Chief Technology Officer

Role Overview Ephelia Group is seeking a visionary Chief Technology Officer (CTO) to lead our technology vision and execution at a critical growth stage, driving the company’s transformation into an AI-First Financial Infrastructure provider. As CTO, you will be responsible for architecting and scaling Ephelia’s next-generation fintech infrastructure platform, which spans payments, electronic money (e-money) systems, and blockchain applications. This is a leadership role, reporting directly to the CEO, where you will define the technical strategy, lead Ephelia’s AI Transformation, and ensure that our technology stack meets the highest standards of performance, security, and regulatory compliance. The ideal candidate is a visionary technologist with deep fintech domain expertise, strong hands‑on command of blockchain architecture, the experience to develop a robust product roadmap, and the leadership skills to mentor teams and align technology initiatives with business goals. This is an on-site position, based in our Lugano or London office. Responsibilities Technology Strategy Vision: Partnering with Ephelia's executive team to define and communicate our technology vision and long-term architecture roadmap, positioning Ephelia as an AI-First Financial Infrastructure platform. Ensure that our technology choices support building a large-scale, robust platform for global financial services. Platform Architecture Development: Lead the design and development of Ephelia's core infrastructure, with particular emphasis on blockchain-based services, tokenization, and distributed ledger architecture, alongside payments and e-money systems. Oversee architecture decisions and coding standards that enable high performance and future growth. AI Transformation: Own and drive Ephelia's AI Transformation, embedding artificial intelligence and agentic AI systems across products, infrastructure, and internal operations. Act as Ephelia's chief AI strategist, working closely with the Chief of AI Officer to accelerate the shift toward an AI-native operating model. Blockchain Leadership: Set the technical direction for Ephelia's blockchain and e-money token strategy, working closely with the Chief of Blockchain Officer to ensure smart contract architecture, tokenization initiatives, and DLT integrations meet institutional-grade standards of security and compliance. Leadership Culture: Build, mentor, and manage the engineering and IT teams (in a remote delivery environment), fostering a culture of excellence, autonomy, and continuous innovation. Promote best practices in agile development and DevOps to improve productivity and quality. Product Collaboration: Work closely with client and business teams to ensure technology development is aligned with product roadmap and client needs. Support in the development of robust business requirements and translate those requirements into scalable technical solutions ensuring seamless integration of new features and services into the platform. Security Compliance: Ensure the highest levels of security, privacy, and data protection across all systems. Implement robust cybersecurity measures and maintain compliance with financial industry regulations. In coordination with compliance teams, make sure that our technology and processes adhere to relevant standards across the EU, UK, and US markets. Infrastructure Reliability Scalability: Oversee infrastructure operations, making sure the platform is highly available, fault‑tolerant, and performant. Optimize systems for scalability and reliability (e.g. cloud architecture, microservices, database scalability) to support a growing global user base. Stakeholder Engagement: Serve as a key member of the leadership team, communicating technology plans and progress to internal stakeholders (executives, board) and external partners or clients as needed. Present technical updates in investor meetings and help translate complex tech concepts into business terms for non-technical stakeholders. Innovation Trend Monitoring: Stay abreast of emerging technologies and fintech trends (AI, blockchain, DeFi, tokenization, etc.), and evaluate their potential to add value to Ephelia's platform. Propose and pilot innovative solutions that could give the company a competitive edge. Required Experience Blockchain Development (Core Requirement): Deep, hands‑on background in blockchain technology and its applications in financial services. You have led blockchain or distributed ledger projects (e.g. smart contracts, tokenization of assets, e-money tokens, cryptocurrency payment rails) and understand how to integrate blockchain solutions with traditional finance systems at production scale. Domain Expertise in Fintech: Proven experience building and managing fintech products or platforms, with deep understanding of financial systems and digital payment technologies. This includes hands‑on knowledge of payments infrastructure (payment processing, gateways, settlement systems) and electronic money (e-money) platforms (such as digital wallets or stored‑value systems). Large-Scale Architecture: Demonstrated success in architecting and scaling large‑scale platforms, preferably in a high‑transaction, high‑security environment. Experience designing cloud‑based, distributed systems that are resilient and maintainable is essential. (For example, having built or scaled a platform with millions of transactions or users would be highly relevant.) Artificial Intelligence Transformation: Proven track record leading AI transformation initiatives, not just AI feature adoption. Experience architecting agentic AI systems, embedding AI‑driven capabilities (fraud detection, credit scoring, AI agents for financial services) into core infrastructure, and repositioning an organization as AI‑native. Leadership in Tech Organizations: Significant experience in a technology leadership role. Prior CTO experience at a startup or tech company is a plus (preferred but not strictly required), however you should have a track record as a senior engineering leader (e.g. VP Engineering, Head of Engineering) where you set technical direction, delivered to client expectations, and built high‑performing teams. Fintech/Financial Services Background: Background in fintech or financial services is essential. You are familiar with the unique challenges of building tech in a regulated financial environment and have insight into banking/payments industry practices. This could come from working at a fintech startup, a financial institution's tech team, or a payments company. Regulatory Knowledge: Familiarity with financial regulations and compliance requirements in major markets (Europe, UK, and the US), including blockchain and digital asset regulatory frameworks (e.g. MiCA), is a strong advantage. Communication Skills: Excellent communication skills in English, both written and verbal. You must be able to articulate complex technical concepts clearly to non‑technical stakeholders and create alignment around the technology strategy. As the role involves considerable cross‑functional collaboration, combined with the technology team being largely remote, being an effective and proactive communicator is critical. Desired Skills and Qualities Strategic Vision Innovation: Ability to think strategically about technology's role in the business and to envision how AI and blockchain innovations can open new opportunities. You are a forward‑looking thinker who can set a compelling technical vision and inspire others with it. Leadership Team Building: Exceptional leadership and mentoring skills. You excel at building and nurturing tech teams, creating an engineering culture that attracts talent and empowers engineers to do their best work. Problem‑Solving Decision Makin g: Strong problem‑solving aptitude and a data‑driven decision‑making mindset. You can make high‑stakes technology decisions (buy vs build, technology stack choices, etc.) and troubleshoot complex issues under pressure. Stakeholder Engagement: Highly adept at stakeholder management, including the ability to engage with clients, partners, and investors on technical discussions. You bring a collaborative approach and can work closely with other executives on company strategy, while also advocating for the technology needs of the organization. Adaptability Growth Mindset: Comfortable working in a fast‑paced, agile startup environment. You embrace continuous improvement and can adapt the technology roadmap as the company evolves. A growth mindset with willingness to be hands‑on when necessary (especially in early stages) is important. Cultural Fit: You embody Ephelia’s values of innovation, integrity, and customer‑centricity. As a cultural leader, you set the tone for ethics, inclusivity, and excellence in the tech team. You have the vision and passion to drive Ephelia’s mission forward and the humility to learn and grow with the team. Company Background Ephelia Group is a Series A stage fintech/financial services startup building a cutting‑edge Regulated Fintech Infrastructure platform powered by e‑money token technology, delivering compliant financial solutions globally. Ephelia's platform combines traditional banking rails (accounts, payments, compliance, etc) with blockchain and agentic AI to create a new "Finance Interoperability Layer" for money movement. We are actively transforming into an AI‑First Financial Infrastructure company, embedding AI‑native design across our core technology and operations. This is an on‑site role based in Lugano or London, working alongside a distributed delivery team that operates on trust, communication, and empowerment. #J-18808-Ljbffr