I would have no idea where to put you. You’re not an individual contributor (probably?). You’re probably looking at executive track. CTO at a company that needs strategy around devices with embedded circuitry? Cofounder at a startup making a hardware play?

The problem is that if I were hiring for that role you’re not on the top of my list because you’re not coming right out of that role. You’ve hired right? As a hiring manager you want someone with fresh successes in the area you’re hiring for. The first five minutes of an interview cover recent accomplishments at the level you’re interviewing for.

Don’t focus on your degree. Figure out where you would contribute the most value and double down on that. Figure out how people hire CTOs and plug into that pipeline. You might need to sign on to a company circling the drain to get current CTO on your resume.

I had a friend who was CTO and the company was facing funding issues. He left and was unable to find someone who was both qualified and willing to take a job at a place where the stock grant was probably worthless. But that would be perfect for you because it gets your résumé refresh with a current cto job, heck, you might even find a place where your deep experience and skill can save the company.

You saw that spin builds on a raspberry pi 4? That’s not right. They could do better if they had someone like you. There’s all kinds of that going on.