Your fractional
principal engineer.
Senior-led. AI-augmented.
Architecture leadership without the $250K+ headcount line. Senior expertise, parallel AI-augmented delivery, direct accountability — at a fraction of the cost of a full-time hire.
Why traditional hiring doesn't work at your stage
Senior architect oversight.
AI-augmented delivery.
Team velocity at fractional cost.
The fractional model works when the work itself is done differently. Research, scaffolding, documentation, and boilerplate that used to consume senior hours now run in parallel — freeing capacity for the architectural decisions and production-critical work that actually require 20 years of experience.
You get a single senior engineer who scopes the work, builds it, and owns it through handoff. Not a project manager with a bench of juniors. Not a staff aug contractor who disappears when the ticket closes. One person accountable for the architecture, the delivery, and the outcome.
Architectural ownership
Nick designs it, builds the critical path, and owns it through handoff. Architecture reviews, security decisions, and production changes stay with a senior engineer — not delegated down.
AI-augmented delivery
Parallel work streams handle boilerplate, documentation, and iteration cycles — compressing timelines without cutting corners. You pay for the senior judgment, not the hours generating scaffolding.
No handoff tax
Every engagement ends with your team fully able to operate the thing we built — runbooks, documentation, and a handoff call. No dependency on us continuing to exist for your infrastructure to function.
See how the math works
Drag the slider to match your engineering needs. See what each option actually costs.
Pick the level that fits your needs
All tiers include direct access to Nick — no account manager, no escalation queue, no junior doing the work.
Fractional Architect Retainer
~20 hours/month
Architecture reviews, async Q&A, and a monthly strategy call. For teams that have engineers but need a senior voice on design decisions.
Full tier details →AI Dev Sprint
~40 hours/month
Active implementation with weekly standups. AI-augmented delivery compresses sprint timelines. Nick owns the architecture and production-critical code.
Book a discovery callEmbedded Senior Engineer
~80 hours/month
Full sprint participation — planning, implementation, reviews, and retrospectives. A senior engineer on your team without the headcount.
Full tier details →Built for people who need results, not reassurance
Client quote coming soon. Early engagements are underway — we'll post results here once we have permission to share.
Have a project that went well with Cold Smoke? Drop us a note — we'd love to feature your story here.
Not sure what you need?
Book a 30-minute discovery call. We'll look at your stack, your team, and what you're trying to ship — and tell you exactly which engagement makes sense, or whether none of them do.
No sales pitch. No commitment required. If we're not the right fit, we'll tell you.