Atlas Obscura is a community platform for travelers looking to explore the world’s hidden wonders. Through our website, mobile app, books, podcasts and other channels, we celebrate the world's most curious places, extraordinary experiences, and passionate communities. We blend high-quality editorial content with public submissions to create a unique platform that we are building out to feature more planning, memory sharing, and real-time travel tools.

Position Overview

We are seeking an experienced and visionary Chief Technology Officer to lead our technical strategy and execution. As a key member of our executive team, you will help shape our vision to create the world's best travel community app—one that democratizes content creation for users through innovative AI integration, while also featuring content about travel from global thought leaders. The ideal candidate will drive innovation in our platform's capabilities, particularly in mapping technologies, user community features, advertising tech, and AI-powered content creation tools. You will be responsible for evolving our platform to better serve our growing community while ensuring scalability, security, strong data collection practices, and performance.

You will join the leadership team of Atlas Obscura’s new CEO, who is leading a company pivot to focus on Atlas Obscura as a community travel platform with wide and diverse users who find their own communities to share their travel tips and experiences with. You will be central to driving internal technology change and also large changes or even a complete rebuild of the product, leveraging the strong AO brand, its 2.5 million registered user base, and its strong tourism advertising business to design a new phase for the business that can thrive in an AI world.

Depending on the candidate’s experience and interests, this position may be a Chief Product and Technology Officer. For the product area, we are interested in candidates’ experiences focusing on platform engagement, audience acquisition, feature prioritization, optimization testing, design, user research, and commercialization of product features. We are happy to elaborate on the potential product part of this role for candidates who enter our process.

Key Responsibilities

Lead the overall technology strategy, architecture, and roadmap for Atlas Obscura's digital platforms
Collaborate with executive leadership to shape the vision for the world's best travel storytelling app
Design and implement AI-powered tools that democratize content creation for users of all skill levels
Develop monetization strategies including e-commerce capabilities and premium feature unlocks
Create tiered product experiences that convert free users to paying subscribers
Oversee the engineering team, fostering a culture of innovation, quality, and continuous improvement
Enhance our mapping capabilities to create more immersive and interactive location-based experiences
Develop and implement systems to efficiently process and showcase user-submitted content
Improve our data collection and analysis practices
Focus on our advertising technologies and develop new ad products in collaboration with our head of revenue
Create personalized user experiences based on interests, contributions, and engagement patterns
Integrate AI technologies strategically throughout our development processes and user-facing features
Optimize our backend infrastructure to handle increasing scale and content volume
Collaborate with product, design, and editorial teams to deliver cohesive and compelling user experiences
Stay ahead of emerging technologies and trends in location-based services, social platforms, and AI
Manage technology budgets, vendor relationships, and technical partnerships

Required Qualifications

10+ years of technology leadership experience, with at least 5 years in senior management roles
Proven track record building and scaling consumer-facing products with mapping/geolocation features
Extensive experience in designing, developing, and launching successful mobile applications
Strong background in implementing various monetization strategies, including e-commerce and feature-based subscription models
Experience building platforms that successfully convert free users to paying customers through premium feature unlocks
Extensive experience developing and growing social or community platforms
Strong background in modern technology stacks and cloud infrastructure
Experience implementing AI solutions both for internal workflows and user-facing features
A demonstrated use of AI tools to amplify the amount and quality of the work produced
A demonstrated knowledge of how to structure our reading and publishing stack to take advantage of the latest advances in AI coding tools
Vision for how AI can democratize content creation and storytelling for users of all skill levels
History of successfully leading engineering teams through growth and product evolution
Track record of building systems that can ingest, process, and showcase user-generated content at scale
Deep understanding of personalization technologies and recommendation systems
Excellent communication skills and ability to translate technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders
Passion for travel storytelling and empowering users to share their unique perspectives

Preferred Qualifications

Experience with travel, exploration, or location-based content platforms
Background in implementing machine learning models for content classification and recommendation
Knowledge of geospatial data management and visualization
Experience with high-volume user-generated content platforms
Understanding of content management systems and editorial workflows
History of successful integration between editorial and community-driven content
New York City area-based or ability to travel there is preferred

What We Offer

Opportunity to shape the technical foundation of a beloved brand at the intersection of content and community
Opportunity to work at a small company with lots of growth potential and with strong advertising revenue
Chance to work with a passionate team dedicated to celebrating the world's hidden wonders
Flexible work arrangements
Travel opportunities to explore some of the world's most unique places
A collaborative culture that values curiosity, creativity, and exploration
Annual salary ranges from $200,000 - $300,000
Competitive cash bonus and company equity

Atlas Obscura is committed to building a diverse team that reflects the community we serve. We encourage applications from candidates of all backgrounds and experiences.

To apply, please submit your resume and a cover letter explaining your interest in Atlas Obscura and your vision for how technology can help us become the best travel app in the world.

Application page:
https://atlasobscura.applytojob.com/apply/VfvXMNjGWw/Chief-Technology-Officer-Or-Chief-Product-Technology-Officer

Apply now

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