Service Overview
Most growing engineering teams reach a point where the decisions in front of them are too consequential for the loudest voice in the room, but too specific for a generic consultant. A Fractional Architect fills that gap. I embed with your team for a set block of hours each week, sit in on the real conversations, own the architecture decisions that need an owner, and leave your engineers stronger than I found them.
This isn’t staff augmentation. It’s senior technical leadership on a schedule that matches your stage, priced against outcomes—not a headcount line.
Signals You Need This
- You’ve grown past the point where one founding engineer can hold the whole system in their head
- Architecture decisions are being deferred, reversed, or re-litigated every sprint
- A cloud migration, rewrite, or platform unification is on the near horizon
- You’ve just raised, just been acquired, or just lost a key technical leader
- A full-time principal or staff architect is the right role—but not the right spend yet
What You Get
- 4–16 hours per week of embedded architecture work, adjustable as needs shift
- Written architecture decision records (ADRs) the team can point to and push back on
- Design reviews, code reviews, and standing hours your engineers can book
- A documented reference architecture and a 90-day technical roadmap
- Hiring input: interview rubrics, candidate debriefs, leveling guidance
- Direct line to leadership with a plain-English translation layer
How It Works
Step 1 – Discovery & Alignment
A focused kickoff to map your goals, the constraints you’re operating under, and the systems you already have. You leave the first week with a clear picture of what I’ll be doing and what “better” looks like in 90 days.
Step 2 – Embedded Engagement
I join your standups, your design reviews, and the Slack channels that matter. I review PRs, write ADRs, and pair on the hardest calls. Typical cadence is 4–16 hours per week, scaled up during transitions and down when things stabilize.
Step 3 – Iteration & Handoff
As your team matures, my involvement changes shape—deeper during migrations or hires, lighter during steady-state. When it’s time for me to step back, your team has the artifacts and the confidence to run without me.
Troubleshooting Mode
When systems slow, teams stall, or architectural choices aren’t aging well, I come in with a tighter scope:
- Deep-dive technical assessments with written findings
- Root-cause analysis of architecture bottlenecks and failure modes
- Restructuring guidance with clear sequencing and trade-offs
- Direct, unvarnished recommendations—no filler, no hedging
Why Work With Me
Decisions With Receipts – Every major call is written down with trade-offs, context, and a date. You shouldn’t have to guess why choices were made.
Mentorship Built In – I don’t just hand down architecture. I teach your engineers why it works, so the knowledge stays when I leave.
Business-to-Dev Translator – I make technical reality legible to leadership and strategic direction legible to engineers.
Flexible by Design – I adapt to your pace, team size, and current state. Chaos or calm—same rigor, different dial.