PIR aka the .org registry, is hiring for the role of Chief Technology Officer (CTO). Up until 2018 PIR did not have a CTO, which is when they hired DNS veteran Joe Abley to fill the role. Fast forward three years and Abley has moved on to pastures new (he’s now over at Neustar / GoDaddy registry doing funky DNS stuff) and so the role is up for grabs again.
The job is being advertised as based out of PIR’s headquarters in Reston, Virginia and it sounds like they really want someone to be based there.
Filling the role won’t be easy, as the candidate will need to tick a lot of different boxes:
… to develop, socialize and implement overall technology strategy and advise the CEO and Board on future technology development. Operating out of our Reston, Virginia headquarters and reporting to the CEO, the CTO will be the principal technologist within PIR, leading teams responsible for IT services, information security, data analytics, software development and technical research. This role will also serve as the technical lead regarding registry service operations. The CTO ensures that PIR operates ahead of the curve within the domain name industry, particularly in the areas of technical research and data analytics. Identifying and adopting industry leading practices requires active engagement in the broader Internet community, therefore a familiarity with technical forums at ICANN, the IETF and/or DNS-OARC is advantageous.
As a genuine strategist, the CTO will ensure PIR functions as an industry thought leader and articulate this vision both within the company and with external stakeholders. The CTO will position PIR to take advantage of future technological developments and ensure resilience to emerging risks and threats.
In addition to a breadth of technical expertise and a motivating and inclusive leadership style, candidates should demonstrate a genuine passion for PIR’s public interest mission. The CTO will actively support our education and outreach program, which has a technology focus.
Unlike most of the gTLD domain name registries PIR is not entirely commercial, so there’s a lot of focus on the “public interest” aspect of the registry.
PIR have provided a fairly detailed overview (PDF) of what kind of person they want to fill the role and applications may be made online here.
