RDI Head of Technology

JOB PURPOSE

The Head of Technology serves as RDI's principal technical leader across its venture studio activities, strategic product initiatives, and affiliated technology relationships. This role provides the technical judgment and execution oversight needed to identify market and organizational gaps, evaluate internal and external solutions, guide build-versus-buy-versus-partner decisions, and oversee technical initiatives that RDI launches, supports, or scales. The Head of Technology also protects RDI's interests through technical diligence, risk assessment, codebase stewardship, data and hosting governance, vendor oversight, and support for technical provisions in commercial and partner arrangements.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Provide technical leadership across RDI's venture studio activities, including internally developed, externally sourced, and partner-supported solutions.
• Identify and help validate product and solution opportunities across Charter Schools USA, the broader Red Apple organization, and the education market.
• Assess build-versus-buy-versus-partner pathways for strategic opportunities and recommend the most practical technical approach.
• Contribute technical perspective to venture formation, incubation, commercialization, and scaling decisions.
• Serve as RDI's principal internal owner of technical understanding across priority solutions being explored, developed, tested, or supported.
• Evaluate software products and platforms for architecture quality, scalability, integration complexity, maintainability, implementation practicality, and long-term viability.
• Lead or support technical diligence for potential vendors, partners, acquisitions, and Program Participants.
• Assess the credibility of product and engineering claims, including software capabilities, readiness, security posture, and implementation feasibility.
• Own technical project management for initiatives where RDI is responsible for delivery, coordination, or oversight.
• Translate business goals into technical requirements, workstreams, timelines, and accountability structures.
• Monitor development progress across vendors, external engineering teams, internal stakeholders, and venture partners.
• Produce clear status updates that explain progress, blockers, risks, and next steps in business terms.
• Maintain visibility into repositories, system architecture, infrastructure, dependencies, environments, and deployment practices for priority products.
• Ensure RDI has sufficient access, documentation, and continuity protections for products developed on its behalf or within affiliated entities.
• Support continuity planning, transition planning, migration planning, and insourcing options where needed.
• Serve as the first internal technical point of reference for Ethos Educate, Ethos Study, Ethos Compass, Ethos Enterprise, Orbit SPS, and other designated initiatives.
• Lead technical risk assessments related to products, vendors, infrastructure, hosting, and external technical relationships.
• Assess data flows, access controls, storage locations, backup practices, portability, and system exposure.
• Help define and enforce technical expectations that protect RDI, CSUSA, LaunchEd, and other affiliates.
• Coordinate with legal, IT, compliance, and outside technical teams on remediation, migration, and control plans.
• Identify single points of failure, concentration risks, and continuity concerns across strategic technology relationships.
• Support negotiation and review of technical terms in contracts, scopes of work, licensing arrangements, hosting terms, data-use terms, IP provisions, service levels, and transition rights.
• Partner with legal teams to help ensure technical commitments are accurately documented and enforceable.
• Translate technical risks, tradeoffs, and requirements for nontechnical leadership.
• Serve as RDI's technical liaison with Ajaia, CSUSA ITSS, vendors, partners, Program Participants, and other external stakeholders.
• Help standardize technical documentation, evaluation frameworks, and governance processes across RDI initiatives.

DISCLAIMER

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed. They are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties and skills required of personnel so classified.

SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE

1. Strong technical fluency, including the ability to understand software architecture, repositories, APIs, MCPs, integrations, AI infrastructure, hosting models, and deployment environments.
2. Knowledge of modern product development practices, technical diligence methods, and software evaluation frameworks.
3. Ability to assess software maturity, scalability, maintainability, security posture, and implementation practicality.
4. Ability to translate technical concepts, risks, and tradeoffs into clear business language for executive and nontechnical stakeholders.
5. Knowledge of data governance, access controls, hosting arrangements, backup and portability considerations, and technical risk management.
6. Working knowledge of contracts and commercial terms related to software, licensing, hosting, intellectual property, service levels, and transition rights.
7. Strong project ownership, organization, follow-through, and stakeholder management skills.
8. Ability to coordinate effectively across business leaders, legal teams, IT, external developers, vendors, and venture partners.
9. Sound judgment in balancing strategic priorities, technical feasibility, operational realities, and risk.

EDUCATION

• Bachelor's degree required in Computer Science, Information Technology, Software Engineering, Computer Engineering, Information Systems, Business Administration (with a technology focus), Artificial Intelligence, or a related field.
• Relevant professional experience may be considered in conjunction with educational background.
• Advanced degrees are not required. Demonstrated hands-on experience and a proven track record in software, product, technology, and innovation-oriented environments are valued more heavily than graduate-level academic credentials.

JOB REQUIREMENTS

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Software Engineering, Computer Engineering, Information Systems, Business Administration (with a technology focus), Artificial Intelligence, or a related field.
• 10+ years of experience in software, product, technology, or related leadership roles, preferably across startup, SaaS, venture-backed, or innovation-oriented environments.
• 5+ years of experience evaluating or overseeing software products, technical vendors, or external development teams.
• 5+ years of experience supporting product strategy, technical diligence, or build-versus-buy-versus-partner decision-making.
• Demonstrated ability to translate technical information into clear business language for executive stakeholders.
• Familiarity with data governance, hosting models, security fundamentals, and technical risk assessment.
• Experience coordinating cross-functional projects involving business, legal, IT, and external technical teams.
• Strong judgment, organization, follow-through, and stakeholder management skills.
• Preferred: Experience in education technology, enterprise software, or school-system technology environments.
• Preferred: Experience in venture studios, incubators, accelerators, product strategy teams, or innovation functions.
• Preferred: Familiarity with cloud platforms, software development workflows, and modern product development practices, especially related to AI.
• Preferred: Experience with technical diligence for investments, partnerships, or acquisitions.
• Preferred: Understanding of student data, enterprise data sensitivity, and regulated or high-trust operating environments.

WORK ENVIRONMENT

While performing the responsibilities of this position, the work environment characteristics listed below are representative of the environment the employee will encounter:

• Usual office working conditions.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

• No physical exertion required.
• Travel within or outside of state.
• Light work: Exerting up to 20 pounds of force occasionally, and/or up to 10 pounds of force as frequently as needed to move objects.

TERMS OF EMPLOYMENT

Salary and benefits shall be paid consistent with RDI Education salary and benefit policy. Length of the work year and hours of employment shall be those established by RDI Education.

FLSA OVERTIME CATEGORY

Job is exempt from the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

EVALUATION

Performance will be evaluated in accordance with RDI Education policy.

DECLARATION

The Human Resources Department retains the sole right and discretion to make changes to this job description. Any employee making changes unauthorized by Human Resources Department will be subject to disciplinary action up to and including termination.