Off • 16 weeks of fully paid parental leave for birthing parents. 10 weeks fully paid for non-birthing parents. • Unlimited PTO, closed for all federal holidays, and company-wide winter break the week of Christmas. • Office & Remote Setup • Up to $750 one-time home office or desk setup stipend for NYC-based employees. $500 for remote employees. • $50/month commuter benefit (company contribution). • Expensed lunch 3x a week while in the office. • Company-provided laptop. • Wellness • Fully covered gym membership at Grindhouse — right across the street from our office at 47 W 17th St (and in Williamsburg). A $225/month value, on us. For remote employees, $100/month dedicated to gym or physical fitness reimbursement. • $300/quarter pet care stipend. • Stipends • $100/month utility stipend. • $500/year professional development. • $250/year recreation.