Job Title: Chief Technology Officer (CTO) / Technical Co-Founder
Location: Melbourne, VIC (Hybrid / Flexible)
About ZBOS:
ZBOS is building the infrastructure that powers and runs businesses end-to-end — combining operations and payments into a single, modular platform. Think Square + Shopify + Toast + supplier automation. We've validated demand with $100 Million dollars in EOIs from elite hospitality venues across Victoria and South Australia and a clickable prototype, and now we're ready to build a product that will scale to 1000+ businesses and become the default operating infrastructure for SMBs.
The Role:
We are looking for a hands-on, senior technical leader to join as CTO and co-founder. You will own the full technical vision, architecture, and implementation of ZBOS, while building and mentoring a small engineering team from scratch. This is a rare opportunity to define the tech and product for a category-defining platform.
What You'll Do:
* Architect and lead the full-stack development of the platform, including backend systems, POS/ecommerce integrations, supplier automation, and business operations modules.
* Lead frontend and mobile development to deliver smooth, modular business workflows.
* Set up DevOps, CI/CD, cloud architecture (AWS/Azure), and monitoring.
* Translate EOIs and prototype feedback into scalable, production-ready solutions.
* Build, mentor, and manage the early engineering team.
* Collaborate with founders on product strategy, technical roadmap, and fundraising.
* Present technical plans and vision confidently to investors.
You Are:
* A proven builder of SaaS products at scale, ideally with experience in POS, marketplaces, or fintech systems.
* Experienced with modern stacks, PostgreSQL,, AWS/serverless) and cloud-based architecture.
* Comfortable owning the tech vision and making trade-offs in a fast-paced, resource-constrained startup environment.
* A natural leader who can recruit, inspire, and mentor high-performing engineers.
* Hands-on and unafraid to dive into coding when needed.
Requirements:
* 8–10+ years in software engineering with 3+ years leading teams (high-growth or top-tier tech experience preferred: Atlassian, Block, Afterpay, Stripe, Square, Canva, Apple, Airwallex, etc.).
* Strong backend expertise (microservices, cloud, databases, payment integrations) and frontend/mobile experience.
* Proven ability to scale systems to hundreds/thousands of users.
* Leadership experience: mentoring engineers, driving architecture decisions, and contributing to product strategy.
* Strong communication skills, comfortable presenting to investors and stakeholders.
Equity & Compensation:
* Founder-level equity: 10–20% depending on experience and role.
* Salary negotiable and initially deferred until pre-seed funding; milestone-based support will be provided once we raise.
* Opportunity to shape the tech and product strategy for a platform with multi-billion-dollar potential.
Why Join ZBOS:
* Own the technology and define the future of an end-to-end business platform.
* Full authority to hire, structure, and lead your engineering team — no approvals needed from the CEO on technical decisions.
* Work directly with the founder and early founding engineer to shape product, tech, and strategy.
* Scale the platform to 1000+ businesses in the first 12–18 months.
* Be part of a company with validated traction — $100M in EOIs, working prototype, and early vendor relationships.
Job Type: Full-time
Pay: $200,000.00 – $250,000.00 per year
Benefits:
* Salary packaging
* Work from home
Application Question(s):
* How many years have you worked in software engineering or product development?
* What tech stacks are you most comfortable with, and which have you built production-ready products with?
* Have you ever led an engineering team or been a technical co-founder? Describe a project where you had full technical ownership from concept to launch.
* This role is at a pre-seed startup: cash is limited initially, but equity is offered. Are you comfortable joining under these conditions? If yes, explain why.
* Have you ever presented to top-tier investors, or been part of a fundraising process? If yes, describe your experience.
* Why do you want to join a startup as a founding engineer / CTO? What motivates you?
* What does "full technical ownership" mean to you, and how would you approach it at ZBOS?
Work Location: Hybrid remote in Melbourne VIC