Technical leadership
Fractional CTO
For startups and scale-ups without a CTO, or with a technical founder stretched thin. I own the architecture and the technical roadmap, set code-review and delivery standards, oversee vendors and agencies, keep an eye on security and cloud costs, and help you hire your engineering team. I've led engineering teams across a media group's products.
- Timeline
- Ongoing; days per month agreed with you
- Price
- Monthly retainer
- Engagement
- Retainer
Is it a fit?
For
- Non-technical founders working with agencies or freelancers
- Startups between their first engineers and their first CTO
- Technical founders who need a peer for architecture and hiring decisions
Not for
- Companies that need a full-time, in-office executive
What you get
- A technical roadmap aligned with the business plan, reviewed every quarter
- Architecture decisions written down, with the reasoning
- Code review and delivery standards the team actually uses
- Security and cloud-cost reviews on a regular schedule
- Hiring support: role definitions, technical interviews and onboarding
How it runs
- 01
First month
Understand the business, the system and the team; write down the three most important technical risks.
- 02
Every month
A fixed number of days for architecture, reviews, vendor oversight and planning.
- 03
Every quarter
Roadmap review, security and cost reviews, and hiring plans.
Typical stack: Architecture · Roadmapping · Code review · Hiring · Vendor management · Cloud cost · Security
Related work
Questions
Will you write code?
Sometimes: to set a standard, unblock a hard problem or build a critical foundation. Most of the value is in decisions, reviews and helping the team work well.
How does the retainer work?
A fixed number of days each month at a fixed monthly fee, reviewed each quarter. You can change the number of days with a month's notice.
Can you help us hire?
Yes: role definitions, realistic technical exercises, interviews and onboarding plans.
More in technical leadership
- Architecture review and due diligence: An independent, written view of a system: what's solid, what's risky, and what it will cost to fix.
Tell me about your project.
A short brief is enough to start. I’ll reply with questions, a suggested first step and when I could begin.