Chief Technology Officer

Chief Technology Officer | CTO Eagle Search is partnered with a high-growth, venture-backed AI drug discovery scale-up headquartered in Europe that is seeking an outstanding Chief Technology Officer to lead the technical vision and delivery of its discovery platform. Our client is a technology-led biotech combining machine learning, computational chemistry and high-quality experimental data to accelerate the discovery of new medicines. Its proprietary platform integrates predictive models, automated design workflows and scalable data infrastructure. This lets scientists identify and optimise promising drug candidates faster, at lower cost and with greater confidence than traditional approaches. Backed by leading life science and technology investors, the company has built a growing pipeline of internal programmes alongside strategic collaborations with global pharmaceutical partners. As it enters its next stage of growth, the business is scaling its platform, teams and infrastructure to support a broader portfolio and deliver on its ambition to become a leader in AI-enabled drug discovery across Europe and beyond. The Opportunity: They are looking to appoint a Chief Technology Officer to shape and execute the company’s technology strategy, ensuring the platform scales robustly as the business grows. This is a senior leadership role with responsibility for software engineering, data engineering, ML infrastructure and platform architecture. The CTO will lead the evolution of the platform from a research-driven environment into a reliable, secure and scalable system that supports both internal discovery programmes and partner collaborations. The successful individual will work closely with the CEO, Chief Scientific Officer and leadership team, partnering with machine learning, chemistry and biology teams. Together they will make sure technology investment is tightly aligned with scientific priorities and turns innovation into tangible progress in the pipeline. The Ideal Person: - Experience serving as CTO, VP Engineering or a similar senior technology leader in a high-growth environment. - A track record of building, scaling and leading high-performing engineering, data and ML infrastructure teams through rapid growth. - Technology leadership experience within AI-driven drug discovery, computational biology, cheminformatics or life science software. - Deep expertise in designing scalable, cloud-native platform architecture, data pipelines and MLOps to support large-scale model training and deployment. - Strong strategic judgement on build-versus-buy decisions, technology investment and vendor partnerships. - The ability to collaborate closely with scientists and ML researchers, translating complex scientific needs into practical technical solutions. - The credibility and communication skills to engage confidently with the board, investors and pharmaceutical partners. - An entrepreneurial, hands-on mindset, with the energy and adaptability to thrive in a rapidly evolving scale-up. - A genuine passion for using AI and technology to transform drug discovery and bring better medicines to patients sooner.