1 OF 2 SLOTS OPEN · AUGUST

AI, put to work. Software, shipped.

Your fractional CTO or Chief AI Officer, embedded alongside the people who already know your business. Finding where AI earns its place, taking builds from idea and architecture through to shipped product, and straight answers on what to buy and what to skip.

Learn more Book a 15-min call

UK based
On the ground in days
Month to month
You own everything I build

YOUR WEEK

embedded

Thu

Mon

Tue

Wed

Thu

Fri

Architecture review

9:30 now merged

Team session

11:00 now done

Ship checkout fix

2:00 now shipped

Agent rollout plan

4:00 now drafted

YOUR WEEK

embedded

Wed

Mon

Tue

Wed

Thu

Fri

AI opportunity map

9:00 now done

Vendor demo, sat in

10:30 now assessed

Eval harness build

1:00 now running

Team training prep

4:30 now ready

YOUR WEEK

embedded

Fri

Mon

Tue

Wed

Thu

Fri

PR review sweep

9:00 now merged

Hiring loop, tech round

11:00 now done

Pair: agent workflow

2:00 now shipped

Cost review

4:00 now sent

YOUR WEEK

embedded

Tue

Mon

Tue

Wed

Thu

Fri

Roadmap session

9:30 now done

Claude Code rollout

11:00 now live

Auth service refactor

1:30 now merged

Architecture notes

4:30 now sent

YOUR WEEK

embedded

Thu

Mon

Tue

Wed

Thu

Fri

Incident postmortem

9:00 now done

Prompt review clinic

11:30 now done

Ship RAG search

2:00 now shipped

Eval results write-up

4:30 now sent

YOUR WEEK

embedded

Wed

Mon

Tue

Wed

Thu

Fri

Build-vs-buy memo

9:30 now sent

Team session: MCP tools

11:00 now done

CI pipeline wiring

1:30 now green

Security review

4:00 now booked

YOUR WEEK

embedded

Thu

Mon

Tue

Wed

Thu

Fri

Code review sweep

9:00 now merged

Interview debrief

10:30 now done

Reporting automation

1:00 now shipped

Board pack notes

4:30 now drafted

YOUR WEEK

embedded

Fri

Mon

Tue

Wed

Thu

Fri

Data pipeline review

9:30 now done

Agents 101 workshop

11:00 now done

Ship internal tool

2:00 now shipped

Metrics readout

4:30 now sent

YOUR WEEK

embedded

Wed

Mon

Tue

Wed

Thu

Fri

Decision record

9:00 now written

Vendor shortlist call

11:30 now done

Postgres migration

1:30 now done

Launch checklist

4:00 now ready

YOUR WEEK

embedded

Tue

Mon

Tue

Wed

Thu

Fri

Launch retro

9:30 now done

Model selection bench

11:00 now picked

Ship v2 endpoints

2:00 now shipped

Quarter plan

4:30 now drafted

AI + EXPERIENCE

AI raises output. Experience raises the ceiling.

Vibe-coding ships fast, but it's not without its challenges. Without architecture, test coverage, security thinking, or performance discipline, AI-generated code is at greater risk of technical debt. I use the same tools, but I know what good looks like before the prompt is written. Same goes for advice: I build with these tools every day, so I can tell you which vendors and ideas are real.

VIBE-CODING

Works on the happy path
No tests, no review
Security as an afterthought
No perf budget
"It compiles!"

SENIOR + AI

Production-grade by default
Tested, reviewed, deployable
Security baked in from day one
Performance measured, not assumed
"It scales."

Free AI assessment AI advisory

A short form, then a personal read on where AI fits. If it isn't the answer for you, I'll say so.

JUST SOME OF THE TECHNOLOGIES WE WORK WITH

TypeScript
Python
React
Next.js
Postgres
Rust

SERVICES

From first idea to shipped product.

Architecture, prototypes and production builds, plus the AI that runs inside them.

AI features

Chatbots, RAG, autonomous agents, vision, speech, copilots.

Anthropic OpenAI LangChain pgvector

Web apps & sites

Marketing sites, dashboards, internal tools, full SaaS products.

React Next.js TypeScript Tailwind

Backend & APIs

REST + GraphQL APIs, auth, databases, queues, webhooks.

Node Python Postgres FastAPI

Mobile apps

iOS + Android, native or cross-platform, App Store deploys.

React Native Expo Swift Kotlin

E-commerce

Storefronts, checkout, subscriptions, ops integrations.

