AI Agents & Process Automation
Teams with a real manual process to automate — not a vague interest in AI, but a specific workflow that is too slow, too expensive, or too inconsistent to keep running by hand.
Typical situations
- A sales or marketing team spends hours on manual lead research, enrichment, and outreach that could run as a continuous, automated pipeline.
- A team has shipped an AI agent or integration but has no reliable way to know when it is working well and when it has silently gone off the rails.
- A process is too bespoke for off-the-shelf automation tools but too small to justify a full engineering build — it just needs someone who knows how to wire it together correctly.
What I can help with
- Design and build custom agents and multi-agent pipelines — from a single-task agent to a coordinated system where specialized agents plan, delegate, and hand off work to each other.
- Integrate the right data sources and APIs — CRM systems, lead enrichment services, outbound tools, internal databases — so agents do work that was previously done by hand.
- Instrument evaluation from the start: systematic testing, observability, and correction mechanisms so the system stays reliable in production, not just at launch.
What this looks like: A scoped build engagement, from a single agent to a multi-step pipeline. Typically a few weeks, with evaluation infrastructure and handoff documentation included.
CTO & Executive Advising
Founders and executive teams who need an experienced technical counterpart in the room.
Typical situations
- A founder without a technical co-founder is making architecture or hiring decisions alone.
- A board or CEO wants an independent technical opinion before a major investment.
- A newly appointed CTO wants a sounding board during the first year in the role.
What I can help with
- Pressure-test technical decisions before they become expensive to reverse.
- Translate between technical and non-technical stakeholders.
- Provide candid, outside judgment without the politics of an internal role.
What this looks like: Usually a standing monthly conversation, plus availability around specific decisions as they arise.
Technical Strategy
Teams facing a consequential architecture, platform, or build-versus-buy decision.
Typical situations
- A system has outgrown its original design and a rearchitecture is on the table.
- A team is choosing a platform, vendor, or build-versus-buy path with long-term consequences.
- Technical debt has started to slow the roadmap and leadership needs a clear-eyed plan.
What I can help with
- Frame the decision, its trade-offs, and its actual cost of being wrong.
- Stress-test a proposed direction against the team's real constraints.
- Produce a plan that engineering and leadership can both stand behind.
What this looks like: A focused engagement scoped to the decision at hand — typically a few weeks of working sessions and review.
Engineering Organization & Leadership
Leaders building or rebuilding an engineering organization through a period of change.
Typical situations
- An engineering team is scaling quickly and its structure or process hasn't kept up.
- A leadership team wants to improve delivery without resorting to more process for its own sake.
- A reorganization or leadership transition needs an outside perspective to get right.
What I can help with
- Diagnose what is actually slowing the organization down.
- Design team structure, leveling, and process suited to the company's stage.
- Coach engineering leaders through the transition.
What this looks like: Often begins with a short diagnostic phase, followed by ongoing advising through implementation.
Career Guidance for Technical Leaders
Engineers and engineering leaders navigating a significant career decision.
Typical situations
- An engineer is deciding whether to move into management.
- A leader is weighing an offer, a transition, or a step up in scope.
- Someone is trying to figure out what kind of technical leader they want to become.
What I can help with
- Think through the decision honestly, without a stake in the outcome.
- Draw on comparable situations from a long run in technical leadership.
- Offer a perspective on how the decision looks a few years out.
What this looks like: Usually a small number of focused conversations rather than an ongoing engagement.