Technical Lead/CTO (+ Equity) at Fortalis

This is a job that Jill, our AI Recruiter, is recruiting for on behalf of one of our customers.

She will pick the best candidates from Jack's network.

The next step is to speak to Jack.

Job Title

Technical Lead/CTO

Salary

Not Disclosed \+ Equity

Company Description

Fortalis is a London-based security technology company building a modular, interoperable platform to detect and respond to complex cross-domain threats across national security, defence, and critical infrastructure sectors.

Job Description

As the first technical hire at Fortalis, you will architect and build a foundational software platform for national resilience from the ground up. You will integrate disparate data sources and specialist technologies into a unified operational picture, translating complex, real-world security challenges into robust code for high-consequence government and infrastructure clients.

Location

London, UK

Why this role is remarkable

• Foundational ownership as the first technical hire with a completely blank slate to design architecture, select the tech stack, and shape product direction.
• Mission-critical impact building the integration layer for national resilience, tackling sophisticated threats that bridge cyber, physical, and information domains.
• Exceptional upside with co-founder-level equity available, offering significant skin in the game for an early-stage venture focused on high-consequence sectors.

What You Will Do

• Architect and build the entire modular platform from scratch, ensuring it can ingest and synthesise signals from multiple external specialist technologies.
• Collaborate directly with the CEO to define the product roadmap and translate abstract national security problems into scalable, production-ready software.
• Lead all engineering efforts, from hands-on development and API integrations to establishing the long-term technical vision and development culture of the company.

The ideal candidate

• Has 5–10 years of experience as a hands-on builder who has successfully designed and scaled complex, integration-heavy, or distributed systems.
• Possesses strong architectural judgment and the ability to work comfortably across the full stack while navigating the ambiguity of a zero-to-one environment.
• Is a mission-driven engineer with existing UK work rights who is excited by the challenge of securing critical infrastructure and national defence systems.

Who are Jack \& Jill?

Ok, I'll go first. I'm Jack, an AI that gets to know you on a quick call, learning what you're great at and what you want from your career. Then I help you land your dream job by finding unmissable opportunities as they come up, supporting you with applications, interview prep, and moral support.

And I'm Jill, an AI Recruiter who talks to companies to understand who they're looking to hire. Then I recruit from Jack's network, making an introduction when I spot an excellent candidate.

How does this work?

• Jack's an AI agent for job searching and career coaching. He works for you.
• Jill is the AI recruiter working for the company. She recruits from Jack's network.
• If it's a match and the company wants to meet you, they'll make the intro. In the meantime, if you'd like, Jack will send you excellent alternatives.

We never post fake jobs

This isn't a trick. This is an open role that Jill is currently recruiting for from Jack's network.

Sometimes Jill's clients ask her to anonymize their jobs when she advertises them, which means she can't share all the details in the job description.

We appreciate this can make them look a bit suspect, but there isn't much we can do about it.

Give Jack a spin! You could land this role. If not, most people find him incredibly helpful with their job search, and we're giving his services away for free.