If you were the chief technology officer at Facebook and decided to quit your job to work on a start-up, what would you do?

Bret Taylor, Facebook’s chief technology officer, has decided to leave the social network to work on a, yet to be announced, start-up.

Mike Vernal and Cory Ondreijka, two Facebook executives, will take over his job.

Taylor is leaving Facebook at a rather sensitive time for the company. Following its disastrous IPO, Facebook is all too aware of the magnifying glass being placed over it. It is now a company people like to scrutinise more so than praise.

“We are dealing with the cultural change of increasing attention, from going from a private company with a lot of scrutiny to a public company with a lot more scrutiny,” says Taylor.

Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, said he had enjoyed working with Taylor. “I am grateful for all he has done for Facebook and proud of what he and his teams have built,” he announced.

Taylor is leaving to start a company with Kevin Gibbs. Both Gibbs and Taylor are former Google employees.

Previously, Taylor left Google to found FriendFeed, before going to work for Facebook. It seems the lure of the start-up remains strong for Taylor, and his recent Facebook IPO cash windfall may go some way to helping him start again.

On his Facebook Taylor wrote, “I wanted to let you all know that I’ll be leaving Facebook later this summer. I’m sad to be leaving, but I’m excited to be starting a company with my friend Kevin Gibbs.

“While a transition like this is never easy, I’m extremely confident in the teams and leadership we have in place. I’m very proud of our recent accomplishments in our platform and mobile products, from Open Graph and App Center to Facebook Camera and our iOS integration. I’m even more excited for the world to see all the amazing things these teams have coming.

“I’ve learned more than I ever imagined in my time at Facebook. I’m also extremely grateful for my relationship with all of the amazing people I’ve worked with here.

“I want to give a special thanks to Mark Zuckerberg. You’ve not only been my boss for the past three years, but my mentor and one of my closest friends.

“Thanks to all of you at Facebook for the most incredible three years of my life.”