Fractional Principal Engineer & Architecture Advisory
Senior technical leadership, RFC architecture reviews, and engineering guidance on retainer.
Service Scope & Diagnostic Focus
Direct access to an experienced Principal Software Engineer for architecture RFC evaluations, high-stakes technology decisions, code review mentorship, and hiring candidate assessments.
Who This Engagement Is For
Growing software teams needing senior architectural oversight, rigorous PR reviews, and technical sanity-checks without a full-time executive hire.
Consultant Profile
Founding Principal Consultant (Direct)
Monthly Retainer: £3,800 + VAT (20 hrs/mo) or £6,800 + VAT (40 hrs/mo)
Delivery: Quarterly rolling advisory retainer (3-month minimum commitment) • Asynchronous code/RFC reviews, Slack/Teams channel integration, and scheduled video sessions
Key Engagement Deliverables
- Weekly or bi-weekly Architecture Decision Record (ADR) and RFC reviews
- Escalation hotline for knotty production architecture and algorithmic challenges
- Direct mentorship and code review guidance for senior developers
- Quarterly technical debt and roadmap health assessments
Scope Boundaries & Logistics
- Guaranteed response times (within 24 business hours) on technical reviews
- Up to 20 or 40 dedicated advisory hours per month
- Attendance in key architectural sprint retrospectives
- Direct line management, HR management, or performance appraisals
- Out-of-scope midnight on-call incident paging
Structured Engagement Cadence
Onboarding & Stack Deep-Dive
Reviewing existing ADRs, tech stack constraints, and team development conventions.
Ongoing RFC & PR Scrutiny
Reviewing critical architectural proposals, API schemas, and high-complexity pull requests.
Quarterly Strategic Review
Evaluating technical debt burndown and recalibrating the technical roadmap.
Preparation & Client Requirements
Required Inputs: Repository access, internal RFC repository access, and designated primary point of contact
Security & Non-Disclosure: Limited to 3 active advisory retainers concurrently to guarantee direct principal attention.
Estimated Turnaround: Quarterly rolling advisory retainer (3-month minimum commitment) with structured milestone checkpoints.