CTO / Tech Co-Founder wanted
Help us build Ilumae: the first truly conscious, private AI guide for leaders and founders. Ground floor. Real equity. Netherlands-based, remote-first.
The Mission
We're not building another AI tool. We're creating Ilumae: a Conscious Edge AI Guide for leaders, board members, and business owners, engineered to reflect their highest potential with radical honesty, zero manipulation, and absolute privacy. No hallucinations. No flattery. No engagement tricks. Just intelligence that serves growth, not attention.
Why This Role Matters
You won't just lead engineering. You'll define what conscious AI means in practice. Investors are backing a defensible, human-first vision: on-device intelligence that senses stress, fatigue, and emotional shifts in real time, using only the health data users already track, and reaches out when it matters most. This is AI with integrity: privacy by design, sustainable by default, and built to protect the inner world of leadership.
Where We Are
We're pre-MVP and about to launch our first beta. Seven months in, with early investment secured and a founding team that's been building leadership transformation methodology for over a decade. Our next sprint is focused on getting a product in front of the right people. We're building in-house, intentionally small, and looking for someone who might bring a team or want to build one.
Ilumae is founded by Marieke van Kreij (psychologist, leadership coach, 10+ years working with C-suite leaders) and Ben van Dongen (30 years scaling companies as CIO, CTO, COO, CEO and 15 years in AI). They built Intraconnection Group first. Ilumae is what comes next. You'd be joining at the ground floor, with real equity and real say.
What You'll Own
Build the Conscious Stack: Design a real-time, on-device AI that runs locally (Core ML, llama.cpp), with hybrid patterns only where essential. Lead with Precision: Optimize LLMs for low latency, low energy, and high fidelity. No hallucinations, no drift. Embed Conscious Design: Build guardrails that prevent manipulation, isolation, or engagement-driven behavior. This AI doesn't hook, it helps. Integrate Sensing Intelligence: Seamlessly connect with health data streams to detect stress and fatigue before the user does. Architect the B2B Layer: Create an anonymized undercurrent dashboard that surfaces misalignments across the leadership team, so transformation is led from the inside out. Set the Standard: Code quality, security, observability, and release rigor. You own it all.
Who You Are
You've shipped production AI systems and know what breaks in the wild. You care about memory, energy, and latency like they're non-negotiables. You believe privacy isn't a feature, it's the foundation. You want founder-level impact: equity, ownership, and a legacy in the code. You feel something for the domain: leadership, awareness, behavior. Not because it's "soft," but because it's precise.
Nice to Have
On-device ML (Core ML / NNAPI / Metal / Vulkan / ONNX Runtime / llama.cpp) Rust/C++ for performance-critical paths Experience with health data, voice analysis, or emotion detection Security/privacy engineering with sensitive data.
What You Gain
Real Skin in the Game: Significant equity. You're not a hire, you're a builder. Freedom to Build Right: No rushed MVPs. No tech debt mandates. Craft with care. A Mission That Matters: Help the top 10% lead with awareness, not reaction. Flexible, Focused Work: Remote-first with the flexibility to work from anywhere. We're based in the Netherlands. Occasional in-person moments are preferred, but daily office presence is not expected.
Ready to build the first truly conscious, private AI guide for leaders?
Send your CV, a short motivation, and an example of work you're most proud of, something relevant to this role, to [email protected].