Chief Technology Officer

Series A Deep-Tech Optics & Materials Company

We are recruiting for a highly innovative deep-technology company developing advanced optical technologies based on proprietary soft optical materials and fluid-based photonic systems.

The company operates at the intersection of optics, materials science, chemistry, fluid-based optical systems and precision engineering, with applications spanning adaptive optics, AR/VR, ophthalmics and next-generation photonic systems.

Following successful technology development and the creation of multiple working demonstrators, the business is now entering structured co-development programmes with early strategic customers and is seeking an exceptional CTO to help lead the next phase of technical and commercial growth.

This role will appeal to someone who enjoys difficult multidisciplinary problems, has experience translating novel physical technologies into manufacturable systems, and wants to help shape a technically ambitious deep-tech company at a formative stage of growth.

The successful candidate will work closely with the CEO, Chief Engineer and leadership team to define technology strategy, guide productisation and scale-up, shape the IP portfolio, and lead customer-facing technical engagement with strategic partners.

This is not a role removed from the technology. We are looking for someone equally comfortable discussing wavefront aberrations, material stability, optical architectures and process yield — while also operating credibly with customers, investors and board stakeholders.

The Opportunity

The company has built a substantial foundation of proprietary IP in optical soft materials and fluidic optical systems, including:

• A significant patent estate and invention pipeline
• Proprietary formulations and device architectures
• In-house prototype and testing capability
• Early-stage pilot manufacturing capability
• Active customer co-development programmes

The business strategy focuses on high-value IP, enabling technologies and platform architectures which can be integrated into customer products through licensing and strategic B2B partnerships.

Applications include:

• Adaptive and tunable optics
• AR/VR systems
• Ophthalmic and presbyopia correction
• Precision instrumentation
• Emerging photonic technologies

The Role

The CTO will lead the company’s transition from advanced laboratory demonstrators through to robust, manufacturable systems suitable for customer integration and scaled deployment.

Key responsibilities include:

Technology Strategy & Platform Development

• Define and maintain a coherent 6–24 month technology roadmap aligned with customer programmes and long-term platform strategy
• Determine where to deepen proprietary capability versus integrate external or partner technologies
• Establish technical milestones and stage gates linked to funding, hiring and customer commitments
• Guide the progression from TRL 4–5 demonstrators to TRL 7–8 manufacturable systems

R&D Leadership & Productisation

• Lead and grow a multidisciplinary technical team spanning optics, materials, chemistry, coatings, modelling and characterisation
• Drive technologies from experimental prototypes to reliable and manufacturable products
• Establish rigorous but pragmatic development practices around experimentation, data and technical decision-making
• Oversee validation and reliability testing across optical performance and environmental robustness

IP & Competitive Positioning

• Shape and evolve the company’s IP strategy alongside executive leadership and external counsel
• Drive invention capture and patent prioritisation
• Monitor competitive and patent landscapes across optical materials, adaptive optics and adjacent technologies
• Ensure customer collaborations strengthen the company’s core IP position

Customer-Facing Technical Leadership

• Act as senior technical counterpart for strategic co-development partners
• Translate integration and performance requirements into clear technical architectures and specifications
• Present technical trade-offs, risks and mitigation plans clearly and credibly
• Support the structuring of co-development programmes and technical workstreams

Manufacturing & External Partnerships

• Develop the path from prototype manufacturing to scalable production
• Select and manage key external technical and manufacturing partners
• Define technical interfaces and quality expectations across the supply chain
• Help shape long-term manufacturing strategy as the business scales

Candidate Profile

We are looking for an experienced technical leader with deep scientific credibility and strong commercial judgement.

You are likely to have:

• A PhD or equivalent depth of expertise in optics, optical engineering, physics, materials science, chemistry or a related field
• 10+ years in advanced R&D or product development environments
• Leadership experience as a CTO, VP Engineering, VP Research, Head of R&D or equivalent
• A track record of taking novel physical technologies from concept through prototype into customer deployment or commercialisation
• Strong IP awareness, ideally including named inventorship on patents
• Experience working directly with strategic customers or co-development partners

Particular interest will be given to experience in:

• Soft optical materials
• Adaptive or tunable optics
• Optofluidic or microfluidic systems with optical functionality
• Optical polymers, LC systems, gels or elastomers
• Precision optical devices
• AR/VR optics
• Ophthalmic technologies
• Advanced photonic systems

Operating Style

This role requires someone who is:

• Comfortable operating in an early-stage deep-tech environment
• Hands-on when required, but capable of strategic leadership
• Experimentally rigorous and data-driven
• Pragmatic under uncertainty
• Low ego, collaborative and intellectually curious
• Motivated by building enduring technology platforms rather than short-term optimisation

The Environment

This is a company where science and engineering genuinely drive the business.

The underlying technology is established. The IP position is substantial. Customer engagement is already underway.

The challenge now is to convert highly differentiated technical capability into scalable products, manufacturable platforms and long-term commercial advantage.

For the right individual, this represents an opportunity to shape both the technical direction and future trajectory of a genuinely ambitious deep-tech company while remaining close to the science

and engineering itself.

Confidential discussions are welcomed alex@scientissearch.com .