Fractional VP of Engineering

A fractional VP of Engineering provides operational engineering leadership on a part-time or project basis. This includes managing engineering delivery, establishing and improving processes, leading the engineering team, running hiring, and ensuring the organization ships reliably. Unlike a consultant who advises from the outside, a fractional VP is embedded with your team and accountable for operational outcomes.

A VP of Engineering is an operational leader focused on execution: delivery velocity, team management, engineering processes, and headcount planning. A CTO is a strategic leader focused on technical vision, architecture decisions, technology strategy, and innovation. In larger companies these are distinct roles. In early-stage startups, one person often does both, but as the company scales, the operational demands of the VP role typically overwhelm the strategic focus the CTO role requires. A fractional VP of Engineering lets you split these responsibilities without two full-time salaries.

Companies with engineering teams of five to forty engineers see the most benefit. Below five engineers, the overhead of dedicated operational leadership usually isn't justified. Above forty, you typically need a full-time VP. The sweet spot is a team large enough that process gaps are causing real pain, but not so large that part-time leadership is insufficient to have meaningful impact.

Engagements typically start with a two-week assessment to understand your current state. From there, we agree on a working model (part-time embedded, sprint-based project, or advisory) and establish a cadence that fits your team. I work directly in your tools (Jira, Linear, Notion, Slack), attend team meetings, and operate with the same accountability as a full-time hire. Engagements run three to twelve months depending on scope.

Yes, hiring is one of the highest-leverage things I help with. This includes building the hiring process from scratch (job descriptions, interview panels, technical assessments, offer strategy), training your interviewers, and helping evaluate senior candidates. I also help with onboarding structures that reduce time-to-productivity for new hires. Getting hiring right compounds over time in ways that impact every other metric.

Most engagements run three to nine months. Shorter engagements (six to twelve weeks) work well for focused projects like preparing for a funding round or fixing a broken delivery process. Longer part-time embedded arrangements are common when a company needs ongoing operational leadership while searching for a full-time VP. The engagement ends when you've either hired a full-time leader or your internal team is ready to own operations independently.