Chief Technology Officer-Columbia Investment Management Company-Hybrid Schedule

About the position

Columbia Investment Management Company, LLC (\"IMC\") is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Columbia University charged with stewarding Columbia's managed assets for the current and future support of University operations and with preserving the purchasing power of the endowment over the long term. Almost all assets across the \$15B+ endowment are managed externally in a diversified strategy that uses active and passive management techniques across a wide range of asset classes. The IMC seeks professionals who embody our values. We seek those who recognize that first and foremost, we are stewards of the University. We are purposeful about the decisions we make, always mindful that decisions must reflect the strategy and the priorities of the organization. We strive to balance the art and science of investing using tools and technology to enhance decision-making. We value technology in our process, but know that it is most effective when combined with human judgment and an eye towards assessing how we expect markets and processes to evolve over time. We are intellectually honest, holding ourselves and others to account so that we make the best decisions for long-term outperformance. Finally, we are a team. A team that shares responsibility for the inputs and outputs of our process. We believe strongly in collaboration and effective communication as requirements for success. The Chief Technology Officer will report to the IMC's CEO and President and will work closely with all members of the IMC in a team-oriented environment. The candidate will develop a strong working knowledge of the investment management and operational needs of the IMC in order to continue improving its existing infrastructure.

Responsibilities

  • The Chief Technology Officer is charged with developing a strategy that meets the current needs of the IMC but maintains flexibility to evolve with technology.
  • Assist in further developing and integrating solutions to assist in the management and analysis of a multi-asset class portfolio.
  • Although the candidate will manage both an internal team and consultants, this is a hands-on role in architecture, programming, responsible for project management, security, effectively delegating and managing projects, as well as helping to guide and develop the existing development team (including consultants).
  • The CTO will be expected to apply industry best practices and design patterns to design scalable, secure, and strategic solutions that have superior technical performance.
  • Comfortable managing ongoing maintenance and support of all applications.
  • Responsible for the visionary leadership and direction for the IT team, manage complex problems, using communication and negotiation skills to effectively make decisions to move the organization forward.

Requirements

  • Bachelor's degree.
  • A minimum of eight years of relevant experience in solution/enterprise architecture, supporting customized analytics and data-driven decision making, preferably within the investment industry.
  • Experience with full-stack development from front-end to back-end, preferably in a Microsoft environment.
  • Extensive SQL programming, including writing and maintaining SQL stored procedures.
  • Knowledge of web-based application development (TypeScript, React).
  • Some experience building and managing data pipelines (i.e., ETL processes) and deploying scalable containerized applications.
  • Excellent interpersonal, written, and oral communication skills required to effectively communicate with a variety of audiences.
  • Strong organizational skills and attention to detail.
  • Excellent spreadsheet and analytical skills.
  • Strong critical thinking skills, a high degree of intellectual curiosity, and a desire to take on greater responsibilities and leadership.
  • Demonstrated ability to work both autonomously and collaboratively in a demanding environment.
  • Ability to manage multiple tasks simultaneously and meet deadlines for short, long, and ad-hoc assignments.
  • Commitment to exceptional quality and the highest ethical standards.
  • Exceptional professional and personal skills to contribute at a senior level to the development of a sophisticated investment management effort and the vision to enhance and further develop IMC's infrastructure.

Nice-to-haves

  • Master's degree desirable.
  • Experience working with instances deployed in AWS is a plus, along with familiarity with cloud services in AWS and Azure, including serverless architectures. Familiarity with or prior exposure to the Python data science stack (e.g., pandas, JupyterHub) is helpful.
  • Familiarity with version control and CI/CD in GitLab or GitHub.
Back to blog

Common Interview Questions And Answers

1. HOW DO YOU PLAN YOUR DAY?

This is what this question poses: When do you focus and start working seriously? What are the hours you work optimally? Are you a night owl? A morning bird? Remote teams can be made up of people working on different shifts and around the world, so you won't necessarily be stuck in the 9-5 schedule if it's not for you...

2. HOW DO YOU USE THE DIFFERENT COMMUNICATION TOOLS IN DIFFERENT SITUATIONS?

When you're working on a remote team, there's no way to chat in the hallway between meetings or catch up on the latest project during an office carpool. Therefore, virtual communication will be absolutely essential to get your work done...

3. WHAT IS "WORKING REMOTE" REALLY FOR YOU?

Many people want to work remotely because of the flexibility it allows. You can work anywhere and at any time of the day...

4. WHAT DO YOU NEED IN YOUR PHYSICAL WORKSPACE TO SUCCEED IN YOUR WORK?

With this question, companies are looking to see what equipment they may need to provide you with and to verify how aware you are of what remote working could mean for you physically and logistically...

5. HOW DO YOU PROCESS INFORMATION?

Several years ago, I was working in a team to plan a big event. My supervisor made us all work as a team before the big day. One of our activities has been to find out how each of us processes information...

6. HOW DO YOU MANAGE THE CALENDAR AND THE PROGRAM? WHICH APPLICATIONS / SYSTEM DO YOU USE?

Or you may receive even more specific questions, such as: What's on your calendar? Do you plan blocks of time to do certain types of work? Do you have an open calendar that everyone can see?...

7. HOW DO YOU ORGANIZE FILES, LINKS, AND TABS ON YOUR COMPUTER?

Just like your schedule, how you track files and other information is very important. After all, everything is digital!...

8. HOW TO PRIORITIZE WORK?

The day I watched Marie Forleo's film separating the important from the urgent, my life changed. Not all remote jobs start fast, but most of them are...

9. HOW DO YOU PREPARE FOR A MEETING AND PREPARE A MEETING? WHAT DO YOU SEE HAPPENING DURING THE MEETING?

Just as communication is essential when working remotely, so is organization. Because you won't have those opportunities in the elevator or a casual conversation in the lunchroom, you should take advantage of the little time you have in a video or phone conference...

10. HOW DO YOU USE TECHNOLOGY ON A DAILY BASIS, IN YOUR WORK AND FOR YOUR PLEASURE?

This is a great question because it shows your comfort level with technology, which is very important for a remote worker because you will be working with technology over time...