Fractional & Interim CTO
Senior technology leadership for PE-backed companies — part-time on an ongoing basis, or full-time when the seat is empty
Diligence tells you what is wrong. Someone still has to fix it.
Most portfolio companies do not need a full-time CTO. They need CTO-caliber judgment applied to a handful of decisions that determine whether the value creation plan works — what to build, what to buy, who to hire, and what the infrastructure should cost. Those decisions are usually made by whoever is available, and the consequences show up two years later in the diligence report of the next buyer.
I take the CTO seat rather than advising from outside it. Drawing on years as a Principal Solutions Architect at AWS in a Field CTO capacity, and on hundreds of engagements with PE-backed companies, I run technology as an operator accountable to the sponsor's plan — and report on it in the terms the investment committee already uses.
Two Ways to Fill the Seat
Fractional CTO
1-2 days/weekOngoing senior technology leadership for companies that need CTO-caliber judgment but not a full-time executive.
Typically one to two days per week on a rolling engagement — enough to own the technology roadmap, the engineering organization, and the infrastructure spend without carrying a seven-figure executive on the payroll. The right fit when a company has never had a CTO, or has capable engineers who need someone above them setting direction.
What you get
- Technology strategy and multi-quarter roadmap ownership
- Engineering org design, hiring, and leadership coaching
- Architecture and build-vs-buy decisions with cost modeling
- Cloud spend governance tied to unit economics
- Vendor selection and contract negotiation
- Board and sponsor reporting in financial terms
Interim CTO
3-9 monthsFull-time executive coverage when the seat is empty and the business cannot wait out a search.
Steps in after a departure, during a carve-out, or ahead of a value creation push — stabilizes the organization, keeps delivery on track, and hands over a clean operation to the permanent hire. A CTO search runs four to six months on average. Interim coverage means that search can be run properly rather than under duress.
What you get
- Immediate continuity of engineering leadership
- 30/60/90-day stabilization and delivery plan
- Honest assessment of team, systems, and technical debt
- Execution of the value creation plan alongside the sponsor
- Search support and onboarding for the permanent CTO
- Documented handover of roadmap, architecture, and vendors
Fractional or Interim?
The two engagements solve different problems. The question is whether you need a seat filled or a bar raised.
| Fractional CTO | Interim CTO | |
|---|---|---|
| Commitment | 1-2 days per week, ongoing | Full-time, for a defined period |
| Typical duration | 6-18 months, rolling | 3-9 months, with a defined end |
| Best when | The company has never had a CTO, or needs senior judgment above its current engineering lead | The CTO seat just went empty, or a carve-out, integration, or turnaround needs a full-time owner |
| Primary job | Set direction, raise the bar, and keep technology decisions tied to economics | Hold the line, execute the plan, and leave the org better than you found it |
| Ends with | A standing advisory relationship, or a scale-up to a full-time hire | A permanent CTO hired, onboarded, and running |
Engagements often start as one and become the other. An interim assignment that ends with a strong permanent hire frequently continues as a fractional advisory relationship — and a fractional engagement can scale up to full-time when a deal or a departure demands it.
The two-week assessment
Nobody should commit to a six-month engagement with someone they have not worked with. So most engagements start with a fixed-scope, fixed-fee assessment instead.
Two weeks. I review the organization, the architecture, the delivery record, and the spend, and hand you a written assessment with a prioritized plan. It is a complete piece of work on its own — take it and execute internally if that is the right call. There is no obligation to continue, and no assumption that you will.
The fee is scoped on the discovery call and fixed before any work begins. No hourly billing, no scope creep, no invoice you did not see coming.
If the assessment concludes you do not need a fractional or interim CTO, it will say so. That is a useful answer, and you will have paid a defined fee to get it rather than six months of retainer.
