How to hire a chief technologist

How to hire a chief technologist, step by step

Here's a step-by-step chief technologist hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a chief technologist job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new chief technologist
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a chief technologist do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   The chief technologist hiring process starts by determining what type of worker you actually need. Certain roles might require a full-time employee, whereas part-time workers or contractors can do others.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them a chief technologist to have before you start to hire. For example, what industry or field would you like them to have experience in, what level of seniority or education does the job require, and how much it'll cost to hire a chief technologist that fits the bill.

   Here's a comparison of chief technologist salaries for various roles:

   Type of Chief Technologist	Description	Hourly rate
   Chief Technologist	Computer and information systems managers, often called information technology (IT) managers or IT project managers, plan, coordinate, and direct computer-related activities in an organization. They help determine the information technology goals of an organization and are responsible for implementing computer systems to meet those goals.	$33-75
   Data Manager	A data manager is responsible for monitoring the efficiency of the company's technology systems and network infrastructures. Data managers ensure the safety and security of the databases to avoid unauthorized access that may pose risks for business operations... Show more	$35-76
   Implementation Manager	An implementation manager specializes in introducing new systems, networks, and processes to the entire company workforce. Typically, their responsibilities revolve around overseeing the implementation team to ensure that everything is running smoothly, devising action and work plans, coordinating with different departments, monitoring requisitions and information materials, and verifying their accuracy... Show more	$30-60

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Patients
   • Patient Care
   • Infrastructure
   • Architecture
   • Cloud
   • Radiology
   • MRI
   • Technical Support
   • Emerging Technologies
   • R
   • Business Development
   • DOD
   • Ultrasound
   • QA

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Lead the SaaS base product and technical vision for company.
   • Establish criteria and general operating procedures have been develop covering the nature and scope of the QA activities to be accomplish
   • Lead multi-year technology initiatives with several companies, universities and national labs.
   • Analyze requirements from DoD and the intelligence community and integrate into a single, common requirements sets achieving individual goals.
   • Bridge public and private sector initiatives for threat information sharing of national critical infrastructure and DOD acquisition plans and policy.
   • Guide ATG personnel's professional development.

   More chief technologist duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your chief technologist job description helps attract top candidates to the position. A chief technologist salary can be affected by several factors, such as geography, experience, seniority, certifications, and the prestige of the hiring company.

   For example, the average salary for a chief technologist in Kansas may be lower than in California, and an entry-level chief technologist usually earns less than a senior-level chief technologist. Additionally, a chief technologist with certifications may command a higher salary, and working for a well-known company or start-up may also impact an employee's pay.

   Average chief technologist salary

   $105,294yearly

   $50.62 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level chief technologist salary

   $70,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 24, 2025

   Average chief technologist salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$135,443	$65
   2	Texas	$123,811	$60
   3	Hawaii	$123,430	$59
   4	Washington	$118,504	$57
   5	Massachusetts	$111,185	$53
   6	District of Columbia	$108,583	$52
   7	Oregon	$104,930	$50
   8	Virginia	$104,811	$50
   9	North Carolina	$100,738	$48
   10	New Jersey	$100,085	$48
   11	Michigan	$96,611	$46
   12	Arizona	$96,227	$46
   13	Pennsylvania	$92,558	$45
   14	Georgia	$90,874	$44
   15	Colorado	$90,655	$44
   16	Florida	$88,164	$42
   17	New York	$86,272	$41
   18	Kansas	$80,033	$38

   Average chief technologist salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Federal Deposit Insurance	$163,768	$78.73
   2	University of Maryland Medical System	$146,569	$70.47	60
   3	Amazon	$142,266	$68.40	36
   4	Hca Hospital Services Of San Diego	$128,013	$61.54	1
   5	Pioneers Memorial Healthcare District	$126,182	$60.66	4
   6	Alliance HealthCare Services	$126,012	$60.58
   7	Nicklaus Children's Hospital	$123,147	$59.21	5
   8	Center for Diagnostic Imaging, Inc.	$120,010	$57.70	65
   9	MidSouth Bank	$119,616	$57.51
   10	Teamlogicit	$118,170	$56.81	16
   11	Panamerican Consultants	$118,053	$56.76
   12	CyberCoders	$117,775	$56.62	1
   13	RWJBarnabas Health	$117,001	$56.25	97
   14	Cubic	$113,415	$54.53	3
   15	Randstad North America, Inc.	$113,273	$54.46
   16	Litmus7	$112,492	$54.08
   17	Nuance Communications	$111,493	$53.60
   18	University Hospitals	$110,945	$53.34	23
   19	Halifax Health	$109,822	$52.80	14
   20	MITRE	$107,429	$51.65	2

