AI Engineering Advisory for Technical Teams
For architects, senior engineers, project leads, and CTOs working with production AI. Architecture review on your actual system; coaching on your actual code; fractional CTO when you don't need full-time yet; due diligence when the stakes are real. Senior practitioner; no junior swap.
What we cover
Five engagement shapes under the same hourly rate. Pick what fits; per-session, short series, weekly retainer, or monthly fractional. Same senior practitioner across all of them.
Architecture Advisory
Per-session technical input on system design, evals, observability, MCP, security, cost. Architecture reviews, code reviews at the senior level, deep technical questions. For engineering teams that have a CTO but want a second opinion.
AI Implementation Coaching
Weekly or bi-weekly retainer where we guide your internal team building AI features themselves. We don't build it; we help them build it. Working sessions on real code, real architecture, real decisions.
Fractional CTO Engagement
Ongoing senior technical leadership for organizations that don't need a full-time CTO yet. Architecture, hiring guidance, technical roadmap, vendor decisions. Monthly retainer (typical: 4–20 hours/month).
Technical Due Diligence
For investors evaluating an AI-related target, or companies doing M&A involving AI assets. Honest read on technical posture, security, scalability, team capability. Single engagement with written deliverable.
Engineering Team Training
Multi-session deep training (2–6 sessions) for development teams on production AI patterns: evals, observability, MCP, cost control, security, agent reliability. Real working code, not toy examples.
Who this is for
- • Architects and senior engineers shipping production AI who want a second senior brain on the design before they commit
- • Project leads running an in-house AI build who want weekly coaching as the team ramps on production patterns (evals, observability, cost, MCP, security)
- • Founding engineering teams that need CTO-shaped technical leadership without hiring full-time yet
- • Investors and acquirers doing technical diligence on an AI-related target who need an honest read separate from the target's pitch
- • Engineering teams adopting production AI who want a multi-session training on real patterns — not a tutorial, an actual training
What you get
- Working on your actual system. Real repo, real architecture, real production constraints. Not whiteboard hypotheticals.
- Written assessments and diagrams. Architecture reviews come with a written memo. Code reviews come with annotated findings. Diligence comes with a structured report.
- Senior practitioner every session. No bait-and-switch to junior staff after the sales call. The same person reads your code, writes the memo, and shows up the next session.
- No precondition. Advisory deliverables are yours. You can take them to another vendor or your in-house team for execution. No productized engagement is implied.
Pricing
$600 per hour. Same rate across all five engagement shapes. Same rate as Executive Advisory.
Single hourly rate; no surge pricing for "senior" vs. "principal" tiers because there's one practitioner. Fractional CTO is a monthly retainer at a committed hour count (typical: 4–20 hours/month) billed at the same rate. Due diligence engagements quoted per-engagement.
FAQ
Are you actually senior, or is this a sales pitch?
Senior practitioner who's shipped production AI. The work is real and the conversation will be technical from the first minute. If you want to gut-check before booking, the free first conversation is the right venue.
Will you do a code review on our actual code?
Yes. Architecture Advisory and AI Implementation Coaching both include working on your real code. We don't critique slides; we read the repo, run the system if practical, and write an assessment you can hand to your team.
Do you do due diligence with NDA in place?
Yes, mutual NDA is standard for due diligence work. Reach out and we'll have one signed before the technical conversation starts.
How does fractional CTO differ from an hourly retainer?
Fractional CTO is a monthly commitment with a defined scope (e.g. architecture ownership, hiring input, vendor decisions). Hourly retainer is just hours on the clock for tasks you bring. Fractional is for organizations that want a CTO-shaped relationship without the full-time hire; hourly is for organizations with a CTO who want a second senior brain.
Can my team participate in coaching sessions?
Yes — that's the point. AI Implementation Coaching is structured around your team. We work with the engineers who'll own the code. The goal is that they can build the next thing without us.
Do you write the implementation code?
Not under Engineering Advisory. If you want us to actually build the system, that's the Custom AI System Implementation service. Advisory is intentionally distinct: we help your team, we don't replace them.
Need a senior brain on your AI build?
First conversation is free, 30–45 minutes. Technical from the first minute.