Chief Technology Officer (CTO)

Company Overview
Graduate Planning is a university-based startup with the goal of helping students make the most of their finances!

We came out of the UofA’s business accelerator program in 2022 and have received a substantial amount of support from investors and the university community. We have experienced rapid growth and are actively hiring to meet increasing demand.


Position: Chief Technology Office (CTO)
We are hiring a Chief Technology Officer (CTO) to join the founding team. This role is accountable for architecting and scaling our core technology platform, managing engineering operations, and driving technical strategy in alignment with our business goals. This is a senior executive position with long-term ownership potential. Your responsibilities will include:

  • Own end-to-end technology strategy, architecture, and infrastructure design

  • Lead development of our advisor training platform, financial planning tools, and scalable client-facing systems

  • Oversee integrations with third-party financial APIs (e.g. CRA, Open Banking, payroll)

  • Build internal systems for CRM, scheduling, and client lifecycle automation

  • Recruit, hire, and mentor technical talent as the team scales

  • Establish secure, compliant, and performant cloud infrastructure (AWS preferred)

  • Collaborate closely with product, operations, and compliance leaders to deliver on roadmap goals

  • Represent technology in investor, regulatory, and partnership discussions


Why Join Us:

  • Make a genuine impact: The average student we work with earns over $3,000 in grants they otherwise would not have received. We are proud of the impact we have on relieving financial stress for students!

  • Collaborative team: We are a small team always looking to grow and improve. You will be part of a close-knit team, and your say will have an impact on the future operations of the company!

  • Great benefits: Work on campus, work with students, flexible hours, reimbursements for furthering education, personal tech, and a bougie espresso machine in our office. You are encouraged to reach out to current staff members about their experience at the company!

  • Start-up environment: As a small company, every team member wears many hats. You’ll gain insight into all aspects of business operations and have the opportunity to work on personal projects that you think will help improve the financial lives of students!


Requirements:

  • 7+ years of full-stack software engineering experience, with recent hands-on development work

  • 3+ years of experience in a technical leadership role (e.g. CTO, VP Engineering, Staff Engineer)

  • Demonstrated ability to scale systems from 0 to 1 and from 1 to N

  • Experience in at least two of the following languages: TypeScript (React/Node), Python, Go

  • Deep familiarity with cloud-native infrastructure (e.g. Kubernetes, AWS, Terraform)

  • Experience leading secure data architecture for sensitive information (e.g. financial, PII)

  • Proven record of hiring and managing engineers or technical teams

  • Experience in early-stage startups or co-founding ventures strongly preferred

  • Experience integrating AI/ML technologies into production applications


Nice to Have:

  • Prior experience building financial, fintech, or compliance-grade applications

  • Exposure to Canadian regulatory systems (e.g. CRA, FNTC, OSFI, IIROC)

  • Contributions to open-source software or notable side projects


What We Offer:

  • Founding team equity and long-term upside

  • Opportunity to build a generational company from the ground up

  • Fast-paced, high-ownership startup culture

  • Direct impact on improving financial outcomes for the next generation


Compensation:

This is a full-time role with salary and meaningful equity. The Chief Technology Officer (CTO) role is designed to be a long-term position with a built-in path to partnership.


How to Apply:
Please submit your resumé and cover letter to hiring@graduateplanning.com with the subject line "Chief Technology Officer (CTO) Application".

Successful candidates will be contacted for an interview.

Last Updated: June 12, 2025