Field CTO

About Shelf: There is no AI Strategy without a Data Strategy. Getting GenAI to work is mission critical for most companies but 90% of AI projects haven't deployed. Why? Poor data quality - it is the #1 obstacle companies have in getting GenAI projects into production. We've helped some of the best brands like Amazon, Mayo Clinic, AmFam, and Nespresso solve their data issues and deploy their AI strategy with Day 1 ROI. Simply put, Shelf unlocks AI readiness. We provide the core infrastructure that enables GenAI to be deployed at scale. We help companies deliver more accurate GenAI answers by eliminating bad data in documents and files before they go into an LLM and create bad answers. Shelf is partnered with Microsoft, Salesforce, Snowflake, Databricks, OpenAI, and other big tech players who are bringing GenAI to the enterprise. Our mission is to empower humanity with better answers everywhere. Job Description: The Field CTO will serve as Shelf's primary technical authority in customer-facing engagements, combining deep technical expertise with strategic sales leadership. You'll take ownership of the critical technical sales function currently handled by our CTO, partnering with Account Executives to close deals across the entire pipeline while building and leading a team of Sales Engineers. This role offers immediate impact and long-term growth potential. You'll engage with Enterprise Architects, CTOs, VPs of Engineering, and AI Leaders to demonstrate how Shelf solves data quality challenges preventing GenAI initiatives from reaching production. Your ability to rapidly solution during fastpaced 35 day pilots and translate complex technical concepts into business value will be crucial to driving revenue success. Reporting to our CTO with a strong dotted line to our VP of Sales, you'll influence product direction while staying laserfocused on sales outcomes. The ideal candidate is a former CTO or VP of Engineering who has transitioned to customerfacing roles, with experience building technical teams in highgrowth B2B SaaS environments. Founder or early employee experience is a significant plus. What We're Looking For: Technical Executive Background - Former CTO, VP of Engineering, or senior technical leader who transitioned to customerfacing roles in B2B SaaS Enterprise Technical Authority - Deep expertise in enterprise architecture, AI/GenAI technologies, and modern data platforms with proven ability to engage Clevel stakeholders Team Builder - Track record of building and scaling technical teams; ready to hire, mentor, and lead Sales Engineers RevenueOriented - Understanding of enterprise sales cycles with demonstrated ability to influence revenue through technical leadership Exceptional Communicator - Explains complex concepts to diverse audiences; comfortable presenting to technical and executive stakeholders Entrepreneurial Drive - Founder or early employee experience preferred; thinks like an owner and thrives in highgrowth environments HandsOn & Strategic - Comfortable setting up demos and running pilots while maintaining strategic perspective Key Responsibilities: Technical Sales Leadership Serve as primary technical authority in strategic customer engagements across the sales pipeline Lead technical discovery, solution design, and presentations demonstrating Shelf's value Drive rapid 35 day pilots that prove measurable value and convert to closed deals Build and lead a Sales Engineering team, starting with approximately 4 team members Create scalable processes and best practices for technical sales excellence Strategic Collaboration Collaborate with CTO and Product leadership to provide market insights and influence roadmap based on technical sales engagements Partner with Technical Partner Sales and other sales roles to drive technical wins across the ecosystem Contribute to thought leadership through select conferences, content creation, and sales enablement materials Maintain deep expertise in AI/GenAI trends, competitive landscape, and enterprise technology ecosystem Qualifications: 1015+ years combining technical leadership with customerfacing roles in enterprise B2B SaaS Former CTO, VP of Engineering, or senior technical executive with proven customer engagement experience Deep expertise in enterprise architecture, AI/ML technologies, cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP), and data platforms Experience building and leading technical teams in highgrowth environments Demonstrated ability to influence revenue through technical leadership Exceptional presentation and communication skills with technical and executive audiences Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field Founder or early employee experience strongly preferred Success Metrics To be successful in this role, you should aim to achieve the following within the first 18 months: Revenue Influence - Directly contribute to $25M+ in ARR through technical involvement across the sales pipeline Pilot Conversion Excellence - Achieve strong pilottoconversion rates on rapid proofofvalue engagements Team Building - Successfully hire, onboard, and lead a highperforming Sales Engineering team Technical Credibility - Establish Shelf as a trusted technical authority with key enterprise accounts and become the goto resource for complex technical engagements Sales Enablement - Create reusable technical assets, demo environments, and solution templates that accelerate sales cycles What We Offer: Competitive salary, equity, & benefits Realistic, clearly communicated expectations Teamwide aligned values and goals Comprehensive health and wellness packages Location: NYC or San Francisco with flexibility to travel for highstakes customer meetings, industry events, and internal leadership meetings. Why Shelf: GenAI will be at least a $18 Trillion market by 2032 and Shelf is a core infrastructure that enables GenAI to be deployed at scale We are blazing the path for the future of Artificial Intelligence globally. Our Leadership Team has deep AI domain expertise and enterprise SaaS background to execute this plan We love our customers and our customers love us. Ask a Shelf customer why, and theyll tell you its because of our innovative capabilities, rocksolid reliability, they truly enjoy working with our people, most of all its the improvements they see in their business KPIs. We have raised over $60 million in funding and our investors include Insight Partners, Tiger Global, Base10, and others We have high velocity growth powered by the most innovative product in our category We now have over 100 employees in multiple U.S. states and European countries, and we have ambitious hiring goals over the next few quarters. Our Values: Quality - Were united by our focus on worldclass Quality. Quality in all things starting with everything that leaves your desk. Everything you touch every email, report, campaign, and piece of code should be outstanding. Your work product should blow people away. Having people look at what youve done and say, Wow. Thats the standard here. Remember that how you do anything is how you do everything. Focus on craftsmanshipyour ability to make things better. Momentum - for us means that you should know that the things youre responsible for are moving forward. When you look around and see something thats stalled, get it moving again. We pride ourselves on ball movement. When your boss or team leaves you with something, they should return to see measurable progress. Small, continuous movement is our recipe for success. Constantly look for how to make the work around you move forward. We want you to initiate solutions, ideas, and progress. Dont wait for it to come to youreach out and create movement. All the time. Accountability - We expect every team member to feel that they are accountable for more than anyone might normally expect. Each of us should feel real responsibility for things even at the edge of our control. We consistently share and align on expectations, give each other open and respectful feedback, and use those two drivers to ensure that every agreement we make with one another is clear and complete. Hard Work - Were here to do something difficult together. We care intensely about the mission and we expect that from our teammates. That care means that we work hard here. Hard work comes with long hours, extra effortand real opportunity at Shelf. Your passion for creating and sustaining output is a part of our DNA. Support each other, cheer each other on, drive the mission forward. Great teams sustain intense effort together to win. Learning Agility - Were innovating in one of the fastestmoving spaces in history at a time of accelerating global change. Thats incredibly exciting and requires each of us to commit fully to learning each and every day so that we can be the best at what we do. None of us know everything. All of us can learn anything. Staying open and constantly curious is a key success driver at Shelf. It also requires humility. We prize people who are consistently humble and open to making mistakes and growing from them. Recognize also that learning itself is a skillwe need you to be really good at it. Keep dialing in your own understa]]>