What does a fractional CTO do?

A fractional CTO provides senior technology leadership on a part-time, embedded basis — typically a fixed number of days per month over six to twelve months. The work spans technology strategy, architecture decisions, AI adoption, senior hiring, vendor and build-versus-buy calls, board-ready technical communication, and roadmap discipline so engineering ships what the business actually needs. The role is leadership and judgment, not staff augmentation or coding capacity.

How much does a fractional CTO cost?

Develomentor engagements are scoped to the situation — typically a fixed number of days per month under a monthly retainer, or a fixed-scope assessment with a written deliverable. Cost depends on engagement depth and duration, but a fractional CTO is materially less than a full-time hire (which lands well into six figures plus equity) and removes the six-month search and ramp risk. We send a written scope and price before any commitment.

Fractional CTO vs. full-time CTO — when does each make sense?

A full-time CTO makes sense when you have a stable, funded plan that needs a long-tenured leader to own the technology org for years. A fractional CTO makes sense when the company is at an inflection point — pre-product-market-fit, between full-time leaders, post-acquisition, or when the next twelve months require senior judgment but not a permanent executive hire. Many engagements start fractional and convert to a full-time hire once the company has the clarity to define the role.

When do I need a fractional CTO?

The pattern is usually one of these: a board member is asking technical questions you cannot answer with confidence; engineering is shipping but not the things the business needs or not at the quality required; you are about to invest in AI, search, or a major rebuild and want a sanity check before committing; you are between CTOs and the search will take six months; or the architecture decisions in front of you are bigger than the team is comfortable owning. If two or more of those are true, a fractional CTO is usually the right call.

How fast can you start an engagement?

Most engagements start within one to three weeks of an initial discovery call. Fixed-scope assessments (architecture review, technical due diligence, AI readiness) typically begin the same week. We will tell you on the first call whether we are the right fit and what a realistic start date looks like.

Fractional CTO

Senior technology leadership for founders, PE-backed companies, and mission-driven organizations — without the cost or search time of a full-time CTO hire.

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Trusted by Leading Organizations

You have decisions piling up that you do not want to make alone. The architecture is straining. The team is shipping, but not the things the business needs. A board member is asking questions you cannot answer with confidence. And a full-time CTO search is six months you do not have.

Develomentor is led by Grant Ingersoll — former CTO of the Wikimedia Foundation, where he ran a 150+ engineer organization across 18 teams, and co-founder/CTO of Lucidworks. Every engagement is led by Grant and supported by senior practitioners across engineering, product, and AI strategy. We work alongside your team, not over them.

How the work shows up

Every engagement is shaped to the situation, but the workstreams are familiar: technology strategy the board can read, architecture decisions that hold up to the next scale, senior hiring (and the leadership above it), vendor and build-versus-buy calls, and roadmap discipline so engineering ships what the business actually needs. On AI specifically: which stack belongs in your contract this year, and which choices will not strand you when the tooling shifts again.

If you do not have a team yet, we help you decide what to build in-house, what to outsource, and who to hire first. We have partners for product, design, and development roles when you need them.

Who this is for

Most of our CTO work starts in one of four places:

Founders & small teams — taking an MVP to production, building the first real engineering org, getting the technology decisions right before the next round.
Search & AI builders — search, RAG, or AI is core to your product and you need a leader who has shipped them.
M&A due diligence — independent technical assessment for buyers, sellers, or boards.
Mission-driven organizations — senior leadership scaled to your mission and your budget.

How we engage

Most engagements run as embedded leadership for a defined number of days per month, typically over six to twelve months. Some start as a fixed-scope review — architecture, team, AI strategy, or due diligence — with a written deliverable, and convert into ongoing work once we both see what is needed.

Tell us where you are and what decision is in front of you. Book a Discovery Call.

Led by Grant Ingersoll

Every CTO engagement is overseen by Grant — former Wikimedia Foundation CTO and Lucidworks co-founder/CTO — supported by a team of senior practitioners with deep experience across engineering, product, and AI strategy.

