Fractional CAIO / CTO
Embedded leadership, one to two days a week. Roadmap, architecture, hiring, vendors, and board communication. Yours until you don't need it.
Companies of 10 to 200 people who have outgrown ad-hoc technology decisions but do not yet need, or cannot yet justify, a full-time CTO at $250K+ or a Chief AI Officer. SaaS, professional services, fintech, and logistics companies where technology is a competitive lever.
AI in production is a power tool, not a toy: respect it and it does real work for you. My job is making sure your team uses it like a chainsaw, not a toothpick: real guardrails, real judgment, no accidents.
- 01
Discovery call
Your business, team, and goals. Clarity on fit, no fluff.
- 02
Engagement design
Scope, cadence, and success metrics defined together, in writing.
- 03
Embedded leadership
Standups, roadmap, architecture, vendors. I join the team, not a call once a month.
- 04
Measure and evolve
Monthly retros with outcomes tracked against goals. Board and investor updates on request.
- AI strategy and roadmap: where AI creates real leverage, mapped to business goals, then built, not just recommended.
- Engineering leadership: roadmap ownership, sprint discipline, hiring, and accountability with your existing team.
- Architecture and vendor judgment: build-vs-buy, cloud, platform, and AI tooling decisions made by a hands-on architect.
- LLM and automation implementation: from pilots to production, with your team trained along the way.
- Board and investor communication: technology translated into business impact.
This is the destination most coaching and audit relationships convert into: the fractional seat that replaces guessing with ownership. A company with a clear need can start here after a discovery call. The Purple case study is what this looks like over four years: $2M+ in annual savings, an e-commerce re-platform, and six engineering teams led through SOC audits.
Contact me for pricing. Embedded one to two days a week, no long-term contract. Scale up or down as the work changes.
Contact me for pricing- What is the difference between a fractional CAIO and a fractional CTO?
- The CTO seat owns all of technology: architecture, the engineering team, vendors, security, delivery. The Chief AI Officer seat owns where AI creates leverage and how it gets into production safely. In a company of 10 to 200 people those are usually the same chair, so I sit in both.
- How is this different from hiring a consultant?
- A consultant recommends. I own the roadmap and the delivery: standups, sprint discipline, hiring, and the vendor calls, with your existing team. I am accountable for outcomes, not for a deck.
- How many days a week?
- One or two, set during engagement design and adjusted as the work changes. Most companies start at one day and add a second around a build or a hire.
- Do we have to start with coaching or an audit?
- No. Most fractional engagements grow out of coaching or an audit because the trust is already built, but a company with a clear need can start here after a discovery call.
- Is there a minimum term?
- No long-term contract. Engagements run month to month, with a monthly retro where we decide together whether to continue, change cadence, or hand off to a full-time hire.
A fractional CTO in Utah, in the room when it matters
I'm based in Layton, in Davis County, and I work in person along the Wasatch Front: Ogden, Salt Lake City, Lehi, Provo, and everything between. Standups over video, architecture reviews at your whiteboard. Companies outside Utah get the same cadence over video.
Start with a conversation
No commitment, no pressure. A direct discussion about your situation and whether JWAL fits. If we're not the answer, you'll leave with something useful anyway.
Or reach out directly: jake.k@jwal.ai