2 weeks · fixed feeWhat it covers
- The engineering organization — structure, seniority, gaps, and who is actually carrying the delivery
- Architecture and the technical debt that is bounded versus the kind that compounds
- Delivery record — what has shipped, how predictably, and what is blocking it
- Cloud spend against benchmarks, with waste quantified by confidence level
- The value creation plan, and whether the technology organization can carry it
What you get
- A written assessment, in the language your investment committee uses
- A Technology Risk Assessment score with the findings behind it
- A prioritized plan with cost, timeline, and confidence for each item
- A direct answer on whether you need a fractional CTO, an interim CTO, a permanent hire, or none of the above
Who This Is For
PE Operating Partners
You have a portfolio company whose value creation plan depends on technology execution, and the current leadership cannot carry it. You need someone who will own the outcome and report on it in the terms your investment committee uses.
Portfolio Company CEOs
You are accountable for a technology roadmap you cannot personally evaluate. You need a peer who can tell you what is real, what is theater, and what the engineering organization actually needs to deliver.
Founders After a Raise
The company has outgrown the architecture and the team that got it here. You need the MVP-to-scale transition run by someone who has done it before, without burning the round on cloud waste and premature hiring.
How an Engagement Works
Discovery call
Thirty minutes to understand the situation, the timeline, and whether fractional or interim is the right shape. If it is neither, I will say so and point you elsewhere.
Assessment
The two-week assessment described above. Most engagements start here, and it is a complete piece of work in its own right — plenty of companies take the assessment, act on it themselves, and never need step three.
Engagement
The agreed cadence begins, against the plan. Standing time with the CEO and engineering leadership, a regular reporting rhythm with the sponsor, and clear ownership of the decisions in scope.
Handover
Every engagement is built to end. Documented architecture, roadmap, vendor relationships, and org design — handed to the permanent leader, with onboarding support through their first weeks.
Common Questions
What is the difference between a fractional CTO and an interim CTO?
A fractional CTO works part-time on an ongoing basis — typically one to two days per week over six to eighteen months — providing senior technology leadership to a company that does not need a full-time executive. An interim CTO works full-time for a defined period, usually three to nine months, covering a seat that is empty or a situation that demands a full-time owner. Fractional is about raising the bar; interim is about filling a gap.
How much does a fractional CTO cost compared to a full-time hire?
A full-time CTO at a PE-backed company carries salary, equity, benefits, and a recruiting fee typically around 25 percent of first-year compensation, plus three to six months of ramp before the hire is fully productive. A fractional engagement is a fraction of that, starts immediately, and carries no severance exposure. The right comparison is not day rate against salary but total cost of coverage against time to impact.
Will you replace our existing VP of Engineering?
Usually not. Most engagements work alongside a capable engineering leader who needs a peer above them — someone to set direction, pressure-test architecture decisions, and handle the board and sponsor conversations. Where the existing leader is not the right fit, that assessment is delivered honestly and early, because the sponsor needs to know.
Do I have to commit to a full engagement up front?
No. Most engagements begin with a fixed-scope, fixed-fee two-week assessment covering the engineering organization, the architecture, the delivery record, and the cloud spend. It produces a written assessment and a prioritized plan, and it is a complete piece of work on its own — companies regularly take the assessment, execute against it internally, and never need anything further. There is no obligation to continue, and if the assessment concludes you do not need a fractional or interim CTO, it will say so.
How quickly can an engagement start?
Discovery calls happen within a week. Interim engagements, which exist precisely because something is urgent, can typically begin within two to three weeks. Fractional engagements are scheduled around existing commitments and usually start within a month.
Can a fractional engagement become full-time?
Engagements often change shape. An interim assignment that ends with a strong permanent hire frequently continues as a fractional advisory relationship, and a fractional engagement can scale up to full-time when a deal, a departure, or an integration demands it. The structure should follow the need rather than the contract.
Do you work with companies outside private equity?
Yes. The focus is PE-backed and venture-backed technology companies, where the pressure to translate engineering decisions into financial outcomes is highest. The work applies anywhere a company is scaling past its original architecture and needs technology leadership accountable to the numbers.
Need a CTO sooner than you can hire one?
Book a free 30-minute discovery call. We'll discuss your situation and I'll tell you honestly whether this is the right fit.
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