Fractional CTO
Technical Leadership, Part-Time
Get senior engineering leadership without a full-time hire. For 7 years I have been the embedded fractional technical lead for 5 long-term clients, most for 2+ years, covering discovery, build-vs-buy, roadmap, hiring and delivery oversight for Wasatch Front companies and remote US teams.
Technical Strategy & Architecture
Choose stacks, draw system boundaries and kill gold-plated designs that will not pay off. Decisions are written down so the team can execute without you in every meeting.
- Current-state architecture review
- Build vs buy recommendations
- Security and reliability baselines
- Tech debt triage
Team & Hiring
Job specs, interview loops and scorecards that actually predict engineering ability. Help deciding when to hire full-time vs contract.
- Role design and leveling
- Practical interview kits
- Contractor vs FTE guidance
- Onboarding plans
Offshore & Vendor Oversight
When you use an offshore partner or staff-aug team, I own the interface: tickets, PR review, quality bar and escalation so you are not the bottleneck.
- Backlog hygiene
- Code review standards
- Sprint cadence
- Vendor performance reviews
Delivery Rescue
Projects that have slipped or gone off the rails get a short diagnostic, a recovery plan and temporary hands-on leadership until velocity is honest again.
- Delivery audit
- Risk and dependency map
- Stabilization plan
- Optional build support
What You Get
- Written architecture and roadmap artifacts
- Standing weekly leadership cadence
- Hiring or vendor support as scoped
- Direct Slack/email access during engagement hours
- Monthly written status for founders or the board
How an Engagement Works
1. Diagnostic
Two to four sessions to understand product, team and constraints.
2. 90-day plan
Prioritized technical and process outcomes with clear owners.
3. Cadence
Weekly rituals: architecture reviews, hiring syncs, delivery check-ins.
4. Transition
Document decisions and help hire or promote an internal lead when ready.
Need hands-on help too?
Frequently Asked Questions
How many days per week is typical?
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Most of my fractional engagements are one to three days per week and run 2+ years. We pick a cadence that matches decision load—lighter for roadmap and reviews, heavier during hiring or a rebuild.
Do you manage offshore development teams?
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Yes. I write clear tickets, review pull requests, set Definition of Done and run standups so an offshore or nearshore team ships predictably without constant founder babysitting.
Is this a fit for early-stage startups in Utah?
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Often. Seed and Series A companies around Salt Lake City that are not ready for a full-time CTO use fractional leadership to avoid expensive architecture mistakes and keep hiring focused.
What is out of scope?
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I do not act as a figurehead advisor who never opens a repo. Expect written decisions, architecture reviews and hands-on help when the team is blocked.
Book a Free 30-Minute Consult
Tell me what you're building or what's stuck. I'll reply with next steps, usually within one business day.
Get In Touch
Why Choose Me?
- 10 years shipping production software
- 5 long-term fractional clients, most for 2+ years
- AI agents, MCP servers, Rails + React
- Based in Salt Lake City, working remotely US-wide