Senior AI leadership. Part-time commitment.
For companies that need executive-level technical direction - AI strategy, architecture oversight, team leadership, and investor-ready decision-making - without the overhead of a full-time hire.
30-min call. No pitch. You leave with one concrete next step - even if it’s not us.
What you get
- ✓Architecture ownership
- ✓Vendor evaluation
- ✓Board-ready narrative
6-18 month engagement
Your team has outgrown your current leadership model.
You need technical leadership. Not a full-time executive. Not an agency.
Fractional CTO is senior engineering leadership on a flexible basis. Part-time commitment. Full-time impact. This is not "advice from a consultant" - it’s hands-on leadership: sitting in your sprint planning, reviewing architecture decisions, mentoring your leads, representing engineering in board meetings, and carrying the technical vision forward.
What this looks like in practice
- ✓Weekly strategy syncs with founders and leadership
- ✓Architecture oversight and design reviews
- ✓Team mentorship and engineering process improvement
- ✓Vendor and technology evaluation
- ✓Compliance posture for AI, GDPR, and EU AI Act
- ✓Board-ready materials and investor communication
Operator, not advisor. Builder, not board filler.
The fractional CTO market is full of people who "advise." Few who build. Even fewer who combine AI delivery with compliance reality.
This is not a resume-holder role.
I don’t take fractional CTO engagements to fill time between full-time jobs. I take them to build. If you need someone who shows up to meetings and offers opinions, there are cheaper options. If you need someone who ships, we should talk.
AI in the delivery, not just the strategy.
Most fractional CTOs can talk about AI strategy. I’ve built custom models, agentic systems, RAG pipelines, and production AI features - published in open source, running in production. The strategy is grounded in what actually works.
Compliance as a technical capability.
GDPR, EU AI Act, SOC2 - these affect architecture decisions, not just paperwork. I bring compliance understanding into the engineering room, not as an afterthought handled by legal.
Real example. Real constraints. Real outcome.
Situation
A regulated fintech had grown from 15 to 80 engineers in 18 months. The founding CTO was struggling to scale his impact. Decision-making was bottlenecked. Architecture was fragmenting. The CEO was losing confidence but didn’t want to replace the CTO who got them there.
Constraints
Existing CTO was capable but overwhelmed - needed support, not replacement. Regulatory requirements (CSSF, GDPR) meant architecture changes needed compliance review. Board wanted a technical roadmap they could track.
What we changed
Stepped in as fractional technical leadership alongside the existing CTO. Established engineering governance - architecture review board, decision records, technical roadmap. Built the compliance bridge between engineering and legal. Mentored team leads to reduce bottleneck dependency. Created board-ready technical narrative with measurable milestones.
Outcomes
- ✓Engineering velocity stabilized - no more 11th-hour architecture changes
- ✓Compliance review time reduced from 3 weeks to 3 days
- ✓Existing CTO stayed and grew into the role with structured support
A leadership engagement that adapts to your stage.
Diagnose
Days 1-30Understand the current state: team, architecture, processes, compliance posture, business priorities. Identify quick wins and critical risks.
Strategize
Days 31-60Establish engineering governance, technical roadmap, and decision frameworks. Define KPIs and reporting cadence. Set up architecture review processes.
Systematize
Days 61-90Institutionalize processes. Document architecture decisions. Build team capability through mentorship. Prepare handover package.
Lead
90+ DaysOngoing weekly commitment. Strategy syncs, architecture oversight, team mentorship, board preparation. Scaled up or down based on current priorities.
Technical leadership your team can feel, not just a title on paper.
- ✓ Weekly engineering leadership - sprints, architecture, decisions
- ✓ Technical roadmap with measurable milestones
- ✓ Engineering playbook - processes, standards, decision frameworks
- ✓ Architecture Decision Records (why things were built the way they were)
- ✓ Team mentorship and capability building
- ✓ Vendor and technology evaluation reports
- ✓ Board-ready technical narrative and metrics
- ✓ Compliance posture documentation (AI, GDPR, EU AI Act)
- ✓ Handover package for transition to full-time leadership
Typical engagement: 6-18 months. Output is a stronger team, cleaner architecture, and a clear technical narrative for the board.
This is NOT the right fit if:
Fractional CTO works when the company is in transition. If any of these describe your situation, a different approach will serve you better.
You need someone to just write code.
→ Fractional CTO is leadership, not IC work. Hire a senior engineer instead.
You’re not sure what you need yet.
→ Start with AI Audit - we diagnose first, then decide.
You have a specific project that needs delivery.
→ AI Build is a better fit for focused project work.
You need a full-time executive 5 days a week.
→ This is a fractional role by design. We can help you define the hire, but the engagement is part-time.
Not sure? Book a free 30-min call. We’ll tell you honestly which service fits - even if it’s none of them.
Leadership doesn’t require a full-time commitment.
30 minutes. We listen to your situation, the leadership gap you’re experiencing, and what good looks like. You leave with one concrete next step - even if it’s not us.
Book an AI Readiness Call