Chief Technology Officer

Hot Topic HQ
- City of Industry, California
- Full-time

Technology keeps the world moving
- It's no different here at Hot Topic. We are on the hunt for a CTO who is responsible for overseeing all technical aspects of the company. The Chief Technology Officer (CTO) is the senior executive responsible for the strategic direction, governance, and operational execution of all technology functions across the enterprise. This includes cybersecurity, enterprise applications, infrastructure and hardware, IT operations, help desk, end-user support, artificial intelligence and data science and the full portfolio of technology projects across all three brands.

This role requires a leader who can operate at both the strategic and operational level - shaping long-term technology vision, including how artificial intelligence and machine learning are applied to create measurable business value, while ensuring day-to-day reliability of systems that directly impact store operations, customer experience, and revenue.

$300,000 - $350,000 a year

Please note the pay range for this position starts as listed in the job posting, but other factors such as an individual's education, location, meeting the minimum job requirements for the role, training and experience, will determine the final salary for potential new hires.

• In partnership with company leadership team, the CTO will be actively involved and lead in developing the vision and a road map to execute current and future company goals and objectives.
• Support and refine current plan for the product roadmap including setting time frames and successfully drive to fruition and release. Develop plans for new products and enhancements including time frames, release and time to market.
• Own the IT capital and operating budget, ensuring effective allocation of resources across infrastructure, applications, security, and support functions.
• Direct the full software development cycle. Establish, refine and supervise the software development process, setting short-term objectives and assessing progress as defined by the selected software development methodology.
• Manage activities so that products are developed on schedule, maximum efficiency and within quality standards and cost objectives that meet market demands.
• Product Quality Assurance
• Promote achievement of high-quality products through extensive and fool-proof yet efficient quality assurance process.
• Integrate review and quality testing in the development cycle to ensure efficiency, avoid repeated errors and rejects, and ensure all the requirements are appropriately addressed.
• Ensure that products and enhancements provide optimum solutions consistent with what customers need and improve their workflow and usage experience.
• Identify technology trends and evolving social behavior that may support or impede the success of the business. Evaluate and identify appropriate technology platforms (including web application frameworks and the deployment stack) for delivering the company’s services.
• Establish a governance process that meets government, partner, and company expectations for customer information privacy and other regulatory compliance.
• Acquisition, maintenance and cost-effective technology including internal infrastructure, systems and client integration.
• Prepare department budget and resource/infrastructure requirements.

Execution & Implementation

• Direct management of engineers/developers (on-shore and off-shore), DBAs, QA staff, product management, infrastructure and production support teams as well as technology partners and vendors.
• Ensure high availability and resilience of systems supporting store operations, distribution centers, and corporate functions.
• Oversee technology asset lifecycle management, hardware refresh cycles, and vendor/OEM relationships.
• Drive standardization and operational efficiency across store-level technology deployments.

Cybersecurity & Risk Management

• Own enterprise-wide cybersecurity strategy, governance, and risk management, ensuring protection of customer data, payment systems (PCI compliance), and corporate assets across all brands.
• Ensure compliance with applicable regulatory requirements (PCI-DSS, state/federal privacy laws, data protection regulations).
• Establish incident response, disaster recovery, and business continuity plans; lead the organization through security incidents when they occur.
• Oversee security operations, vulnerability management, identity and access management, and…