Fractional VP of Engineering (Fractional CTO) | Part-Time Engineering Leadership

01fractional_vs_interim

Fractional VP vs interim Head of Engineering.

Interim HoE

2–3 d/wk

embedded · monthly

Operational leadership, embedded with team
Runs hiring, delivery, daily operations
Often a 3–6 month fixed term, for a crisis or transition

Fractional VP

1–2 d/wk

strategic · monthly

Strategic + operational, alongside your leader
Sets direction, hires leadership, builds systems
Usually 12+ months, office hours + async

Full-time VP

5 d/wk

permanent + equity

Owns the entire engineering function
Full executive presence, reports to CEO
Permanent or 2+ year commitment

The "plus one" for a leadership team that already has a strong engineering leader.

02ideal_situation

Who this is for.

/01

Series A/B startups.

8–20 engineers and growth ahead. Needs hiring strategy and structure.

/02

Scale-ups with a stretched leader.

Good leader, no time to think 6 months out.

/03

Founder-engineers in their first leadership role.

Technically strong, first time leading people.

If your leader needs a partner, that's fractional. If the seat is empty, that's interim.

03what_happens

What a fractional VP actually does.

strategy: What breaks at 30 engineers? At 50?
hiring: Interviews, offers and finalist calls for senior hires.
manager_development: First-time managers, coached.
process: Delivery audit, without adding bureaucracy.
technical_input: Architecture pushback. Your CTO decides.
team_health: Skip-level conversations, fed back to you and your leader.
unblocking: When something stalls, I find out why and unblock it.

04typical_week

What a typical week looks like.

monday

First dedicated day

All-hands, 1-on-1s, an interview, design review.

tue-thu

Async

On Slack and email, quick turnarounds.

friday

Second dedicated day

Retro, skip-levels, pipeline check.

biweekly

Strategy session

With CEO + engineering leader.

05real_example

What a first year can look like.

Take a fintech after Series A, 12 engineers, a strong leader who is always firefighting:

month_1

Assess

We name the gaps and draft a 12-month plan.

months_2-3

Execute

Onboarding fixed, first manager coached.

months_4-6

Scale

Team grows 12 to 16. We plan for what breaks at 25.

months_7-12

Compound

Team at 20, two managers, a calmer leader.

06cost_and_terms

Engagement terms.

For EU product companies and tech teams of 5–50 engineers.

Advisory

1–2 d/wk

monthly · a.k.a. fractional VP

2 dedicated days/week (your choice of days)
Async availability Tue–Thu on Slack/email
Hiring strategy + interview support
Leadership coaching + quarterly strategy sessions

6-month minimum, then month-to-month with 30 days notice. Remote, 1–2 office visits per month.

07questions

Common questions.

What if we need more days?

We can go to 2–3 days/week. 1–2 focused days beat 4 scattered ones.

Can you help with technical decisions?

Yes. MSc CS and 16 years in engineering. But your CTO makes the calls; I help them think through architecture, tech debt, and scalability.

What if you find a critical problem?

I tell you straight: “your database won't scale past 50K users at this query rate.”

Can you help us hire a full-time VP later?

Yes. Interviews, candidate feedback, and a handover when they start.

What if it's not working?

Month-to-month after the first 6 months, 30 days notice, no hard feelings.

Let's talk about your next phase.

20 minutes. Your team, your leader, what worries you in the next 12 months.

Get in touch josip.jurisic@rigid.hr