Currently accepting new engagements — 2 of 3 slots open

Senior technical leadership, without the full-time hire.

15+ years architecting systems and leading engineering teams for agencies, retailers, and startups. Available as a fractional CTO for senior technical judgment on demand — or to build your site outright on a custom CMS.

Book a free 30-min callSee web development
The Gap

You need senior technical judgment. You don't need a full-time seat filled yet.

Most small businesses and early-stage teams hit a point where architecture decisions, a stuck project, or an unvetted dev team start costing real money — long before the business can justify a full-time CTO hire. That's the gap a fractional engagement fills: senior-level thinking, applied exactly where it's needed, on a schedule that fits the business.

What I Do

Five ways to put an experienced technical lead on your team this week.

STRATEGY

Technical Strategy & Architecture Review

Evaluate your current stack and roadmap, flag risk, and set a direction the team can actually execute against.

AUDIT

Code & System Review

Audit code quality, security posture, and scalability before small problems become expensive ones.

HIRING

Engineering Hiring & Vendor Evaluation

Vet candidates and agencies with someone who's actually shipped and managed the work, not just read the resume.

TEAM

Team Leadership & Mentoring

Light-touch management and mentoring for an existing dev team that doesn't yet need a full-time manager.

CLOUD

Cloud & DevOps Guidance

AWS infrastructure, CI/CD pipelines, cost optimization, and reliability — set up right the first time.

WEB DEV

Custom Web Development

Need a site built, not just advised on? A custom Payload CMS + Next.js build, engineered and hosted on the DossX platform. See details →

Built on DossX

Need a site built, not just advised on? I'll build it.

Custom web development and CMS builds — engineered, not templated. Every build runs on and is hosted by the DossX platform: a Payload CMS backend paired with a React / Next.js frontend.

Payload CMSNext.jsReactTypeScriptPostgreSQLAWS / Vercel

What you get

  • A fully custom content model — no bending your business to fit a plugin's assumptions.
  • An editor-friendly admin your team can actually use, without touching code.
  • A fast, SEO-ready Next.js frontend, built for Core Web Vitals from day one.
  • Multi-tenant / multi-site support when one codebase needs to serve several brands or clients.
  • Hosted and maintained on the DossX platform — infrastructure, updates, and monitoring handled for you, not another vendor to manage.
  • Post-launch feature requests and add-ons billed hourly, so the site keeps evolving without a full re-engagement.

Why custom over templated

Off-the-shelf CMS platforms optimize for the average use case. Once your content model, permissions, or integrations get specific, you're either fighting the plugin ecosystem or paying for workarounds. A Payload + Next.js build starts from your actual requirements — the same judgment call I'd make as your fractional CTO, just applied directly to the build.

Ongoing support and iteration after launch rolls naturally into a retainer engagement, so the site doesn't go stale the day it ships.

Start a build
Where I've Led

Real platforms. Real budgets. Real results.

The duties and skills behind 15+ years of shipping — what the work actually involved, not a job history.

0+Years leading engineering teams
0%Hosting costs cut through infrastructure work at TPI
0M+Vehicles scanned by APIs built at TPI
0Industries served — agency, retail, restaurant, and public sector
ARCHITECTURE

Technical Strategy & Platform Architecture

Own technical strategy and architecture for a large-scale, multi-tenant marketing platform serving national and multi-location brands. Lead a team shipping client-ready releases across React, TypeScript, and PHP.

Fractional CTO technical strategy & architecture consulting
INFRASTRUCTURE

Infrastructure Ownership & Cost Optimization

Sole owner of infrastructure, applications, and vendor relationships for a data-driven direct mail and print marketing company. Cut recurring costs and automated workflows across AWS and Microsoft 365.

AWS cloud infrastructure & DevOps consulting
DATA ENGINEERING

API & Data Platform Engineering

Led development of the RESTful APIs behind a tire and alignment diagnostics platform that has scanned more than 25 million vehicles — work that cut hosting costs 27%.

Custom API & data platform development
ECOMMERCE

eCommerce at Retail Scale

Built and optimized B2C eCommerce experiences on Salesforce Commerce Cloud at national retail scale.

Custom eCommerce development at scale
MODERNIZATION

Legacy Modernization & Public-Sector Delivery

Modernized legacy systems and shipped responsive platforms spanning a national restaurant chain and a federal agency.

Legacy system modernization services
AI & AUTOMATION

AI/ML Agentic Automation

Design and ship autonomous AI agents — LLM-orchestrated systems that plan, call tools, and execute multi-step workflows without hand-holding. From internal ops automation to production-grade agent pipelines that replace manual processes with software that actually finishes the job.

AI agent development & automation consulting

Want results like these on your team? Book a free call →

Also worked with brands including

How We Work Together

Three ways to engage, depending on what the business needs right now.

Ongoing

Retainer

HRS / WEEK5–10
RATE$2,000–$4,000/mo
BEST FORContinuous oversight

Standing technical advisory — architecture calls, code review, and a direct line for decisions as they come up.

Defined Scope

Project-Based

DURATIONFixed
RATEFixed price
BEST FORAudits, migrations, plans

A defined deliverable — architecture review, migration plan, or code audit — scoped and priced up front.

As Needed

Hourly

COMMITMENTNone
RATEOn request
BEST FOROne-off consults

A single technical question, a second opinion, or a one-time code review — no ongoing commitment.

Common Questions

What clients ask before booking a call.

What does a fractional CTO actually do?

Senior technical leadership on a part-time basis — architecture decisions, code and system reviews, engineering hiring, and team leadership — without the cost or commitment of a full-time executive hire.

How much does a fractional CTO cost?

Three ways to engage: an ongoing retainer ($2,000–$4,000/month for 5–10 hrs/week), a fixed-price project for audits, migrations, and technical plans, or hourly for one-off consults. Exact pricing depends on scope.

Do you build websites too, or just advise?

Both. Beyond advisory, I build custom web development projects outright — a Payload CMS backend paired with a React/Next.js frontend, hosted and maintained on the DossX platform.

Is this remote, or do you need to be based in Dallas?

Remote-friendly. I'm based in Dallas, TX, and work with clients across the U.S. — in person locally when it helps, remote everywhere else.

What size companies do you work with?

Primarily small businesses, startups, and teams that need senior technical judgment but aren't ready for — or don't need — a full-time CTO, from agencies to national retail brands.

How fast can you start?

Most engagements kick off within a week of the intro call, availability permitting. Book a free 30-minute call to check current openings.

Let's Talk Architecture

Free 30-minute call. No obligation.

Emailinfo@barondoss.com
Phone469-552-5398
LocationDallas, TX (Remote)
HoursMon–Fri, 9am–8pm ET