Fractional Technical Project Lead
Senior delivery leadership for founders who need engineering to become predictable.
A fractional technical project lead gives a founder senior delivery leadership without a full-time executive hire. The job is to make engineering predictable: scoping work, running delivery, reviewing architecture, and translating between the technical team and the business. I have done this for 7+ years across teams of 5 to 45 engineers, working remotely with founders in the UK, EU, US, and MENA in hours that fit their timezone.
When this helps
- Engineering ships, but nobody can forecast when anything will be done.
- The founder is the bottleneck for every technical decision.
- You need senior leadership but cannot justify a full-time CTO yet.
- You are hiring engineers and have no one qualified to assess them.
What the work includes
Delivery ownership
Sprint planning, prioritisation, and realistic forecasting, so the roadmap reflects what will actually happen.
Architecture review
Reviewing technical decisions before they become expensive, and documenting the reasoning so the team can follow it later.
Stakeholder translation
Keeping founders and investors informed in terms they can act on, without requiring them to parse engineering detail.
Hiring support
Building hiring pipelines and running technical assessment. I scaled a studio from 5 to 45+ engineers, so the process is one I have run rather than read about.
Process design
Introducing the minimum process that makes delivery predictable, without burying a small team in ceremony.
Async-first working
Transparent async workflows with daily visible progress and a weekly sync at a time that suits your timezone.
Related work
Questions
What is a fractional technical project lead?
A senior delivery lead engaged part-time rather than as a full-time hire. You get experienced technical leadership — planning, architecture oversight, hiring, stakeholder communication — at the fraction of capacity your stage actually needs.
How is this different from hiring a CTO?
A CTO is a permanent executive owning long-term technical strategy. A fractional lead is a faster, lighter engagement focused on making delivery predictable now, and is often used to bridge the gap while a permanent hire is found.
Which timezones do you work in?
I work remotely with founders across the UK, EU, US, and MENA, in flexible hours that overlap with your working day rather than mine.
How large a team can you lead?
I have managed cross-functional teams from 5 to 45 engineers, including scaling a studio from 5 to 45+ people.
Can you also help us hire engineers?
Yes — hiring pipelines, technical assessment, and onboarding are a normal part of the engagement, and often the most valuable part for a scaling team.
Want to talk it through?
Tell me what you are building and where it is stuck. I work remotely with founders across the UK, EU, US, and MENA, in hours that fit your timezone.
Get in touch →