Fractional CTO

What this engagement looks like

I work with your company 2–3 days per week, embedded as a member of the leadership team. Not as an advisor who shows up for quarterly reviews — as the person who owns technical direction day-to-day.

That means: attending your leadership meetings, running engineering all-hands, interviewing senior engineering candidates, making architecture calls, and representing technology credibly at board level.

What I actually do in this role

Technical roadmap and architecture — Define the 12-18 month technical roadmap aligned to business goals. Make the hard architecture tradeoffs. Ensure engineering decisions compound instead of creating debt.

Engineering team — Assess the current team, identify gaps, lead hiring for senior roles, set the standards for engineering craft. Good engineers want to work for strong technical leaders; having credible CTO presence helps retention.

Vendor and partner management — Evaluate technology vendors, negotiate contracts, manage relationships with cloud providers, SaaS tools, and development partners. Most companies overpay here because nobody senior owns it.

Board and stakeholder communication — Translate technical reality to business terms for investors, board members, and non-technical executives. Prevent technology from being misunderstood as either more or less risky than it is.

Hiring a permanent CTO — If the goal is to eventually hire a full-time CTO, I can run that process and ensure you hire the right person for your stage and culture.

Who this is for

Companies that have grown past the point where the technical co-founder or a VP of Engineering can hold everything together, but where a full-time CTO hire is premature, too expensive, or where the right person hasn’t been found yet.

Typically: mid-market companies with 20–150 engineers, at a point where critical technology decisions are on the horizon.

What it costs

Retainer-based, priced for your market. The rate reflects days per month and engagement complexity. Book a call and I’ll give you a straight answer on whether the numbers work for your situation.

Minimum engagement: 6 months. Most engagements run 12–24 months.

Ready to explore this? Book a 30-minute call to talk through your situation.