Fractional CTO & technical advisory
A fractional CTO who ships with AI, not just talks about it
A fractional CTO gives your company senior technical leadership part time: the decisions a full-time CTO would own, from architecture and vendors to how AI is used and how the engineering work gets done. I bring thirty years of production software, seventeen of them as lead engineer reporting directly to a CFO, and I build with AI every day: I’m leading an AI-assisted rewrite tracking about four times faster than its plan. The first call is free.
AI adoption · architecture · modernizationPart time, remote, from Huntington Beach
- An AI plan you can defend: which work AI takes on, what data it may see and what stays with people, written down
- AI coding tools that are checked: project rules, work in small pieces and every line reviewed before it ships
- Decisions with the reasons attached: architecture, vendors and modernization, written up so the next person can follow them
Tell us what's on the table Try a working example
The first 30-minute call is free. We usually reply within one business day.
Track record
- 4×
- faster delivery on an AI-assisted platform rewrite
- $6M
- saved per year for Roche with 2D barcode integration
- 1,000+
- users on a six-application platform I architected
- 30
- years shipping production software
From Jan Dekkers’s resume. The Delphi conversion is written up step by step in the case study.
Technology is now central to the business, and nobody owns it
Everyone wants AI, nobody owns it
Tools get bought one at a time, and nobody has said what data may go into them or who checks what comes out.
Your developers use AI, nobody checks
Big changes get merged because they look right. Nobody is looking for invented functions, missed tests or security holes.
A big decision is coming
Rebuild or keep, buy or build, which vendor and which quote. The people deciding can't judge the technical side.
An old system holds you back
A program from another era runs the business, and every change takes longer than the last.
Regulated data
Health, financial or personal data, and rules about where it may go. Medical software (DICOM, diagnostics, clinical integration) is familiar ground.
No senior technical voice at the table
You need someone who can translate between what the business needs and what the technology can do, a few days a month.
The work a fractional CTO does here
| Area | What you get |
|---|---|
| AI adoption | A plan for where AI helps, what data it may see, which tools and providers fit, and the checks around each use. |
| AI coding tools for your team | Project rules (AGENTS.md), how work is split into small reviewable pieces, and a code review routine that catches what AI gets wrong. |
| Architecture review and due diligence | A written review of what you run: the risks, what to fix first and what can wait. |
| Legacy modernization | What to keep, what to rebuild and in what order, with the old program's rules written down before anyone rewrites it. |
| Vendors and build decisions | Proposals and quotes read with you, and the questions to ask before you sign. |
| Building it too | Where it helps, the same person builds: custom web applications, portals, APIs and AI features. |
Four steps, and you see each one
- A free 30-minute callWhat you want done, who does it today, what it runs on and where the data lives. No preparation needed.
- A first lookWhat you run, who builds it, the decisions coming up and where AI is already in use.
- A written proposalScope, approach, timeline and a price range, so you know what you're getting before any work begins.
- Regular work, written downReviews, decisions and plans in writing, so your team can act on them and the reasons survive.
Frequently asked questions
What does a fractional CTO do?
The job of a CTO, part time: owning the technical decisions (architecture, vendors, security, how AI is used and how the engineering work gets done) and translating between what the business needs and what the technology can do.
When does it make sense?
When technology has become important to the business but the business doesn't yet need, or can't yet justify, a full-time executive. A big decision coming up, an AI rollout or an aging system are common reasons to start.
Do you know AI, or just about it?
I build with it daily. An AI coding agent moved a 2006 Delphi program to the web for us in about an hour, with its rules written down and its totals matching to the cent, and I'm leading an AI-assisted rewrite tracking about four times faster than its plan. The examples on this site use AI the way we'd advise a client to.
Do you work remotely?
Yes. I'm based in Huntington Beach, California, and work with clients remotely, in English, Dutch or German.
How does pricing work?
It starts with a free 30-minute call. You then get a written proposal with the scope, timeline and price before any work begins.
Tell us what's on the table
A few lines is enough to start. If you know them, include:
- What your business runs on, and who builds or looks after it
- The decision or project coming up, and by when
- Where AI is used today, or where you'd like it to be
- Anything regulated: health, financial or personal data
I read every message myself and usually reply within one business day. Prefer more detail? Fill in the project questionnaire (about 15 minutes).