Three ways to work together, with a starting price for each. The final figure is set in a written scope after the intro call, because a number without a scope is a guess.
What each engagement ships is on the services page. To start, go to contact .
Three ways to engage
Fractional monthly retainer
From $6,500 per month, about 10 hours a week
About 20 hours a week is $12,000 a month. Work beyond the agreed hours is billed at about 1.25 times the effective hourly rate.
Embedded time for a month at a time. The usual shape when the work is a sequence of workflows, not a single feature. The first month is agreed up front, then either side can stop at a month boundary.
Implementation in your repository and your environment
A weekly working session with the person who owns the workflow
Review against a real case before the month closes
Handover notes your team can run without me
Fixed-scope sprint
From $12,000 for the sprint
Most sprints land between $12,000 and $25,000, set in the written scope. An optional $3,000 paid scoping pilot is credited against the sprint if you continue.
One outcome, agreed before the work starts. A fit when you can describe the result tightly, such as one agent on one workflow or one model feature in the product you ship.
A written scope with an explicit list of what is out
The build, in your stack
One release into the environment your team uses
A handover of that outcome
Advisory hours
$225 per hour, four-hour minimum
Billed by the hour only for advisory. Build work is priced as a retainer or a sprint.
Technical AI strategy for founders and CTOs who need a decision before a build. Architecture, build versus buy, model and vendor choice, and what a later hire would need to know.
A working session on the decision in front of you
A short written recommendation
No production code
A clear next step: retainer, sprint, full-time hire, or stop
Questions about engagements
How does a fractional AI engineer compare with a full-time hire?
A full-time hire is a permanent cost and a search that can take months. A fractional engagement is scoped to the work in front of you, starts sooner, and ends with a handover. If the work turns out to be permanent, you will know what to hire for.
Which engagement should we pick?
A retainer when the work will continue month to month. A sprint when you can name one outcome. Advisory hours when you need a technical decision before anyone builds.
What is included in the monthly retainer?
Embedded time on one stream of work: an agent, an LLM feature, or a workflow automation. That includes implementation in your stack, review against a real case, and a handover your team can run.
When is a fixed sprint the better fit?
When the outcome can be described tightly, such as one agent on one workflow or one model feature in the product you already ship. Open-ended work belongs on the retainer.
What is not included in the price?
Model usage, hosting and other cloud costs. They run in your own accounts and are billed to you directly, so you can see them and keep control of them.
What are advisory hours for?
Architecture, build-versus-buy, model and vendor choices, and the shape of a later build or hire. Advisory hours do not include a production system.
Request an intro call
Bring one workflow and the system it lives in. I will tell you whether I am the right person, and what the first stretch of work would cover.