Shopify Stripe Medusa

Automations

Workflows, scrapers, integrations, scheduled jobs, webhooks.

Playwright n8n Airflow

DevOps & cloud

CI/CD, Terraform, Docker, observability, cost optimisation.

AWS Vercel Docker Terraform

+ everything else

Bug fixes, refactors, migrations, code reviews, security hardening, perf optimisation.

Talk to Steve →

PROCESS

Call, embed, build, ship.

Book a call.

Fifteen minutes with Steve. What you need, and which level of involvement fits it.

Embed.

In your repo, your tools, your conversations from week one. Hands-on or advisory, as the week needs.

Build.

Code, architecture, tooling, team training. Whatever moves you furthest that week.

Ship.

Reviewed, tested work in production, week after week. Month-to-month for as long as it's useful.

Book a 15-min call

WHO IT'S FOR

Built for founders, CTOs, agencies, and leadership teams.

If your situation isn't here, the call still helps, and I can try to point you in the right direction.

FOUNDERS · NO CTO YET

You need senior judgement in the room.

Shipping fast on a startup budget but worried about architecture, security, and what happens when the code base scales. You don't want to give up equity on a CTO hire yet.

CTO-level judgement in the room.

CTOS · STRETCHED THIN

Your team is great. They're also fully booked.

A side-quest project, a migration, a feature you've put off for two quarters. You don't want to derail the team or fight a hiring cycle for short-term capacity.

Senior help for a defined stretch. In, shipped, out.

AGENCIES · HARD PROBLEMS

The work your team can't quite take on alone.

Stripe integrations, AI features, performance work, anything outside your usual lane. You need a senior partner you can quietly bring in without losing the client relationship.

White-label senior backup. NDA-friendly. Quietly excellent.

LEADERSHIP · NO TECH TEAM

You know AI matters. Nobody owns it yet.

Colleagues are experimenting unguided, consultants are pitching, and 'we should be using AI' comes up in every partner meeting. You need someone technical on your side of the table.

Fractional AI lead. Vendor-proof advice.

THE COMPARISON

More personal than an agency. More flexible than hiring.

HIRE A SENIOR

£80k+ /yr

+ NI, pension, equipment
3–6 months to hire
12-month commitment

HIRE A CTO

£150k+ /yr

+ equity stake
6–12 months to hire
Long-term commitment

ENGAGE AN AGENCY

£8k+ /mo

Account-managed delivery
Mixed seniority team
SOW per change

SHIPSMITH

£4,500 /mo

Fractional CTO / CAIO
Embedded weekly
Always month-to-month

PRICING

One plan, two sizes.

Your fractional CTO or Chief AI Officer, embedded in your business. Month-to-month.

ADVISORY

£4,500 /mo

Your senior technical voice, week in, week out.

A weekly working session with your team
Architecture and code review
Vendor and build-vs-buy judgement
Direct line to Steve
Always month-to-month

Talk to Steve

EMBEDDED

£8,500 /mo

In your team's weekly flow. Building, reviewing, steering.

In your repo and your conversations, every week
Hands-on build: code, tooling, training
Weekly architecture call
Direct line to Steve
Always month-to-month

Talk to Steve

FAQ

Common questions.

If yours isn't here, ask on the call. Steve picks up.

How much of your time do we get?

Advisory runs around a day a week of focused work; embedded around two. We agree what matters each month, and I make sure it moves.

We're not a software company. Can you still help?

Yes. Plenty of my work is helping non-technical teams put AI to use: mapping where it helps, rolling out tools, training colleagues, and sitting on your side of the table when vendors pitch. You bring the business, I bring the judgement.

What if my stack is unusual?

Tell me on the call. If the AI has trained on it and the docs are decent, I can probably ship in it.

What's the commitment?

A month at a time. Stay for as long as it's useful.

Who owns the code you ship?

You do. All code lives in your repo under your license. I don't retain ownership, claim attribution, or reuse client work elsewhere.

Do you sign NDAs?

Always. Standard NDA signed before any access to your code or product. Custom terms welcome if your legal team has specifics.

What's outside your scope?

Design from scratch (I work with your designs), QA-only engagements, and production on-call rotations. I ship features and architecture.

How does billing work?

Monthly upfront, by card or invoice. Move between advisory and embedded whenever you like; changes kick in at the next cycle.

1 OF 2 SLOTS OPEN · AUGUST

Ready to ship?

One or two fractional slots at a time, and engagements start within days of a call. Fifteen minutes tells you if one fits.

Book a 15-min call Free AI assessment