WHO WE ARE

Nova Credit is a credit infrastructure and analytics company that enables businesses to grow responsibly through alternative credit data. The company leverages its unique data infrastructure, industry-leading analytics, & FCRA-compliance to help lenders grow responsibly. Nova Credit plugs the gaps in the legacy credit bureaus through connectivity into the fragmented universe of consumer data and transforms it into compliant, actionable risk insights. Nova Credit supports over 7,000 businesses including organizations such as Chase, HSBC, SoFi, Scotiabank, Appfolio, and Yardi, who rely on Nova Credit to make smarter credit decisions through cash flow underwriting with Cash Atlas™, quickly and accurately verify income with Income Navigator, verify income and assets with Eligibility Compass, and reach new-to-country consumers with Credit Passport®. We are backed by an exceptional group of funds (Kleiner Perkins, General Catalyst, Index Ventures, Canapi Ventures, Nyca, Socium Ventures) and were named in Forbes’ Fintech 50 in 2025 and Built In’s Best Places to Work, 2025.

ABOUT THE ROLE:

We're seeking a Chief Technology Officer (CTO) to own Nova Credit's technology and product vision at the highest level. This is a defining executive role where you will set the strategic direction and own technical execution across Engineering, Infrastructure, Data Science, and Product & Design, driving transformative impact across everything we build. As a member of the Leadership Team, you will serve as the visible steward of our technical and product culture, aligning innovation with long-term business outcomes and ensuring Nova Credit remains a category leader in financial infrastructure.

• Owning Nova Credit's technology and product strategy, including setting the vision for our platform across Engineering, Infrastructure, Data Science, and Product & Design, and ensuring alignment with company-wide goals and mission
• Leading transformative, cross-functional initiatives that elevate the reliability, scalability, and strategic impact of our enterprise-grade platform. You’ll also need to zoom in and support the team in our fast-paced development environment
• Serving as a connective force across the organization, actively building trust and context between Build and every other function, so that engineering, product and analytics priorities stay aligned and the business operates as a cohesive whole
• Identifying where AI creates durable competitive advantage in our products and where it can meaningfully accelerate how our teams build, ship, and operate, and helping your organization act on both
• Serving as an expert coach, mentor, and empathetic leader to a team of managers across each function, fostering a culture of continuous growth, and both hard and soft skill development
• Making high-stakes decisions that shape the organization's long-term success, navigating complex tradeoffs with sound judgment and a transformative mindset
• Representing Nova Credit externally as a thought leader, communicating our technical and product philosophy to customers, partners, regulators, and the broader industry
• Recruiting, developing, and retaining talent and coaching your managers to do the same within their teams

This is a full-time role with a preference for NYC area-based candidates, reporting directly to our CEO. 

WITHIN THE FIRST MONTH, YOU'LL:

• Accomplish deep understanding of Nova Credit's mission, business model, technical architecture, and product portfolio
• Build thorough relationships with your reports across Engineering, Infrastructure, Data Science, and Product & Design, as well as peer executives and key cross-functional stakeholders
• Develop a rapid understanding of the current roadmap, outstanding technical debt, and organizational design across your functions and be ready to own execution across the org.
• Identify the highest-leverage opportunities and risks across the technology and product landscape

WITHIN THE FIRST QUARTER, YOU'LL:

• Establish a clear point of view on the technology and product strategy, including where to invest, accelerate, and rationalize
• Define performance expectations and growth paths for the managers reporting to you
• Partner with the CEO and Leadership Team to align the product & analytics roadmap with company strategy and near-term business priorities
• Drive measurable improvements in delivery, velocity, and quality across your functions

WITHIN THE FIRST YEAR, YOU'LL:

• Deliver a technology and product strategy that positions Nova Credit for its next phase of growth, including platform investments that unlock new business opportunities
• Build out and strengthen the leadership bench across all four functions
• Drive significant architectural or organizational improvements that simplify, scale, and differentiate our platform
• Become a recognized external voice for Nova Credit, engaging with technical leaders at our enterprise customers and partners, at industry events and in the press setting the standard for what world-class fintech infrastructure looks like

YOUR SKILLSET:

• Engineering foundation: 15+ years of experience in software engineering, with a career arc that has grown from hands-on technical work into executive leadership spanning both engineering, product, and data science functions
• Executive experience: 5+ years in an executive role with ownership over multiple technical and product functions at a high-growth technology company
• Engineering credibility: Deep ability to engage substantively in architectural decisions, set a high bar for engineering quality, and earn the trust of a technically sophisticated team. You have built and shipped complex systems, not just managed people who did
• Organizational leadership: You've built and led layered organizations through managers, and you know how to develop talent, sustain high performance, and retain talent
• Product sensibility: You can translate market opportunity and customer insight into a compelling, differentiated roadmap, and partner effectively with design and data science to bring it to life
• AI fluency: A clear, informed perspective on the evolving role of AI in financial services and enterprise software, with practical experience guiding teams on where and how to apply AI effectively and responsibly
• Executive communication: Demonstrated ability to communicate the company's strategic vision across all levels of the organization and to external stakeholders, from engineers to board members

$350,000 - $400,000 USD
The above compensation range is for U.S.-based candidates and is dependent on individual experience, skills, education, location, and qualifications. This range reflects On-Target Earnings (OTE) for this role, which includes a combination of base salary and incentive compensation.

