Senior technical leadership to rescue failing projects and guide complex builds
Critical project stuck? Need senior oversight for a complex build? Get technical leadership for projects that require architectural depth, AI-augmented practices, and experienced decision-making
With over 15 years as CTO and senior architect, I've seen complex projects fail for predictable reasons: architectural blind spots, unrealistic scope, junior teams stretched beyond capability, or legacy constraints nobody anticipated. Increasingly, projects also fail because AI-generated code has been pushed to production without proper architectural validation - the "vibe coding" problem where speed trumps sustainability. Projects fail fast - early intervention dramatically improves recovery odds.
You need senior technical leadership that can see around corners, make pragmatic trade-offs, and guide your team to deliver working software. Sometimes your existing senior leadership is capable but overstretched - pulled in too many directions to give a critical project the attention it deserves. Sometimes you lack senior depth entirely. Either way, whether you're rescuing a project that's gone off track, starting a greenfield build that requires architectural depth, or recovering from AI-generated code that isn't production-ready, you need dedicated experienced leadership to steer the ship.
This isn't just project management, and it isn't replacing your developers. It's technical leadership that reviews architecture, makes informed decisions, mentors your team, and ensures delivery stays on track. I can pair with your developers and contribute to implementation when it makes sense, but my primary value is guiding your team to success rather than doing the work myself.
Guide new system builds with architecture designed for change. I provide senior technical leadership for projects requiring depth: complex domain modelling, scalable architecture, security-critical features, or AI-augmented development practices. Your team executes with my guidance, mentoring, and architectural oversight.
Fix projects that are off track, over budget, or delivering poor quality. I assess what went wrong, stabilise the situation, and guide corrective actions: realistic rescoping, architectural fixes, team augmentation, or accelerated delivery approaches. My role is to lead the recovery, not replace your team.
Recover projects where AI-generated code has created technical debt, production issues, or architectural problems. I assess the viability of existing code, identify what can be salvaged versus rewritten, and guide your team through remediation. The "vibe coding" problem is real - I help you fix it properly.
Provide senior depth for high-risk or complex features. Authorisation systems, payment integrations, data migration tools, API design, or architectural refactoring. I guide your team through features where getting it wrong has real business consequences, pairing when it makes sense but primarily ensuring the approach is sound.
Ongoing architectural oversight for existing projects. I review code quality, validate architectural decisions, and provide technical guidance to keep projects on track, without taking over delivery entirely.
Guide production-ready prototypes or MVPs with architectural validation. I help your team leverage AI effectively for scaffolding and rapid iteration, ensuring the MVP can scale when needed without accumulating technical debt that will slow you down later.
I've guided complex projects to successful delivery by combining architectural depth with AI-augmented development practices. I've helped teams build production-ready risk assessment engines in days rather than months, designed authorisation services handling complex policy requirements, and led legacy platform migrations executed incrementally without business disruption.
My approach is pragmatic and opinionated. I advocate for boring, proven patterns over novel architectures when reliability matters more than innovation. I help your team use AI effectively to accelerate scaffolding and documentation while ensuring critical logic is architecturally sound. And I'll tell you when your project is in trouble before it's too late to fix.
I work alongside your existing team, providing the senior leadership and architectural guidance they need to succeed. That means mentoring developers, reviewing architecture decisions, removing technical blockers, and contributing directly when complex problems need senior depth. I can pair with your developers and write code when it makes sense - but my primary role is leadership and guidance, not replacing your delivery team.
You get a team that's more effective and confident, architecture designed for change, and a project that delivers on its promises.
Project delivery and rescue is right for you when:
Project delivery and rescue provides senior technical leadership to guide your team through complex builds or recover failing projects. You need it when projects are behind schedule or over budget, your team lacks senior architectural guidance, AI-generated code has created production issues, or you're starting a complex build that needs experienced leadership. This service combines technical leadership with architectural oversight, ensuring your team has the guidance they need to get projects back on track or start on solid foundations.
I provide engaged technical leadership, not just scheduling and reporting. This means reviewing architecture, making technical decisions, mentoring your team, and contributing to implementation when it adds value. Traditional project managers track progress but can't solve technical blockers or validate architectural approaches. My CTO and architect background means I understand the technical work deeply, can course-correct technical decisions, and deliver working systems, not just status reports.
Yes. Project rescue engagements typically start with rapid assessment (2-3 days) to identify root causes, stabilise immediate issues, and create a recovery roadmap. Common rescue scenarios include architectural problems causing performance issues, unclear requirements creating scope creep, technical debt preventing progress, or team skill gaps blocking delivery. I've successfully rescued projects by rebuilding core systems (risk engine in 3 days), introducing proper architecture patterns, and bringing clarity to chaotic situations.
