Chief Technology Officer (CTO) – Biochar Startup

About the role

Cotierra is a climate-tech startup developing decentralized pyrolysis systems and a verification platform that turn crop residues into high-quality biochar, improving soils and farm productivity while removing carbon from the atmosphere. It is looking for a hands-on technology leader to build on its validated reactor designs and deliver reliable deployment at scale. You will shape the technology roadmap, grow the engineering team and drive industrialization.

Key responsibilities

• Own the company's overall technology roadmap and technical architecture
• Lead development of reactor equipment and embedded software from R&D and prototyping through testing and iteration
• Drive industrialization from validated design to robust serial production
• Build and scale the international manufacturing setup, suppliers, quality assurance and production processes
• Lead, mentor and develop the cross-functional engineering team
• Contribute to company-level strategic decisions

Required profile

• 8+ years of experience building hardware products involving mechanical engineering and electronics
• Experience taking products from prototype to international roll-out and serial production, ideally in a startup
• Strong manufacturing and supply chain experience
• Experience leading engineering teams
• Fluent English; Spanish, Portuguese or German is a plus
• Flexible homebase, with extensive travel (~4 months per year to Latin America, manufacturing regions and management sessions in Switzerland)

Required skills

• Mechanical engineering and electronics
• Nice to have: pyrolysis, gasification, high-temperature systems, steel fabrication, and full-stack software engineering