I would still think it sounds a bit weird to describe myself as 'the guy who handles the technical side' in a conversation, but I can see that it's an option if

I would still think it sounds a bit weird to describe myself as 'the guy who handles the technical side' in a conversation, but I can see that it's an option if you're happy to be less formal! I guess I don't generally treat CxO titles as heavy-sounding as some other people do. I wouldn't consider it at all unusual to meet a 'CTO' at a moderately small tech company, and it makes it immediately clear to me what the person does. 'Technical director' is pretty good too; I suppose 'Managing director', 'Marketing director' etc. would all fit into the same general group. Maybe that's a good middle-ground.