CTO at Submittable - Scale SaaS Eng & AI Strategy in Columbus
Career & Market Insight
This is a C-suite engineering leadership role at a mission-driven SaaS company operating at meaningful scale ($10B+ in funding facilitated). Here's what career-minded candidates should weigh:
Compensation: No salary is published, but CTO roles at US-based mid-market SaaS companies (50–500 employees) typically range from $250,000–$400,000+ OTE, often including meaningful equity. Submittable explicitly offers stock options, which could be significant given their growth trajectory and social-impact positioning (attractive for mission-aligned investors).
Career development signals:
- Direct CEO report and board-level visibility — high-impact for executives building a track record of strategic leadership
- Opportunity to scale a US/India distributed org, a highly marketable experience in today's global engineering landscape
- AI/ML adoption mandate means you'll develop a hands-on portfolio in enterprise AI integration — one of the hottest skill sets in 2024–2025
- M&A due diligence experience is listed as a plus, suggesting potential inorganic growth ahead — valuable exposure
Culture signals: The explicit inclusion & belonging section, mission-driven framing, and social-impact focus suggest a values-led culture — common in nonprofits/govtech-adjacent SaaS. Expect less aggressive growth pressure than pure B2B SaaS, but also potentially slower equity upside.
Green flag: 401(k) match from day one and day-one benefits signal a mature, employee-friendly HR posture. Watch for: No published salary range may indicate negotiation room — come prepared with market data.
At Submittable, we are transforming how organizations create social impact. Our platform empowers thousands of mission-driven organizations, from nonprofits to government entities, to make a difference in their communities and beyond. In 2024, our innovative software helped organizations worldwide run 30,000 programs, welcomed 1.2 million applicants, and facilitated the distribution of more than $10 billion in funding through our products on behalf of our clients.
We are on a mission to help organizations accelerate their impact, so we are proud to partner with organizations focused on Equity & Social Justice, Children & Education, Creative & Arts, Health & Wellness, Economic Justice & Opportunity, and Environment & Climate. At Submittable, technology and purpose converge, offering a unique opportunity to contribute to meaningful change.
About the Role
Submittable is seeking a Chief Technology Officer to own our engineering vision, architecture, and execution as we continue to scale. This is a pivotal leadership role reporting directly to the CEO, responsible for building and leading a high-performing, globally distributed engineering organization spanning India and the US. The CTO will partner closely with Product, Sales, and the broader Executive Leadership Team to translate strategic vision into technical execution including platform stability, scalable architecture, and cross-border effectiveness.
Key Responsibilities
Technical Strategy & Architecture
- Define and own the multi-year technology roadmap and architecture strategy in alignment with business goals
- Evaluate and evolve the technology stack to support scalability, security, and reliability
- Champion product stability and platform resilience as a top engineering priority
- Own build-vs-buy and vendor/technology partnership decisions
- Maintenance of legacy platforms and potential for migration strategies, profit optimization
Engineering Leadership
- Lead a distributed engineering organization across US and India
- Recruit, develop, and retain engineering talent; build a strong leadership bench
- Establish engineering best practices: code quality, testing, CI/CD, incident response, and security posture
- Drive cross-border collaboration and communication practices to close gaps between distributed teams
Cross-Functional Partnership
- Partner with Product on roadmap prioritization and technical feasibility
- Work with Sales and Customer Success to address technical escalations and enterprise requirements
- Represent engineering in ELT strategic planning, budgeting, and board-level initiatives
Operational Excellence
- Own engineering KPIs (e.g., uptime/reliability, velocity, technical debt reduction, defect reporting, AI utilization/leverage, etc.)
- Oversee security and compliance team inclusive of SOC II audits, pen testing, privacy compliance, etc.
