Founding CTO - OT & Edge Hardware

Founding Chief Technology Officer / Principal Systems Architect (OT & Edge Hardware) Company: Protocol Infrastructure B.V.Location: Remote. Must be located in the EU. Occasional travel to Amsterdam. No VISA sponsorship.Compensation (Phase 1): Competitive monthly retainerCompensation (Phase 2): Full market-rate executive salary + Executive Option Pool grant The Mandate Commercial real estate is shifting from human-exclusive spaces to autonomous-ready environments. However, physical building Operational Technology (OT) remains closed, fragmented, and structurally unequipped for multi-vendor robotics fleets. Protocol Infrastructure™ builds sovereign, hardwired edge infrastructure (Protocol OS™ / Protocol Gateway™) deployed directly on local building technical VLANs. We unify elevators, access barriers, and BMS networks under a single, vendor-neutral control standard, granting autonomous fleets sub-50ms physical access while maintaining absolute life-safety control for the landlord. The Role & Venture Path We are recruiting a Founding CTO to lead the hardware, software, and systems architecture of our physical edge platform. Phase 1: Technical Lead & Architect (5–15 hrs/week | 3–6 Month Horizon) Mandate: Architect production specifications, write core Protocol OS™ edge software, and lead technical integrations with CRE Chief Engineers.Compensation: Competitive monthly retainer. Phase 2: Full-Time Executive CTO Mandate: Scale engineering operations, oversee hardware manufacturing, and lead full deployment across portfolio cohorts.Compensation: Full market-rate executive salary + Executive Option Pool grant.Transition Trigger: Achievement of commercial deployment milestones. Key Responsibilities Edge Architecture & OS: Own the physical gateway stack and local Linux edge software, managing embedded integration, local BACnet/IP extraction, and zero-trust network boundaries.GSI & Vendor Coordination: Manage technical work-order scopes, interface specifications, and alignment directly with incumbent GSIs (Siemens, SPIE, etc.) and elevator OEMs to ensure turnkey site execution.Technical Authority & Compliance: Lead technical alignments with Chief Engineers and CISOs, walking through our compliance dossier, proving zero-voltage risk, validating EN 81-73 / ASME A17.1 life-safety overrides, and satisfying ISO CG 40 47 risk management mandates.Manufacturing & Certifications: Oversee external panel-shop production, component sourcing, and third-party hardware compliance testing (CE, UL) with external engineering partners. Candidate Profile Scale-Up Pedigree: Former VP of Hardware, Lead Systems Architect, or CTO at a connected hardware, robotics, smart access, or industrial IoT scale-up.Deep OT & Hardware-Level Fluency: Mastery of physical building protocols (BACnet/IP, RS-485), relay logic, isolated VLANs, and industrial edge software builds.Proximity: Remote. Must be located in the EU. Occasional travel to Amsterdam. No VISA sponsorship. Occasional travel to Amsterdam for critical partner alignments/meetings. About Protocol Infrastructure™ Protocol Infrastructure B.V. is the essential infrastructure layer for autonomous robotics in commercial real estate. We build sovereign, hardwired OT edge hardware (Protocol Gateway™) and operating software (Protocol OS™) that unifies elevators, speed gates, doors, and BMS networks under a single, vendor-neutral universal standard. By combining cloud API orchestration with localized, sub-50ms edge control, we enable Class-A asset owners to make their portfolios autonomous-ready while maintaining absolute operational and life-safety control.