Chief Technology Officer
Supply Trace · Remote (Eastern Time Zone Hours)
Chief Technology Officer - REMOTE
Introducing Supply Trace
Supply Trace is an open-access tool that identifies potential risks in global supply chains to enable effective due diligence and accountability. The tool was created to incentivize and enable businesses, and other stakeholders, to mitigate and provide remedy for adverse human rights and climate impacts in global supply chains.
The pilot phase of the product was launched in March 2024 and focuses on identifying Uyghur forced labor risk in apparel supply chains. Supply Trace will progressively expand to other sectors, affected regions and categories of risk, with a focus on the implications of climate change and how people working in global supply chains will be affected.
While Supply Trace will always remain an open-access product, in the short – mid-term it will launch a series of Premium Features, which form an essential part of its longer-term financial sustainability. Supply Trace receives funding from Laudes Foundation and the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation.
Supply Trace Team
Currently a research project incubated at Northeastern University, Supply Trace is led by Shawn Bhimani, Assistant Professor of Supply Chain Management at Northeastern University.
The pilot phase of Supply Trace has been built by a team of Undergraduate and Masters students at Northeastern University. Since the launch of the pilot phase, additional professional-level expertise has been added to the team, including a Stakeholder Engagement Manager, Technical Lead, Product Manager and UX Advisor.
About the Role
As Supply Trace looks ahead to its ambitious expansion plans, its leadership is looking to add a remote, fractional CTO to its team. The precise details of the contract specification will be co-created with the successful applicant, but will include:
Strategy and Leadership
- Development of the long-term (3 – 5 year) technology strategy that will ensure Supply Trace delivers on its ambitious expansion targets, architecting a robust platform to become stable, scalable and secure
- Strategic oversight of the delivery of Supply Trace, spanning technical and product, including, but not limited to:
- Systems architecture
- Software development
- Building external relationships within the broader ecosystem in which Supply Trace operates, e.g. collaborations with other platforms, ingestions of additional data sources and other such integrations
- Opportunities for the development of ML-driven features
- System security, resilience and futureproofing
- Input and advisory on the development of Premium Features, including technical and business / market insights
- Continuous risk management and communication thereof to the leadership team, primarily of technical delivery risk, but also risk to product, funding, and culture
- Contribute to the business development strategy and goals of Supply Trace, with a particular emphasis on identifying and establishing relationships with technology funders
- Contribute, where appropriate, to funding submissions
Teamwork and Collaboration
- Close collaboration with Supply Trace leadership, as well as the Technical Lead, Product Manager and UX Advisor
- Advise on the development and growth of the Supply Trace technical and product teams
- Provide strong leadership and guidance to the technology teams, fostering a culture of collaboration and continuous learning, and influencing agile software development practices and culture-building
Management of
- Product Manager
- Technical Lead
- UX Advisor
Compensation
- Up to US $120,000 p/annum. Level of effort to be negotiated dependent on experience of the successful candidate
Requirements
- Masters degree or above in a relevant technical field (Computer Science, Machine Learning, or some other STEM field) (Essential)
- 5+ years’ experience at CTO, or comparable, level (Essential)
- Expert org-level technical operations skills and experience (dev/ML/data/cloudOps) (Essential)
- ‘T-shape’ technical knowledge: deep, world-leading, technical knowledge in one or two areas relevant to Supply Trace (ML & research, data engineering, database & API, front-end) and advanced generalist knowledge in remaining areas (Essential)
- Demonstrated experience implementing programs which exhibit best-in-class data privacy and security compliance (Essential)
- Experience in managing distributed and / or fully remote teams (Essential)
- This role can be located anywhere geographically, provided the candidate is willing and able to work for a minimum of 4 hours overlap with standard working hours (9am – 5pm) of the Eastern US time zone (Essential)
- Experience in global supply chain software, open data and/or open-source projects (Desirable)
- Experience in Tech for Good (Desirable)
- Experience working with academic institutions (Desirable)
- Experience in, or a desire to be a part of, a start-up and / or small team environment (Essential)
Apply:
- To apply for this position, please submit your CV, cover letter (no more than 2 pages each) and links to your public GitHub repo / blog / website / LinkedIn profile via this form.
- Deadline: 30th March 2025.
- This role will be hired on a contractor basis by Northeastern University for an initial term of 6 months. Contract can be renewed and extended based on performance and fit in the role / organization.
- This role has enormous growth potential alongside the expansion of Supply Trace.
Evaluation Stages
Recruitment for this role will consist of a minimum of two 45 mins interviews and a potential third round interview of 45 mins. A short task will be set between interview rounds one and two.
About Supply Trace
Supply Trace is an open-access tool that identifies potential risks in global supply chains to enable effective due diligence and accountability. The tool was created to incentivize and enable businesses, and other stakeholders, to mitigate and provide remedy for adverse human rights and climate impacts in global supply chains.
It does this by highlighting potential risks in specific production locations and presenting the data in an accessible, open platform. Supply Trace is available for anyone with an interest in understanding and improving supply chain conditions. Users include companies, civil society, governments, trade experts, human rights defenders, lawyers, auditors, advocates, journalists, researchers and more.
Currently a research project incubated at Northeastern University, the Supply Trace methodology has been developed by academic subject matter experts. The base layer of trade data in Supply Trace consists of shipping and bill of lading data, which is overlaid with a layer of desk-based research intelligence. This research is conducted by a team of experts who have lived experience of the issues Supply Trace seeks to address.
For more about Supply Trace:
Our Commitment
Supply Trace is committed to creating an inclusive and representative environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status.
