Fractional CTO Services

You're shipping slower than last year. Your best engineers are stuck in meetings. Hiring isn't solving it.

I've scaled engineering at startups from 5 to 20+ people - tripling headcounts without tripling chaos. As your fractional CTO, you get 15 years of playbooks without the full-time overhead. Let's fix what's broken and build what scales.

Ship faster

I've shipped 100+ releases per year with feature flags and per-PR environments. I know what good delivery looks like and how to get there - identifying bottlenecks, optimizing workflows, and building systems that don't wake you up at 2am.

• Tech Health Check - Quick assessment of delivery bottlenecks, team structure, an...Quick assessment of delivery bottlenecks, team structure, and process gaps. I can work in stealth mode (reviewing repos, PRs, tickets, async communication) or through direct engagement with your team. You get a written report with prioritized recommendations and quick wins.
• Delivery Optimization - Fix PR pile-ups, WIP overload, and sprint slippage. Address ...Fix PR pile-ups, WIP overload, and sprint slippage. Address review bottlenecks, context switching, missed commitments, and scope creep. Incremental improvements, not big-bang Agile transformations.
• Incident & Crisis Management - Post-mortems, on-call structures, and emergency response. Fa...Post-mortems, on-call structures, and emergency response. Fair rotations, escalation paths, runbooks, war room protocols, and blameless analysis that prevents recurrence.

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• AI Workflows & MCP Setup - MCP server setup connecting Claude to your codebase and tool...MCP server setup connecting Claude to your codebase and tools, IDE configuration, code review automation, and security-conscious workflow design.

Scale cleanly

I've tripled engineering headcounts and designed team topologies for 20+ person orgs. I'll help you build the right structure, hire the right people, and set a technical direction that scales with your business.

• Team Scaling & Restructuring - Stream-aligned, cross-functional teams designed around your ...Stream-aligned, cross-functional teams designed around your strategy. Team structures matched to your product architecture, sensible reporting lines and career ladders, communication patterns that reduce overhead, and transition planning that doesn't break delivery.
• Hiring & Firing - Hands-on support with contractors, team leads, and engineers...Hands-on support with contractors, team leads, and engineers. Job descriptions, interviews, technical assessments, contractor sourcing (Eastern Europe specialty), performance management, PIPs, and termination coaching.
• Architecture & Tech Strategy - Technical roadmaps and build vs. buy decisions. What to buil...Technical roadmaps and build vs. buy decisions. What to build, defer, or kill. TCO analysis, vendor lock-in risks, infrastructure planning, cloud costs, scaling triggers, and technical debt prioritization.

Train effectively

As a 7CTOs forum member and hands-on practitioner, I bring battle-tested frameworks - not theory. Interactive workshops that give your team actionable skills they can apply the next day.

• AI Adoption for Engineering Teams - Hands-on training covering prompt engineering fundamentals, ...Hands-on training covering prompt engineering fundamentals, MCP setup with Claude, measuring productivity gains, and security considerations.
• Trunk-Based Development & CI/CD - Feature flags and progressive rollout, small PRs with fast r...Feature flags and progressive rollout, small PRs with fast reviews, automated testing strategies that give you deploy confidence.
• DORA Metrics That Actually Matter - Focus on lead time, deploy frequency, MTTR, and change failu...Focus on lead time, deploy frequency, MTTR, and change failure rate. Benchmarking, goal setting, and building a culture of continuous improvement.

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• RACI & Ownership Clarity - Define clear ownership and reduce decision paralysis. Map re...Define clear ownership and reduce decision paralysis. Map responsibilities across teams, identify gaps and overlaps, establish decision-making frameworks that actually stick.
• Team Topologies & Scaling Patterns - Learn when to use stream-aligned vs platform teams, how to s...Learn when to use stream-aligned vs platform teams, how to split or merge teams effectively, and communication patterns that scale.

Transition smoothly

I've transitioned ICs to leads and coached first-time engineering managers. Whether you're onboarding a new CTO, going through due diligence, or developing your next generation of leaders - I've been there and can guide you through.

• CTO Transition Support - Onboard/offboard CTOs with interim coverage. Help new CTOs r...Onboard/offboard CTOs with interim coverage. Help new CTOs ramp up fast and avoid early mistakes. Knowledge transfer and documentation for departing CTOs. Keep engineering running during search.
• Due Diligence - Deep-dive technical assessment for investors, acquirers, or ...Deep-dive technical assessment for investors, acquirers, or boards. Architecture review, team capability assessment, delivery risk analysis, and code quality evaluation. Deliverable: comprehensive report with risk matrix and valuation considerations.
• Engineering Manager Coaching - 1:1s with first-time managers or struggling leads. Help with...1:1s with first-time managers or struggling leads. Help with transitioning from IC to manager, running effective 1:1s, giving feedback that lands, and managing up.

Make it last with TeamOnTrack

Advisory engagements end, but good habits shouldn't. CTOs waste 5+ hours/week chasing engineers about stalled PRs and broken working agreements. TeamOnTrack monitors your team's workflow in real-time and sends automatic Slack nudges when things slip - so you can stop nagging and start leading.

• Auto-Nudges via Slack - When a PR sits too long or a ticket goes stale, TeamOnTrack ...When a PR sits too long or a ticket goes stale, TeamOnTrack sends a friendly DM to the right person. No dashboards to check. No manual follow-up. Work keeps flowing.
• Daily Team Summaries - Every morning, your team gets a digest: what shipped, what's...Every morning, your team gets a digest: what shipped, what's stuck, who needs help with code review, and what's at risk. AI spots bottlenecks before they become blockers.
• Private AI Coaching - Each engineer gets an optional AI coach that learns their pa...Each engineer gets an optional AI coach that learns their patterns, celebrates wins, and suggests improvements. Privacy-first: managers only see what engineers choose to share.

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• Resource Allocation Analytics - Real-time visibility into who's working on what, team engage...Real-time visibility into who's working on what, team engagement signals, and capacity planning insights.

Let's Talk

Interested in working together? Reach out via email or LinkedIn to discuss your needs.