Fractional & AI-native CTO
for SaaS.
Twenty-five years in SaaS and enterprise software. I scale engineering orgs without breaking them, take delivery from low to elite DORA in 90 days, and rescue troubled products.
A CTO who has scaled the org.
A fractional CTO for SaaS is an experienced Chief Technology Officer who leads a software-as-a-service company part-time: the architecture, the engineering organization, and the delivery machine that decides whether the roadmap ships. In SaaS the failure mode is predictable. The org scales faster than the trust and process that held it together, and delivery quietly slows to a crawl.
I've spent 25 years in SaaS and enterprise software, 20 of them in leadership. I've scaled the orgs, rescued the troubled products, and taken a low-performing team to elite DORA metrics in 90 days. When the seat needs full-time coverage, the same work runs as an interim / turnaround CTO; my pricing is published in the fractional CTO cost guide.
Also known as: B2B SaaS CTO, software-as-a-service CTO, CTO for SaaS scale-ups, part-time SaaS CTO.
The org outgrows its operating model.
The product usually survives growth. The organization is what snaps.
Scaling breaks the org
Adding people adds process, and process grinds down the trust and speed that got you here. Most SaaS orgs break from that, not from headcount.
Delivery slows to a crawl
Deploys get scarier, lead times stretch, and nobody can say exactly why. DORA metrics make the rot measurable, and measurable means fixable.
The troubled product
The platform underdelivers, the team is stuck, and the board wants a straight answer before more money goes in. A rescue, not a rewrite by reflex.
Multi-tenant economics
One engine serving many customers is the whole SaaS promise. Getting tenancy, isolation and cost-to-serve right is an architecture problem.
Delivery you can measure.
Scale the engineering org
Grow capacity without grinding down the trust and speed that made the team good. I've scaled SaaS orgs and written down where they break.
DORA transformation
Take delivery from low-performing to elite DORA in 90 days: process, GitOps and CI/CD restructured so shipping is fast and predictable.
AI-native operating model
Rewire how the product is built so AI is the default in the SDLC and the org. For a SaaS company, that edge compounds with every release.
What SaaS founders ask.
What does a fractional CTO do for a SaaS company?
Leads the technology function part-time: architecture, the engineering organization, hiring, and the delivery process that determines whether the roadmap ships. For a SaaS scale-up that usually means growing the org without breaking it, making delivery measurable with DORA, and building toward an AI-native operating model.
Can you fix our delivery speed?
Yes. I've taken a low-performing org to elite DORA metrics in 90 days by restructuring process, GitOps and CI/CD so delivery became fast and predictable. The point of DORA is that delivery stops being a feeling and becomes a number you can manage.
Have you scaled a SaaS engineering organization before?
Yes. I've spent 25 years in SaaS and enterprise software, 20 in technology leadership, at one point directing 12 engineering teams across 7 countries, and I've rescued troubled SaaS products along the way. Scaling breaks orgs through added process more than added people; the job is protecting speed and trust on the way up.
Do you handle multi-tenant architecture?
Yes. I've architected multi-tenant platforms, including a commerce and marketing engine serving a portfolio of brands from one codebase, and multi-tenant SaaS in regulated healthcare. Tenancy, isolation and cost-to-serve are architecture decisions that set your margins for years.
What does a fractional CTO for SaaS cost?
The same published pricing as the rest of my work, in USD: advisory at $10,000 a month (about a day a week), the full fractional engagement at $18,000 a month (about two days), and embedded or interim leadership at $30,000 a month. A fixed-fee Diagnostic starts at $20,000. The full breakdown is in my fractional CTO cost guide.
Can you take over full-time in a turnaround?
Yes. When a SaaS product is troubled or the CTO seat is empty, I work as an interim or turnaround CTO: full-time but temporary, stabilizing engineering and delivery, then handing off cleanly, to the permanent hire or back to a stronger team.
Scaling a SaaS platform?
If the org has stopped scaling or delivery has slowed to a crawl, I've fixed both before. Tell me where it hurts.