CTO (Chief Technical Officer): Salary and Missions in 2026

The CTO, or Chief Technical Officer, is the guardian of the technical team. They are the interface between the company's Business / Product and Technical vision. Their role will, in most cases, combine a varying proportion of Tech and Management. Other titles: Technical Director.

Job profile last updated on 11/06/2026.

Which companies hire CTOs?

Just like Back-end and Front-end profiles, all companies looking to deliver an IT project. As soon as there is a technical team, regardless of role, there is a CTO.

Why do companies need this role?

Just as a company needs a CEO to oversee company vision, team management, and strategy, it also needs a CTO to oversee a technical project, manage a tech team, and define strategy in terms of organization and technology choices.

In a tech company, they often hold the same level of importance as the CEO and frequently form the co-founder duo. One representing the understanding of the market and the need, the other representing the technical solution to that need.

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What happens if the company can't recruit this profile?

Their impact on the business is probably one of the largest, if not the largest, since they guarantee the technical solution (from operational, technological, and management standpoints) and therefore the product/service that will be sold by the business side.

What are the missions of a Chief Technical Officer?

We identify 3 types of CTOs, corresponding to 3 major phases of company maturity:

• CTO #1: First member of the technical team, close to the code, they will be in charge of, among other things, making technology choices, building the first bricks, and setting up the architecture. Often the case in early-stage companies.
• CTO #2: In full growth and structuring of their technical team, they combine recruitment, managing the first members (task allocation, accountability, mentoring, code review, etc.) and remain very active as an individual contributor, often on the most complex problems. Their work split between Tech and Management is roughly 50/50.
• CTO #3: On much larger teams, they primarily handle team structuring, technical vision, budget management, managing the various team members, and are removed from the code, on which they almost only intervene in support. They also handle training and skill development for their team.

The various CTO profiles are of course defined based on the CTO's preferences and the circumstances in which the various projects evolve, but in any case they will be in charge of defining the roadmap.

Who does the CTO work with inside the company?

CEO: in close collaboration, their work is complementary since the CTO technically translates the solution shaped by the CEO based on their understanding of the market.

Tech manager (VP/Engineering Manager/Lead): the larger the tech team, the more they will delegate operational, managerial, and technological challenges to tech managers.

Tech Team: in a small tech team, they collaborate with and directly manage operational team members. They can also be operational themselves, or as the saying goes "get their hands dirty."

Product: their collaboration isn't always useful, but when the product is highly technical, they end up working together, with one translating the business understanding into a technical problem. Their roles are sometimes confused at certain companies. When the product is itself a technology, for example.

What is the role of the Chief Technical Officer in the team?

Their strategic role is more or less strong depending on the company's reliance on tech. Their role can range from operational to strategic vision depending on the company's maturity phase and therefore the size of their tech team:

CTO #1: first member of the technical team, close to the code, they will be in charge of, among other things, making technology choices, building the first bricks, and setting up the architecture. Often the case in early-stage companies.

CTO #2: in full growth and structuring of their technical team, they combine recruitment, managing the first members (task allocation, accountability, mentoring, code review, etc.) and remain very active as an individual contributor, often on the most complex problems. Their work split between Tech and Management is roughly 50/50.

CTO #3: on much larger teams, they primarily handle team structuring, technical vision, budget management, managing the various team members, and are removed from the code, on which they almost only intervene in support. They also handle training and skill development for their team.

What problems do they solve?

As seen above, they can cover a wide range of issues depending on their experience and the company's maturity phase:

• Technical: theoretical knowledge of all technical issues.
• Technological: ongoing technology watch enabling them to make the right choices in terms of technologies for their teams.
• Managerial: very quickly called on to structure and lead teams, their management skills will have a strong, direct impact on the team's skill development and turnover (and therefore on recruitment).
• Strategic: take the right direction at the right time in terms of organization, by being able to understand the tech ecosystem and its market.

What are the skills of a CTO?

The CTO must be an expert in the technologies chosen for the project while staying open and technically versatile.

Soft skills

Strong leadership and an entrepreneurial mindset characterize the CTO. They must also be organized, communicative, and rigorous to be a great manager and hold the CTO position.

Technologies & platforms used

There are no specific technologies; CTOs are mostly Full-stack profiles with DevOps skills so they can be operational across the entire stack, and can develop in parallel an affinity for Mobile, Data, or Product topics.

Their excellence rests on their understanding of a set of technologies rather than on a single technical expertise.

What training is needed to become a CTO?

A program at an engineering school or a computer development school at the Master's level is ideal. After that, the best training is experience!

What is the salary of a CTO?

How can a CTO's career evolve?

• VP of Engineering
• Engineering Manager
• Director of Engineering
• Staff Engineer
• Technical Expert
• Technical Referent

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FAQ about the CTO (Chief Technical Officer)

What is the difference between a CTO and a VP of Engineering?

The CTO defines the long-term technical vision, makes strategic architectural decisions, and represents engineering to investors and the board. The VP of Engineering handles operational execution: roadmap delivery, team management, and organisation. In early-stage startups, the CTO often holds both roles before eventually hiring a VP of Engineering.

What is the salary of a CTO in France in 2026?

A CTO's salary varies widely depending on company size and maturity stage. At an early-stage startup, it can be below 80K€, offset by significant equity. At a structured scale-up, total packages range from 100K€ to 180K€ fixed, with a variable component and stock options. At a large group or unicorn, compensation can exceed 200K€.

What skills are essential for a CTO?

A CTO must combine solid technical expertise (architecture, full-stack, DevOps), management skills to build and grow a team, and the ability to align technical strategy with the business vision. Communication, tech recruitment, and continuous technology monitoring are also key competencies.

When should a startup hire its CTO?

As soon as the technical solution is at the heart of the business model, you need a CTO. In tech startups, the CTO is often a co-founder. If the company acquires a tech product without a founding CTO, the hire should happen early to avoid technical debt and poor architectural choices that are costly to fix later.

Does a CTO still need to code?

Yes, in the early stage (CTO #1): they are often the company's first developer. During the growth phase (CTO #2), their technical contribution decreases in favour of management. In mature organisations (CTO #3), they rarely write code, but must maintain strong technical culture to stay credible and relevant in their decisions.

What is the difference between CTO and Technical Director?

In France, "Directeur Technique" (Technical Director) is often the French equivalent of the CTO in more traditional companies or mid-to-large enterprises. The difference is mainly cultural and sectoral: the CTO title is more associated with tech startups and scale-ups, while "Directeur Technique" is more common in IT services companies, software publishers, or industrial groups.

What training leads to the CTO role?

There is no single path. Most CTOs in France hold an engineering degree (Polytechnique, Centrale, INSA, IMT) or a Master's in computer science. But it is above all experience — developer, tech lead, then engineering manager — that shapes a CTO. Some self-taught profiles or those from shorter training programmes also reach the role at startups.

How do you evaluate a CTO during recruitment?

Good criteria are: the quality of past technical decisions (architecture, stack choices, technical debt management), their ability to recruit and retain top tech talent, their track record on delivery and team scaling, and their vision on technological challenges for the next 2–3 years. A technical interview with an external peer and references from former colleagues are essential.