Technical direction
Architecture choices, sequencing, trade-offs, and a written decision record.
Hands-on technical leadership · Portugal and Europe
Senior technical direction without adding a full-time CTO.
I work with founders and product teams that need an experienced technical decision-maker close to the product and code. The job is to make the next decisions clearer, reduce delivery risk, and help the team ship the difficult part.
Direct answer
What does a fractional CTO do?
A fractional CTO provides senior technical leadership for a defined portion of the week or month. The role can cover architecture, roadmap choices, delivery health, hiring decisions, due diligence, and critical releases without creating a full-time executive position. I stay close enough to the implementation to test assumptions against the real system rather than advising from a distance.
When this helps
Useful when the company has product momentum but technical decisions are becoming expensive.
- The founders need a technical counterpart before hiring a permanent CTO.
- The team is shipping, but architecture, quality, or ownership is drifting.
- A launch, migration, AI feature, or recovery needs senior hands-on attention.
- Investors, partners, or buyers need a credible view of technical risk.
- The current team needs decisions and support, not another layer of management.
What the work covers
The scope follows the decisions that currently block progress.
A first engagement is deliberately narrow. We agree on the decisions, systems, and people in scope, then choose a working rhythm that matches the urgency.
Delivery review
Roadmap risk, release readiness, ownership gaps, and recovery priorities.
Product and AI systems
Build-versus-buy decisions, data flows, safeguards, evaluation, and human review.
Team support
Hiring profiles, technical interviews, mentoring, and clearer engineering ownership.
Compare the options
Fractional leadership is one option, not the answer to every gap.
| Option | Best when | Main limitation |
|---|---|---|
| Fractional CTO | Senior decisions are needed now, but the full-time role is not yet justified. | Limited time means priorities and access must be explicit. |
| Full-time CTO | Leadership, hiring, culture, and company strategy require continuous ownership. | A slower and more expensive commitment if the role is still unclear. |
| Agency | A defined delivery needs a larger execution team. | The agency may not own internal technical direction. |
| Senior engineer | The direction is clear and the main need is implementation. | Should not be asked to absorb an undefined executive role. |
How the work runs
Start with the decision, then earn a longer mandate.
Frame the mandate
Identify the decisions, risks, deadlines, and people that need support.
Read the system
Review the product, architecture, code, delivery habits, and evidence already available.
Set direction
Write the trade-offs, priorities, owners, and next checkpoints in plain language.
Work alongside the team
Help deliver the critical path and adjust the direction when evidence changes.
Relevant work
Experience across product, launches, and operating systems.
My background includes full-stack product work, the 42 Network student intranet, the launch of 42 Lisboa, AI products, Ethereum contracts, and Bitcoin Ordinals systems. The case studies show the work and public evidence where it exists.
FAQ
Questions before hiring a fractional CTO.
How much time does a fractional CTO provide?
It depends on the mandate. A short audit may need concentrated work; ongoing direction usually uses a fixed number of days or checkpoints each month. The proposal states the availability and response boundaries.
Do you write code?
Yes, when hands-on work is the shortest path to a sound decision or critical release. I do not use coding as a substitute for giving the team clear direction and ownership.
Can you help recruit a permanent CTO?
Yes. I can clarify the role, define the technical mandate, review candidates, and prepare a handover. The goal is not to make a fractional arrangement permanent when the company needs a full-time leader.
Is this suitable for a pre-seed startup?
It can be, especially when architecture, product scope, vendor choices, or an early hire could create disproportionate risk. The engagement should remain smaller than the decisions it protects.
What should we prepare for the first call?
Bring the product goal, current team, important deadlines, known risks, and the decision that keeps returning. A polished technical brief is not required.
A defined mandate before a retainer
Bring the technical decision that is slowing the company down.
I will tell you whether the need is fractional leadership, a focused audit, a senior engineer, an agency, or a full-time hire.
Discuss the mandate