Principal Engineer & Software Architect
I help startups and product teams design, rescue, and scale production software, from AI prototypes and vibe-coded MVPs to complex SaaS platforms. Senior enough to make the decision, hands-on enough to implement it.
Software Architecture · Principal Engineering · AI Systems · Technical Rescue · Fractional CTO
Bring me in when…
- Your MVP works, but you are not confident it is production-ready: security, architecture, or the tech stack itself.
- You built it with AI or a vibe-coding tool, and now you need a real expert to turn it into a maintainable product.
- Your codebase is becoming slow, unstable, or too expensive to change, and you are weighing a rewrite, migration, or major scaling decision.
- You are adding AI features and need the architecture to work beyond the demo, reliably and at a sane cost.
- Your engineering team is building, but nobody senior owns the architecture, and you cannot tell if the decisions are right.
- You need someone senior enough to both make the decision and implement it.
Who I work with
Founders
“I don’t know whether my developers are making the right decisions.”
I give you an independent, senior read on your product and team, then fix what matters, hands-on. No jargon, no hand-waving, decisions tied to business outcomes.
CTOs & Engineering Leaders
“I know exactly what the problem is. I need someone senior enough to own it.”
I embed with your team to own an architecture, migration, or AI initiative end to end: design, hard decisions, and the implementation itself.
How I Can Help
Start with what hurts most. Most engagements begin with an audit and grow from there.
Architecture & Technical Audit
Find the risks before they become expensive. A deep, independent review of your product, architecture, infrastructure, and delivery.
Deliverables:
- Written technical report with a prioritized risk map
- Architecture recommendations and scaling bottlenecks
- 30/60/90-day technical action plan
Best for: Before fundraising, launch, scaling, a rewrite decision, or reviewing what an agency built.
Technical Rescue & Modernization
A focused 2-6 week sprint where I actively fix the highest-risk parts: architecture, performance, infrastructure, or codebase problems.
Includes:
- Critical fixes shipped, not just recommended
- Production readiness: security, stability, CI/CD
- Cloud cost and unit economics improvements
Best for: Vibe-coded MVPs, fragile prototypes, and products that are unstable or too expensive to run.
Principal Engineer / Architect
Senior hands-on engineering leadership embedded with your team, typically 10-20 hours per week.
Includes:
- Own architecture, migrations, and hard technical decisions
- Design and implement critical systems myself
- Mentor your engineers and raise the technical bar
Best for: Teams that have developers but lack senior architecture expertise in-house.
AI Systems Architecture
Turn an AI PoC into a reliable, cost-conscious production system.
Includes:
- LLM feature design and RAG/agent architecture
- Provider selection, latency, and cost engineering
- Path from demo to production-grade reliability
Best for: Products adding AI features that need to work beyond the demo.
Fractional CTO
Technical leadership for founders who need someone to own the broader technology function.
Includes:
- Technical roadmap and architecture decisions
- Hiring, team and vendor review
- Fundraising diligence and delivery risk management
Best for: Founders who need ongoing senior leadership without a full-time executive hire.
Engagement models
You are not buying hours. You are buying reduced technical risk and faster expensive decisions.
Architecture & Technical Audit
Fixed scope, 1-2 weeks. The easiest way to start: I tell you exactly what is wrong, what matters, and what to do next.
Technical Rescue / Architecture Sprint
Fixed scope, 2-6 weeks. I actively fix the highest-risk parts of your system.
Principal Engineer / Architect
Monthly retainer, 10-20 hours/week. Senior hands-on leadership inside your team.
Fractional CTO
Monthly retainer, 10-20 hours/week. Roadmap, hiring, vendors, and the broader technology function.
Audits and sprints are priced as fixed-scope projects, agreed up front with no open-ended hourly billing. Embedded and fractional engagements run as simple monthly retainers, a fraction of the $250,000-$350,000/year cost of a full-time senior hire.
How it works
Discovery Call
We discuss your product, challenges, and goals. No pitch, just clarity.
Diagnosis
I review your current technical state and identify risks and opportunities.
Roadmap
You get a clear action plan: what to build, what to fix, what to skip.
Execution
I implement the critical parts myself or embed with your team: architecture, code, and delivery.
What clients say
Real messages from people I've worked with.
Currently accepting 2-3 new engagements this quarter.
Technical notes and founder guides
View all →
Vibe-Coded MVP to Production: A Fractional CTO Case Study
A real case study of how I helped a founder refactor a vibe-coded MVP, fix security risks, improve architecture, and set up AI coding agents for safer development.
Why Early-Stage Startups Need a Hands-On CTO, Not Only a Strategy Leader
Early startups need hands-on CTO leadership to make architecture, product, and engineering decisions before technical mistakes become expensive.
How Non-Technical Founders Can Choose the Right Tech Stack
Learn how non-technical founders can choose the right tech stack, avoid costly mistakes, and build scalable products with confidence.