Fractional CTO | 80+ Engagements
Build a Scalable Tech Strategy Without a Full-Time CTO
Strategic technology leadership, cloud architecture, and secure development. Typical timeline: 3-6 months to strategic roadmap and tech stack optimization--without the cost of a full-time CTO.
Next available: 7-10 business days | 30-minute technical discussion | No obligation
What is a Fractional CTO?
A fractional CTO is a senior technology leader providing CTO-level expertise on a part-time basis (typically 10-20 hours per week). Unlike full-time CTOs, fractional CTOs serve multiple clients, bringing cross-industry experience and immediate availability without long-term employment commitment. Responsibilities span strategic technology leadership (roadmap development, architecture design, vendor evaluation), hands-on implementation (DevOps, cloud architecture, security compliance), and team leadership (hiring, mentoring, process improvement). Fractional CTO model works best for startups and scale-ups (10-100 employees) needing strategic technology leadership but not yet ready for full-time executive hire.
Who This Applies To
Startups (seed to Series B), scale-ups, companies with technical complexity exceeding founder capability
Timeline
Engagements typically 12-24 months until company scales to justify full-time CTO
Investment Range
Scoped to your needs (10-20 hours weekly); a fraction of full-time CTO cost
Strategic Technology Leadership for Your Business
At Pilotcore, we provide expert technology leadership to help you scale efficiently, build secure infrastructure, and accelerate growth. Our Fractional CTO services bring you:
- Technology Strategy & Roadmap Development
- Align technology decisions with business growth through strategic planning and technical roadmaps. We help you make informed infrastructure choices, evaluate new technologies, and build scalable systems that support rapid expansion.
- Cloud Architecture & Infrastructure Leadership
- Design and optimize secure, scalable cloud environments with proven architectural patterns and best practices. We guide migrations, implement infrastructure-as-code, and ensure your systems can handle growth while maintaining security and compliance.
- Development Process & DevSecOps Implementation
- Build efficient, secure development workflows that accelerate delivery without compromising quality. From CI/CD pipeline design to automated security testing, we help your engineering teams ship faster and more reliably.
- Technical Leadership & Team Guidance
- Provide executive-level technical guidance for strategic decisions, team organisation, and engineering culture. Our fractional CTO service gives you senior technology leadership to navigate complex challenges and scale your technical capabilities.
Technology Leadership Aligned with Business Growth
Embrace a strategic approach to technology transformation.
Scaling your technology isn't just about adding infrastructure--it's about building systems that enable growth, reduce risk, and create competitive advantages. At Pilotcore, we provide the strategic technology leadership to navigate complex technical decisions with confidence.
- Strategic Technology Leadership
- With deep technical expertise and business acumen, we align technology decisions with your growth objectives, ensuring scalable architecture, security compliance, and long-term success.
- Tailored Technical Solutions
- We work closely with you to assess your current systems, identify bottlenecks, and implement technology strategies that fit your unique business needs and growth trajectory.
- Clear Communication & Guidance
- Technology decisions don't have to be overwhelming. We provide clear technical communication, transparent roadmaps, and ongoing guidance so you can make informed strategic decisions with confidence.
From our consulting clients
The cloud migration was a success and did not impact production operations. Infrastructure is now managed via code, and the internal development team was empowered to extend and add to the code base.
Our staging environment was set up in its entirety in AWS, including ECS, CloudFront, load balancing, Fargate, cron jobs, etc. Our app was 100% functional in the new infrastructure.
The project was delivered on time, and the agreed-upon scope was implemented fully.
The attention to detail and commitment to the process is admirable.
Workflow has been great. We generally hold a few meetings as needed and communicate via Slack otherwise.
All of our VMs and databases have been deployed without issue. The structured setup has been very robust.
The level of competence was obvious after just a single meeting.
Their understanding and experience with the AWS suite of products and solutions were impressive.
Pilotcore made a number of suggestions about architecture which greatly improved security and redundancy.
Nelson was awesome to work with. He came in and became a great partner to our lead engineer, helped architect a sustainable solution, and then handed over everything smoothly. Great communicator and his senior experience helps get things done right the first time.
Dedication and willingness to go the extra mile even when challenges came up on our end.
Nelson did a great job at figuring out numerous things specific to our setup, resolving unforeseen problems as they arose. He provided further guidance and advice on things outside of the original scope as well.
Nelson quickly understood our requirements and made it extremely easy to get started with the project. He delivered the project on time and with excellent documentation.
A project manager was assigned to the project and put in charge of monitoring deliverables and communication. Pilotcore always delivered on time on the items assigned to them and was always responsive to inquiries and requests.
The cloud migration was a success and did not impact production operations. Infrastructure is now managed via code, and the internal development team was empowered to extend and add to the code base.
Our staging environment was set up in its entirety in AWS, including ECS, CloudFront, load balancing, Fargate, cron jobs, etc. Our app was 100% functional in the new infrastructure.