4. Writing a chief technologist job description

   A job description for a chief technologist role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's a chief technologist job description:

   Chief technologist job description example

   SAIC's National Intelligence Community (NIC) business unit, USG Mission and Information Technology division provides solutions and services supporting digital modernization programs in areas such as data science and analytics, cloud computing, cyber security, AI/ML, software/application development, SecDevOps, network operations, and secure communications.
   
   As a member of this SAIC team, you will assist in providing system engineering and technical services in support of the customer's systems integration efforts. The team provides on-going operations and maintenance, systems engineering of new systems, and performing analysis on existing and future systems.
   
   SAIC seeks a Chief Technical Integrator to provide SETA support for a range of system engineering efforts and technical expertise, continuity of effort and value added judgement to advise and assist the customer's leadership and contract teams. The engineer will develop and maintain strong awareness on on-going IT projects and business unit requirements.
   Responsibilities include:
   
   * Lead, participate in and facilitate team meetings to reach requirement consensus to capture strategic capabilities for customers, both internal and external
   * Execute end-to-end processes and preparing and coordinating required documentation
   * Demonstrate the ability to capture users' needs by performing requirements elicitation directly with stakeholders, drafting and documenting requirements to implement changes to operational baselines
   * Execute end-to-end processes and preparing and coordinating required documentation
   * Demonstrate the ability to capture users' needs by performing requirements elicitation directly with stakeholders, drafting and documenting requirements to implement changes to operational baselines
   * Serve on integrated cross-functional teams supporting studies and analysis
   
   Required:
   
   * Active TS/SCI with polygraph
   * Bachelors Degree (B.S.) in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Information Management Systems or a related discipline.
   * Ten (10) years or more of demonstrated experience in one or more of the following engineering activities:
   * Experience working with leadership teams to set technology strategy and build strategic technical relationships with internal & external shareholders.
   * Experience in leading and managing teams assisting customers in addressing complex technical requirements.
   * Experience working in technical environments supporting the IC.
   * Experience in identifying and implementing process improvements.
   
   Desired:
   
   * Experience working in a SETA type function
   * Demonstrated system engineering and integration best-practices - identifying, analyzing, defining, and coordinating user, customer, and stakeholder needs and translating them into technical or operational requirements for the research, development, production, and/or procurement of processes, systems, and/or services
   * Outstanding interpersonal and management consulting service skills, including the ability to work effectively independently and in a team environment
   * Ability to work with senior officials, to build and sustain professional networks in a diverse, fast-paced, multi-task environment, and to manage competing priorities
   * Proactive in developing innovative ideas and in communicating them effectively to the customer staff

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find the right chief technologist for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important sources of talent for any company is its existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and current employees and ask if they know or have worked with chief technologists they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit chief technologists who meet your education requirements.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter now have more than 3.5 billion users, and you can use social media to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your chief technologist job on Zippia to find and recruit chief technologist candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting chief technologists requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match your ideal candidate profile. If you think a candidate is good enough for the next step, you can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new chief technologist

   Once you have selected a candidate for the chief technologist position, it is time to create an offer letter. In addition to salary, the offer letter should include details about benefits and perks that are available to the employee. Ensuring your offer is competitive is vital, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and it is important to be open to discussion and reach a mutually beneficial agreement. After the offer has been accepted, it is a good idea to formalize the agreement with a contract.

   It's also good etiquette to follow up with applicants who don't get the job by sending them an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new chief technologist. Human Resources should complete Employee Action Forms and ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc. They should also ensure that new employee files are created for internal recordkeeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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How much does it cost to hire a chief technologist?