I work with your existing team, not replace them. My role is to provide the senior leadership, technical direction, and architectural capability your team needs to succeed. Many project failures aren't due to bad developers but lack of clear technical leadership and architectural guidance. I empower your team through mentoring, clear decision-making, and removing technical blockers. Most clients find their teams become more effective and confident with consistent senior guidance.
I offer flexible models including dedicated project engagement (full-time or near full-time for project duration) and fractional engagement (2-3 days per week for longer projects). Engagements can be time-and-materials or fixed-scope depending on project clarity. For project rescue, I typically start with a rapid assessment before committing to a full recovery engagement, ensuring I understand the situation before proposing solutions.
Project delivery and rescue work can be structured as fixed-scope projects or time-and-materials engagements, depending on project clarity. For well-defined work, I provide fixed-scope pricing focused on outcomes. For exploratory or rescue work where the full scope isn't clear, I work at my standard day rate (£800-1,000/day) with regular check-ins to ensure we're delivering value. Project rescue typically starts with a paid rapid assessment (2-3 days, £2,400-3,000) that provides root cause analysis and a recovery roadmap with no obligation to proceed to full engagement. You get actionable insights whether or not we continue working together. Contact me for a project review to discuss the right approach for your situation.
I provide honest assessment even when it's difficult to hear. If rescue isn't viable or cost-effective, I'll explain why and recommend alternatives: managed project sunset, rebuild with salvaged components, or alternative approaches. You're paying for honest expertise and realistic options, not false hope. Most projects can be rescued with the right approach, but I won't take your money for a doomed effort. The rapid assessment exists precisely to answer this question before you commit significant resources.
Hiring takes 3-6 months (recruitment, onboarding, ramp-up) and costs £80-120k/year plus benefits. By the time they're productive, your troubled project may have failed. Project delivery and rescue engagements provide immediate senior capability - I can start assessing your project within days and guiding solutions within weeks. What makes this different: I have experience as both a senior developer and a project manager, so I can bridge technical and management perspectives. I understand delivery from both sides - the architectural decisions that affect timelines, and the management dynamics that affect team performance. You get strategic leadership and hands-on technical depth in one engagement. For projects with defined endpoints (rescue, specific feature, architecture overhaul), a time-boxed engagement is faster and more cost-effective than permanent hiring. Once the project is stable or complete, there's no ongoing cost. If you discover you need permanent senior capacity, I can help define the role and support the hiring process.
Yes. If your project needs more development capacity than your team can provide, I can help you evaluate and engage the right resources. This might mean helping you assess agency partners, vet contract developers, or structure engagements with external teams. I've worked with agencies in the past and understand what to look for - and what to avoid. My role in these situations is to provide technical oversight: ensuring external resources understand the architecture, reviewing their work, and maintaining quality standards. I help you avoid the common trap where external developers create more problems than they solve. You get the capacity you need with the senior oversight to ensure it delivers value.
I provide clear, jargon-free status updates focused on business outcomes: what's working, what's at risk, what decisions are needed, and realistic timelines. You'll always know where the project stands without needing to translate technical language. For rescue projects, I establish regular check-ins (typically weekly) with both technical and business stakeholders. Technical updates go to your development team; business updates go to leadership. I'll tell you early when things are off track and what we're doing about it - no surprises.
I'm pragmatic about methodology - the right approach depends on your team, your organisation, and the project context. For rescue projects, I typically start with rapid assessment and stabilisation before introducing process improvements. For greenfield builds, I advocate for iterative delivery with clear milestones: enough structure to give stakeholders predictability, enough flexibility to adapt as you learn. I've worked in pure Agile, hybrid, and traditional waterfall environments - what matters is that the approach fits your team's experience and your organisation's expectations. During the initial assessment, I help you design an approach that works for your specific situation.
Working with Michael was an absolute pleasure. He was the border between the developers and the business and always managed to handle both sides' expectations and took the stress of the business on to himself to give the developers enough room to do amazing work. A great developer as well. Always a laugh, great personality, light hearted and I would definitely work with him again at a moment's notice.
Michael doesn't just tackle challenges; he approaches them with a no-nonsense attitude, cutting through complexities with a level of precision that's truly impressive. His ability to break down intricate problems and come up with elegant solutions is not only commendable but also a testament to his exceptional problem-solving skills.
Let's discuss how we can help your business.