Jacob Ralph

Fractional CTO, technical lead or head of engineering roles, plus AI systems, full-stack MVP builds, platform audits and rescues. Contract or fractional, 100% remote (Dallas, TX, Central Time). I make the technical calls and also build them. You get a fractional CTO who also builds, so the person who makes your technical calls ships them. I have 17+ years in production software. As co-founder and CTO I built an AI platform from zero to 50+ companies with under 3% churn. Client feedback: "He does not simply complete assigned tasks. He identifies risks early, thinks through how decisions will affect the product long term, and recommends practical solutions based on real-world experience." If no one on your staff owns the technical decisions, I take that seat: what to build first, in what order, and whether what was built is right. If you already have developers or an agency, I set their direction and review what they ship. You get a plain-language written update every week. I have worked as fractional CTO on an AI and maps mobile assistant MVP, from scope and architecture to developer hiring and build oversight. I am working as senior technical lead for a mid-market operator that does not need a full-time CTO. I write down the work your team repeats and rate each task: automate it, have the system draft it for a person to approve, or leave it with a person. I have built an order-email processor that flags uncertain matches for a person, an invoice reconciliation that writes back payment status, and a system where supervisor models review what worker models produce before a user sees it. MVPs and full products for web and mobile, in TypeScript, React, Next.js, Node.js and Python, on PostgreSQL and AWS. I have built a freight logistics platform with role-based access and shipped a React Native mobile app. I am working as technical lead on a marketplace's Next.js web platform, including its CI/CD and booking. An independent look at your live platform: a written report of what to fix first and what can wait. I have done a paid code review of a pre-launch platform. If you start a build with me within 60 days, the audit fee is credited toward it. A stalled project, or an AI pilot that works in a demo and fails in use, gets a short fixed-price diagnosis that ends in a written verdict: fix it, finish it, narrow it, rebuild it or stop. Discovery comes first. I get the context and ask the questions that turn a half-formed idea into a fully formed one, and I gauge how technical you are. The scope, an acceptance test, the plan and the architecture follow from that. I am one accountable lead on your project. I use generative AI on client work and tell you so before we start. Anything that fails the agreed test and is found within 30 days of acceptance, I fix at no extra charge. Based in Dallas, TX (Central Time), working 100% remote. Message me with one line about what you need.