The project was delivered on time, and the agreed-upon scope was implemented fully.
The attention to detail and commitment to the process is admirable.
Workflow has been great. We generally hold a few meetings as needed and communicate via Slack otherwise.
All of our VMs and databases have been deployed without issue. The structured setup has been very robust.
The level of competence was obvious after just a single meeting.
Their understanding and experience with the AWS suite of products and solutions were impressive.
Pilotcore made a number of suggestions about architecture which greatly improved security and redundancy.
Nelson was awesome to work with. He came in and became a great partner to our lead engineer, helped architect a sustainable solution, and then handed over everything smoothly. Great communicator and his senior experience helps get things done right the first time.
Dedication and willingness to go the extra mile even when challenges came up on our end.
Nelson did a great job at figuring out numerous things specific to our setup, resolving unforeseen problems as they arose. He provided further guidance and advice on things outside of the original scope as well.
Nelson quickly understood our requirements and made it extremely easy to get started with the project. He delivered the project on time and with excellent documentation.
A project manager was assigned to the project and put in charge of monitoring deliverables and communication. Pilotcore always delivered on time on the items assigned to them and was always responsive to inquiries and requests.
The cloud migration was a success and did not impact production operations. Infrastructure is now managed via code, and the internal development team was empowered to extend and add to the code base.
Our staging environment was set up in its entirety in AWS, including ECS, CloudFront, load balancing, Fargate, cron jobs, etc. Our app was 100% functional in the new infrastructure.
The project was delivered on time, and the agreed-upon scope was implemented fully.
The attention to detail and commitment to the process is admirable.
Workflow has been great. We generally hold a few meetings as needed and communicate via Slack otherwise.
All of our VMs and databases have been deployed without issue. The structured setup has been very robust.
The level of competence was obvious after just a single meeting.
Their understanding and experience with the AWS suite of products and solutions were impressive.
Pilotcore made a number of suggestions about architecture which greatly improved security and redundancy.
Nelson was awesome to work with. He came in and became a great partner to our lead engineer, helped architect a sustainable solution, and then handed over everything smoothly. Great communicator and his senior experience helps get things done right the first time.
Dedication and willingness to go the extra mile even when challenges came up on our end.
Nelson did a great job at figuring out numerous things specific to our setup, resolving unforeseen problems as they arose. He provided further guidance and advice on things outside of the original scope as well.
Nelson quickly understood our requirements and made it extremely easy to get started with the project. He delivered the project on time and with excellent documentation.
A project manager was assigned to the project and put in charge of monitoring deliverables and communication. Pilotcore always delivered on time on the items assigned to them and was always responsive to inquiries and requests.
Timeline & Investment
Fractional CTO Engagement Roadmap
Share this with founders, board members, and engineering leads so everyone has the same view of effort, cost, and outcomes.
Weeks 1-4
Assess & Align
- • Technology + product discovery workshops.
- • Org design, hiring, and process audit.
- • Security/compliance + cost baseline.
- • 90-day roadmap + executive briefing.
Investment: Scoped to your needs
Months 2-4
Execute & Enable
- • Platform / DevSecOps playbooks implemented.
- • Hiring pipeline + leadership coaching.
- • Budget + KPI dashboard for exec/board.
- • Vendor and architecture decisions finalized.
Investment: Monthly retainer
Months 5+
Scale & Transition
- • Ongoing exec-level steering + QBRs.
- • Continuous improvement of KPIs + cost.
- • Transition plan for internal/full-time CTO.
- • Flexible ramp-down when goals are met.
Investment: Flexible retainer
Stakeholder Alignment
What Every Stakeholder Needs to Know
Fractional leadership affects executives, product, and investors. Here is how each role can evaluate the engagement on its own terms.
CEO / Board
Strategic clarity without a full-time hire
- • Technology roadmap tied to revenue, funding, and hiring plans.
- • Weekly exec updates + board-ready briefs without retaining a full-time CTO.
- • Milestone billing so you can pause/scale as company needs change.
- • Immediate leadership coverage while recruiting a permanent CTO.
Product / Engineering
Hands-on leadership, zero disruption
- • Architecture pairing, hiring support, and sprint rituals embedded in your workflow.
- • Platform & DevSecOps playbooks that cut toil and unblock delivery.
- • Enablement + documentation so teams retain ownership after we roll off.
- • Balance of strategic guardrails and tactical execution.
Investors / Customers
Credibility with enterprise buyers
- • Security/compliance narratives for SOC 2, HIPAA, CMMC deals.
- • Technical due diligence prep for fundraising and M&A.
- • Reliability + cost metrics that de-risk growth and renewals.
- • Stakeholder-ready documentation, KPIs, and heatmaps.
Ready to Scale Your Technology Strategy?
Discuss your technology leadership needs with our fractional CTO experts and discover how we can accelerate your growth.