Chief Technology Officer
Job description
Phoenix is the Autonomous Commerce Platform for DTC Founders. We unify storefronts, checkout, payments, and operations into one platform where AI agents handle the operational grind and merchants focus on growth.
We set out to build the "Shopify of Direct Response" and along the way recognized something bigger. Direct response is roughly a third of all ecommerce transactions, a trillion-dollar market chronically overlooked by Silicon Valley. The merchants who run it are obsessive about tooling.
They live and die by velocity, conversion, and margin. They have no brand moats. They only compete on operations, which is exactly what makes them ripe for agentic disruption and the earliest, fastest adopters of AI agents in commerce.
That insight reframed Phoenix from "the Shopify of DR" to the AI Agent Platform for DTC Founders.
This is a category-defining bet, and we are running at it from a position of strength.
Where We Are Today
8-figure ARR growing 100%+ YoY
Strong unit economics and efficient growth
Rapid merchant adoption and expanding market presence
Backed by experienced operators and investors with a history of building and scaling successful businesses
Why Now
This is a rare opportunity for a technical leader to step into a company with proven revenue, product-market fit, an established team, and a large market opportunity.
Three things make this an inflection point:
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Product-market fit is established. Demand continues to grow, merchant adoption is accelerating, and Phoenix is outperforming expectations.
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There is an opportunity to define a category. While many companies are building AI tools for commerce, few are focused on helping sophisticated DTC operators automate revenue-generating decisions at scale.
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Our customers are AI-ready. They adopt technology quickly when it drives measurable business outcomes, creating an ideal environment for agentic products.
The Role
You will own all of technology and engineering at Phoenix. Strategy, architecture, execution, hiring, culture, AI roadmap, platform reliability, payments infrastructure, and merchant-facing product engineering all sit with you.
You will inherit a strong engineering foundation, experienced technical leaders, and a talented team with deep domain expertise. This role is focused on scaling the organization, driving technical strategy, and leading Phoenix through its next phase of growth.
What You'll Own
Technical Vision and Strategy
Define and execute the long-term technical roadmap for an AI-native commerce platform
Architect for an agent-first future
Drive platform scalability across checkout, subscriptions, payments, merchant tooling, and storefronts
Represent Phoenix's technical vision to investors, partners, and the broader market
Engineering Leadership
Build and lead a high-performing engineering organization
Set and maintain a high bar for engineering excellence, velocity, and accountability
Mentor engineering leaders and senior ICs
Attract and retain exceptional technical talent
AI and Automation
Own the company's AI strategy and roadmap
Drive the development of AI agents that make production-grade decisions on real merchant outcomes
Operationalize AI-assisted software development practices throughout the organization
Product and Cross-Functional Partnership
Drive AI adoption through the product
Partner with leadership to identify opportunities for AI internally across the business
Translate business priorities into technical execution
Work closely with Product, Payments, Operations, and Customer Success
Engineering Organization Health
Own hiring, performance management, and culture within engineering
Build and maintain a high-performance organization
Create an environment where top engineers can do the best work of their careers
Executive Leadership
Serve on the executive leadership team
Participate in strategic planning, budgeting, and organizational design
Communicate technical vision to investors and partners
Be a key decision-maker on company-wide initiatives
What We're Looking For
Required
8+ years of software engineering experience and 5+ years leading engineering organizations
Experience as a CTO, VP Engineering, or senior technical leader in a high-growth environment
Startup experience required
Demonstrated success scaling teams, systems, and products
Experience building platform products serving business customers
Strong interest in AI and emerging technologies
Deep architectural and systems design expertise
Experience operating reliable, high-scale systems
Preferred
DTC commerce technology experience
Payments or fintech infrastructure experience
Hands-on AI/LLM product development
B2B or B2B2C platform experience
Leadership Traits We Value
High ownership
Decisiveness
Strong recruiting and talent development capabilities
Accountability
Product judgment
Calm under pressure
Builder mentality
Culture
These are the values that guide how we operate:
All In to Win — Operate with urgency, intensity, and a relentless bar for excellence.
A Players Only — Only hire, develop, and keep A players. Protect talent density.
Merchant First — Merchants are why we exist. Every decision measured by merchant impact.
Entrepreneurial Spirit — Move like a Day One company. Fast, scrappy, hungry. Everyone owns.
Execution Over Ego — Best ideas win regardless of source. Status and titles do not matter.