Fractional CTO & Chief Data Officer
Twenty years building production systems, leading engineering teams, and turning raw data into organizational capability. I help growing companies make sound technology and data decisions — without the overhead of a full-time executive hire.
What I Do
Fractional CTO — Technology leadership for companies that need senior technical strategy. I help organizations make infrastructure decisions, hire their first engineers, evaluate build-vs-buy tradeoffs, and ship reliable software. My teams have built platforms serving tens of thousands of users and processing pipelines handling national-scale datasets.
Fractional Chief Data Officer — Data strategy and governance for organizations building their first data function or modernizing legacy analytics. I design data architectures, build governance frameworks, and create the analytical systems that let companies actually use what they collect.
How Engagements Work
- Assessment — I audit your current technical or data landscape, identify gaps, and deliver a roadmap with prioritized recommendations.
- Embedded leadership — I integrate with your team for a defined period (typically 3–6 months), leading architecture decisions, hiring, and delivery.
- Ongoing advisory — After the initial engagement, I remain available for strategic counsel, architecture review, and vendor evaluation.
Key Achievements
- Built cloud-based data warehouse processing billions of records with 99.94% accuracy across 12 states
- Designed ETL pipelines using PySpark, dbt, Databricks, and PostgreSQL/PostGIS at national scale
- Built a redistricting platform serving 12,847 analysts across 89 organizations
- Discovered systematic race coding errors in national voter databases — methodology validated at the highest levels of government
- Delivered $4.9M in additional revenue through continuous testing and optimization
- Data analysis cited in Supreme Court case proceedings
Technical Depth
Languages & Frameworks: Python (Django, PySpark, SciKit, TensorFlow), Scala, R, SQL/PostGIS, JavaScript
Data Infrastructure: Spark, PostgreSQL/PostGIS, dbt, Snowflake, Databricks, MongoDB, Neo4j
Cloud & DevOps: AWS, GCP, Kubernetes, Docker, Terraform, CI/CD pipelines
Geospatial: ESRI ArcGIS, QGIS, PostGIS, GeoServer, GeoNode, custom tile servers
ML & AI: Classification, clustering, geospatial ML, LLM/AI systems, predictive modeling
Best Fit
- Series A–C companies that have outgrown their initial technical decisions
- Organizations with data they collect but can’t yet use strategically
- Teams that need a technical leader who can talk to the board and write production code
- Nonprofits and government agencies modernizing legacy data systems
How I Work
I’ve done a lot of work over the years, some of which has been purely mercenary, some of which has been more in line with my values, and, frankly, some that has really tested what I believe in. All of these have been learning experiences; I can genuinely say that no matter how unpleasant something has been at the time, I have survived it and learned a very valuable lesson afterwards.
A few principles I hold:
- Pay people fairly, on time, and never let there be surprises about money. If you can’t afford to pay for the job on time, you can’t afford the job.
- The right person for the job is not someone who has the skills you want, but someone who thinks in innovative and intriguing ways. Particular skills can be taught, but sharpness of mind cannot.
- A truly diverse workplace is one in which everyone’s needs are met to allow for open communication without fear of backlash.
- When needs are in conflict, there is no simple formula to determine an outcome. Communication, negotiation and facilitation are tactics we can use to find outcomes that can work for everyone.
I’d love to work with you. Be in touch!