13+
Years shipping software
Consulting
Fractional security and engineering leadership, on demand.
I work with founders, VPs of Engineering, and CTOs building production AI systems, modernizing infrastructure, and establishing security posture. Engagements are hands-on, scoped around what you actually need, and run without overhead.
Available for fractional security & engineering leadership, AI product advisory, and selective consulting. Open to the right principal role.
100K+
Users on live AI products
$400M+
Fintech customer assets protected
40K+
Telematics devices streaming data
Engagement Types
Four ways to work together, scoped to your situation.
I co-founded a company and scaled its engineering team from one to fifteen-plus, then ran security and engineering as a director through SOC 2, multi-cloud, and 100K-user AI products. The engagements below are how teams rent that — the judgment of someone who has owned the function, not just advised on it.
Advisory Retainer
Ongoing technical guidance, on call when it matters.
Weekly or bi-weekly sessions covering architecture decisions, hiring, roadmap, and whatever is on fire that week. Best for founders and VPs Eng who need a trusted technical voice without a full-time hire.
Cadence: 4–8 hours/month, month-to-month
- Making consequential architecture or vendor decisions
- Scaling the engineering team and need a hiring bar
- Need a second opinion before committing to a technical direction
Embedded Engineering
Hands-on delivery inside your team for a fixed period.
I work alongside your engineers on a specific initiative — AI product build, cloud migration, security program — with the depth of a staff+ hire and the flexibility of a contractor. Full code, full reviews, full ownership of the outcome.
Cadence: 20–40 hrs/week, typically 6–16 weeks
- Need to ship something technically complex in a compressed timeline
- Onboarding a team to a new technology or architecture pattern
- Backfilling a departing staff or principal engineer
Security Leadership
Security and compliance ownership for AI companies, without the full-time hire.
The security function I built from zero to SOC 2 Type II as a director — SOC 2, HIPAA, and ISO 27001 from design through certification, security architecture, incident response readiness, and the posture that closes enterprise deals — run for your team at a fraction of a full-time hire.
Cadence: 5–10 hours/month minimum
- Enterprise prospects are asking for SOC 2 before signing
- Preparing for a Series A security review
- Security program built on good intentions rather than documented controls
Technical Assessment
One-time audit of your stack, team, or architecture.
A structured evaluation of your current technical situation — architecture, codebase, infrastructure, team structure — delivered as a written report with a prioritized action plan. Useful before a major investment, acquisition, or strategic pivot.
Cadence: Fixed scope, 1–2 weeks
- Technical due diligence ahead of an M&A or fundraise
- Need a baseline before a large refactor or replatform
- Evaluating a proposed architecture before committing headcount
How it works
From first call to scoped engagement in under a week.
Intro call
30 minutes, no prep required
Tell me what you're building, what's breaking, or what decision you're sitting on. I'll tell you honestly whether and how I can help. No pitch, no slides.
Written scope
Objectives, deliverables, time commitment
If the intro call points toward an engagement, I'll send a short scope doc within 48 hours. It covers what I'll do, what I won't do, how we'll measure success, and what it costs. No ambiguity, no surprises.
Engagement
Hands-on from day one
Retainers start with a structured onboarding session and a running async doc for context and decisions. Embedded work starts with a codebase triage and a shared milestone plan. You get real availability, not calendar roulette.
Common questions
Before you book the call.
What does a typical engagement look like?
Most start with a 30-minute intro call, then a short written scope doc covering objectives, deliverables, and time commitment. Advisory retainers run month-to-month with 30 days notice to wind down. Embedded work is milestone-scoped upfront.
What's your typical rate?
Advisory retainers start at $3,500/month for 4–6 hours. Embedded engineering is scoped at a weekly rate depending on commitment and duration. Security leadership (fractional CISO) starts at $2,500/month. All engagements are scoped before we start — no surprise overages.
Are you available right now?
I maintain a small number of active engagements at a time to ensure real availability. Book the intro call — if I'm fully committed, I'll say so directly and we can plan around it.
Do you work with early-stage companies that can't yet afford a full staff engineer?
Yes. Advisory retainers are specifically designed for this. Six hours of operator-level guidance per month on architecture, hiring decisions, and technical risk is often exactly what a seed-stage team needs before they can justify a full-time hire.
What's the best way to start?
Book the 30-minute intro call. Come with the specific problem you're trying to solve — not a job description, but the actual situation: what's breaking, what you're building, what's blocking you. We'll figure out from there whether and how I can help.
Ready to talk?
Tell me what you're building.
Whether you're staring down a hard technical decision, scaling pains, a security review blocking enterprise deals, or a production system that needs real attention — I'd love to hear about it. Thirty minutes, no agenda required.
Or reach me directly: jared@sublimecoding.com LinkedIn