CTO, Wikimedia Foundation — 18 engineering teams, 150+ people
Co-founder & CTO, Lucidworks — scaled to 80+ engineers
Author, Taming Text · Apache Lucene committer · Apache Mahout co-founder

Fractional CTO — Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions from founders, boards, and executive teams considering fractional technology leadership.

What does a fractional CTO do? A fractional CTO provides senior technology leadership on a part-time, embedded basis — typically a fixed number of days per month over six to twelve months. The work spans technology strategy, architecture decisions, AI adoption, senior hiring, vendor and build-versus-buy calls, board-ready technical communication, and roadmap discipline so engineering ships what the business actually needs. The role is leadership and judgment, not staff augmentation or coding capacity.: A fractional CTO provides senior technology leadership on a part-time, embedded basis — typically a fixed number of days per month over six to twelve months. The work spans technology strategy, architecture decisions, AI adoption, senior hiring, vendor and build-versus-buy calls, board-ready technical communication, and roadmap discipline so engineering ships what the business actually needs. The role is leadership and judgment, not staff augmentation or coding capacity.
How much does a fractional CTO cost? Develomentor engagements are scoped to the situation — typically a fixed number of days per month under a monthly retainer, or a fixed-scope assessment with a written deliverable. Cost depends on engagement depth and duration, but a fractional CTO is materially less than a full-time hire (which lands well into six figures plus equity) and removes the six-month search and ramp risk. We send a written scope and price before any commitment.: Develomentor engagements are scoped to the situation — typically a fixed number of days per month under a monthly retainer, or a fixed-scope assessment with a written deliverable. Cost depends on engagement depth and duration, but a fractional CTO is materially less than a full-time hire (which lands well into six figures plus equity) and removes the six-month search and ramp risk. We send a written scope and price before any commitment.
Fractional CTO vs. full-time CTO — when does each make sense? A full-time CTO makes sense when you have a stable, funded plan that needs a long-tenured leader to own the technology org for years. A fractional CTO makes sense when the company is at an inflection point — pre-product-market-fit, between full-time leaders, post-acquisition, or when the next twelve months require senior judgment but not a permanent executive hire. Many engagements start fractional and convert to a full-time hire once the company has the clarity to define the role.: A full-time CTO makes sense when you have a stable, funded plan that needs a long-tenured leader to own the technology org for years. A fractional CTO makes sense when the company is at an inflection point — pre-product-market-fit, between full-time leaders, post-acquisition, or when the next twelve months require senior judgment but not a permanent executive hire. Many engagements start fractional and convert to a full-time hire once the company has the clarity to define the role.
When do I need a fractional CTO? The pattern is usually one of these: a board member is asking technical questions you cannot answer with confidence; engineering is shipping but not the things the business needs or not at the quality required; you are about to invest in AI, search, or a major rebuild and want a sanity check before committing; you are between CTOs and the search will take six months; or the architecture decisions in front of you are bigger than the team is comfortable owning. If two or more of those are true, a fractional CTO is usually the right call.: The pattern is usually one of these: a board member is asking technical questions you cannot answer with confidence; engineering is shipping but not the things the business needs or not at the quality required; you are about to invest in AI, search, or a major rebuild and want a sanity check before committing; you are between CTOs and the search will take six months; or the architecture decisions in front of you are bigger than the team is comfortable owning. If two or more of those are true, a fractional CTO is usually the right call.
How fast can you start an engagement? Most engagements start within one to three weeks of an initial discovery call. Fixed-scope assessments (architecture review, technical due diligence, AI readiness) typically begin the same week. We will tell you on the first call whether we are the right fit and what a realistic start date looks like.: Most engagements start within one to three weeks of an initial discovery call. Fixed-scope assessments (architecture review, technical due diligence, AI readiness) typically begin the same week. We will tell you on the first call whether we are the right fit and what a realistic start date looks like.

Ready to talk?

Tell us where you are and what decisions you are facing. We will get back to you within one business day.