Fractional VP of Engineering
Operational engineering leadership for growing teams. Improving delivery, scaling processes, and building the organizational foundation your company needs to execute reliably.
What Is a Fractional VP of Engineering?
A fractional VP of Engineering is an experienced engineering leader who works with your company part-time or on a project basis, providing the operational leadership of a full VP of Engineering without the cost or commitment of a full-time hire.
The VP of Engineering role is fundamentally about execution. While a CTO defines where the technology needs to go, a VP of Engineering is responsible for getting the team there: managing delivery, running engineering processes, building the team, and making sure the organization ships reliably.
For companies that aren't ready for a full-time VP or whose CTO is stretched thin across both strategy and operations, a fractional arrangement gives you senior operational leadership exactly when you need it.
VP of Engineering vs CTO
These are distinct roles with different focuses. Understanding the difference helps clarify what your organization actually needs.
VP of Engineering
Operational focus: makes the team effective
- Delivery execution and sprint velocity
- Team management and 1-on-1s
- Engineering processes and rituals
- Hiring, onboarding, and performance
- Cross-team coordination and unblocking
- Incident response and reliability
CTO
Strategic focus: defines where technology goes
- Technical vision and long-term direction
- Architecture decisions and standards
- Technology strategy and innovation
- Board and investor communication
- Product and business alignment
- Build vs. buy decisions
At many startups, the CTO handles both. As the team scales, the operational demands of the VP role crowd out the strategic work, which is exactly when a fractional VP of Engineering becomes valuable.
When You Need a Fractional VP of Engineering
Your team is growing fast and processes are breaking
What worked for a team of five starts falling apart at twenty. Missed deadlines, unclear ownership, and mounting technical debt signal you've outgrown your current processes. A fractional VP of Engineering puts the structures in place before growth becomes chaos.
Delivery velocity is unpredictable
When engineering estimates are consistently wrong and sprint commitments slip, the root cause is usually process, not people. I diagnose the bottlenecks, establish reliable planning cadences, and build the engineering rituals that restore predictability.
Your CTO is stretched between strategy and operations
A CTO focused on product vision and investor relations shouldn't be running stand-ups and managing sprint boards. Bringing in a fractional VP of Engineering frees your CTO to operate at the level where they create the most value.
You're preparing for a funding round
Investors scrutinize engineering maturity: delivery track record, incident response, documentation, and team structure. I prepare the engineering organization to pass technical due diligence and demonstrate operational readiness.
You need to establish core engineering processes
Sprint planning, code review standards, CI/CD pipelines, on-call rotations, incident post-mortems. These aren't bureaucracy, they're the foundation of a reliable engineering org. I implement the right processes for your stage without over-engineering.
You're scaling hiring and onboarding
Hiring the wrong engineers is expensive. So is losing good ones to a poor onboarding experience. I build structured interview processes, technical assessments, and onboarding programs that attract strong candidates and set them up to contribute quickly.
My Approach
Every engagement follows the same four-phase structure, adapted to your specific stage, team size, and most urgent problems.
Assess
I start with a structured assessment of your current engineering org: team structure, delivery metrics, process gaps, technical debt, and culture. Within the first two weeks, you get a clear picture of where the friction is and what to fix first.
Optimize
We address the highest-impact bottlenecks first, whether that's fixing sprint planning, unblocking a stuck hiring pipeline, or establishing code review standards. Quick wins build trust and create momentum for deeper structural changes.
Scale
With the foundations stable, we focus on scaling: growing headcount deliberately, building team leads into managers, distributing ownership, and making your engineering org resilient enough to execute without constant oversight.
Sustain
The goal is always to make myself unnecessary. I document what we've built, develop your internal leaders, and hand off a self-sustaining engineering organization, whether you're bringing on a full-time VP or promoting from within.
Engagement Models
Flexible arrangements to fit your company's needs, stage, and budget.
Part-Time Embedded
Two to three days per week working directly with your team. Ideal for companies that need consistent operational leadership but aren't ready for a full-time hire. I attend standups, run 1-on-1s, and own delivery like an in-house VP.
Best for: Teams of 8–25 engineers needing ongoing leadership
Sprint-Based Project
Focused six to twelve week engagement to solve a specific problem: a broken hiring process, a delivery crisis, an upcoming audit, or a team restructure. Defined scope, defined outcomes.
Best for: Specific high-priority initiatives with a clear end state
Advisory & Oversight
Weekly strategy sessions and async availability to coach your engineering lead or CTO on operational challenges. Light-touch engagement that adds an experienced sounding board without full embedding.
Best for: Strong internal leads who need senior guidance and accountability
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about fractional VP of Engineering engagements.
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.
Related Services
Fractional CTO
Strategic technical leadership: defining architecture, technology direction, and aligning engineering with business goals.
Engineering Team Scaling
Expert guidance on scaling from 10 to 100+ engineers: org design, hiring, culture preservation, and operational frameworks.
Engineering Consulting
Project-based consulting on engineering leadership, system architecture, technical strategy, and team performance.
Ready for Operational Engineering Leadership?
If your engineering team is growing faster than your processes, or your CTO is too stretched to run operations effectively, let's talk. I'll help you assess where the friction is and build the structure your team needs to execute reliably.