We consider all elements of compensation as a part of the value we provide to Novans. This may include base salary, equity grants, incentive compensation for eligible roles, professional development, flexible PTO, and tenure rewards. We offer U.S.-based Novans competitive, employer-subsidized medical, dental, and vision plans, in addition to mental health and wellness benefits and a range of other benefits & perks.

Everyone is welcome at Nova Credit. We are an equal-opportunity employer where diversity and inclusion are central pillars of our company strategy. We seek applicants who understand, embrace, and thrive in a multicultural and globalized world. We do not discriminate on the basis of any protected class, including race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. We encourage all qualified candidates, including those with a criminal history, to apply.

WHO WE ARE

At Nova Credit, we’re on a mission to power financial inclusion globally, building a unified platform for credit and financial data that meaningfully impacts lives. Our software engineers develop innovative solutions that incorporate data integrations and advanced analytics into seamless user experiences, transforming diverse data into actionable risk insights. 

Join us to help unlock economic opportunities for consumers historically excluded from traditional credit systems. We foster a dynamic, inclusive environment that values diversity, intellectual honesty, and innovation, and are committed to supporting your professional growth. We were recently named in Forbes’ Fintech 50 in 2025 and Built In’s Best Places to Work, 2025.

Our Technology Stack

We leverage Node.js, React, TypeScript, Python, PostgreSQL, AWS to bring our products to life. 

THE OPPORTUNITY

We’re seeking a Senior Software Engineering Manager to lead a high-impact vertical engineering team working on cross-functional initiatives. In this role, you will be instrumental in developing your team and defining the technical strategy that powers innovation at scale across our products and platform. You will elevate our engineering organization's overall capability by championing mentorship, establishing best practices, and fostering a culture of technical excellence.

Your Profile & Expertise:

• 8+ years of software engineering experience, with at least 3+ years in a management role hiring and leading high-performing teams in a face-paced, product-driven environment or high-growth startups.
• Strong technical foundation with the ability to engage deeply in architectural discussions and guide technical strategy without needing to be the primary coder.
• Exceptional leadership and mentorship skills, with a passion for developing engineers’ careers and building inclusive, highly collaborative team cultures.
• Strategic collaborator who can partner effectively with Product, Design, and Data Science leadership to align technical roadmaps with business objectives.

Your Contributions Across Diverse Projects:

• Driving the execution of complex, cross-functional initiatives that span product verticals and foundational systems.
• Defining and refining team-level technical strategies to ensure long-term scalability and reliability of our enterprise-grade platform.
• Scaling the engineering organization through active participation in hiring, onboarding, and organizational design.
• Optimizing engineering processes such as sprint planning, code review standards, and incident management to improve team velocity and quality.
• Acting as a bridge between technical and non-technical stakeholders, translating business goals into clear technical milestones for your team.
• Engaging deeply with the team’s day-to-day challenges to provide guidance and support new product and customer launches. 

In the first month, you’ll:

• Deepen your understanding of our mission and business model while becoming familiar with our technical roadmap, engineering culture, and development lifecycle.
• Build rapport with your direct reports and key stakeholders across engineering, product, and design.
• Land several initial tickets to quickly familiarize yourself with our tech stack and release process. 
• Take ownership of your team’s delivery, identifying early opportunities to remove blockers and ensuring high-impact initiatives are met with quality and speed.

In the first quarter, you’ll:

• Establish clear performance goals and career development plans for your direct reports.
• Actively contribute to refining engineering norms, such as optimizing project planning and elevating code review standards.
• Collaborate with leadership to shape the next phase of the product roadmap based on technical feasibility and strategic impact.
• Drive measurable improvements in delivery, velocity and quality, directly improving the impact and reliability of our product offering.

In the first year, you’ll:

• Successfully scale your team’s impact by identifying and hiring top-tier engineering talent.
• Influence and implement the company’s broader technical roadmap in close partnership with senior leadership.
• Drive significant architectural or systemic improvements that simplify and scale our product platform.
• Become a recognized leader within the organization, championing a culture of open dialogue, feedback, and continuous technical growth.