- Manage engineering budget, SaaS platform margin, headcount planning, and vendor contracts
- Ensure compliance with data security, privacy, and industry regulations relevant to SaaS
Qualifications
- 12+ years of software engineering experience, including 5+ years in senior technology leadership (CTO or equivalent) at a SaaS company
- Proven experience leading distributed/global engineering teams, ideally including India-based teams
- Track record of scaling engineering organizations through growth stages (startup to mid-market SaaS)
- Demonstrated experience building or scaling AI/ML-powered product features and driving AI adoption within an engineering organization
- Strong technical foundation in modern web architecture, cloud infrastructure (AWS/Azure/GCP), APIs, and data security
- Experience partnering with executive leadership on business strategy, not just technical execution
- Excellent communication skills; able to translate technical concepts for non-technical stakeholders and the board
- Experience with M&A technical due diligence, platform migrations, or major re-architecture projects is a plus
Success Metrics (First 12 Months)
- Established technical roadmap aligned to ELT strategic priorities
- Measurable improvement in platform stability and uptime
- Strengthened US/India engineering collaboration model
- Key senior engineering leadership hires and retention milestones met
We are interested in every qualified candidate eligible to work in the United States; however, we cannot accommodate scholastic or employment visas at this time. In addition, we are not able to consider applicants who reside in the following states: Alaska, Delaware, Hawaii, Louisiana, Maine, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia, and Wyoming.
Fraudulent Recruitment Advisory: Submittable will NEVER request bank details, payment, or personal information during the hiring process, nor extend offers without an interview. All legitimate communications come from official submittable.com email addresses. If you receive suspicious outreach, please report it to [email protected]. (Please do not submit applications, resumes, cover letters, or other candidacy materials to this email address. Emails of this nature will not be reviewed or considered.)
Why Submittable?
Joining Submittable means becoming part of a forward-thinking, mission-driven company that values innovation, collaboration, and growth. We empower organizations working for social good with technology that accelerates their work, amplifies their impact, and drives meaningful change.
At Submittable, you'll find a supportive, dynamic work environment where your contributions directly influence our success. If you thrive in a fast-paced, evolving environment and are excited to be part of a company dedicated to social impact, we invite you to apply!
Benefits: We are proud to offer highly competitive benefits to our full-time employees, including:
- Comprehensive health and life insurance with optional HSA, FSA, and DCA accounts
- 401(k) plan with employer match starting day one
- Equity stock options to share in our success
- Flexible hours, remote work options, and generous vacation and sick leave
- Paid parental leave for mothers, fathers, and adoptive parents
- Professional development stipends to support your career growth
- Opportunities to participate in community outreach and volunteer programs
- Monthly company-sponsored happy hours and gatherings to connect and unwind
Our Commitment to Inclusion & Belonging
At Submittable, we believe technology is a force for good, driving social impact and enabling corporate social responsibility on a global scale. To achieve this, we are committed to fostering a workplace that values inclusion and belonging as central pillars of our culture.
We embrace the strength of our diverse community by creating a safe space where employees feel empowered to share ideas, celebrate unique experiences, and learn from one another. By prioritizing inclusion, we aim to build an environment where everyone can bring their authentic selves to work and make innovative contributions that enable our customers to tackle complex challenges and spread more good.
As a globally used platform, we are dedicated to hiring and supporting employees who represent a range of backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives. This includes diversity in ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, religion, ability, culture, and socioeconomic background.
About Our Process
Our goal is a fair, efficient, and thorough evaluation process that benefits you and our team and respects your time. As you can imagine, we have received a high volume of applications. Your willingness to participate in I.D. Verification and answer a few questions early allows us to move through the process more quickly.
Guidelines for Using AI in Our Hiring Process: At Submittable, we believe that Artificial Intelligence (AI) can be a powerful tool for good. We are committed to leveraging AI technologies responsibly, ensuring their use is equitable, fair, and safe. To ensure fairness and accurate skill assessment, we do not allow the use of AI tools (including note takers, transcription tools, or recordings) during take-home tests or interviews. If you have questions or need accommodations, please let us know.
For additional information and guidance on using AI to prepare an interview at Submittable, please click here.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this CTO role fully remote or does it require on-site presence?
Which US states are excluded from applying to this position?
Does Submittable sponsor work visas for this CTO role?
What does success look like in the first 12 months as CTO?
Is prior experience with AI/ML required for this role?
