Phil Powell
Fractional CTO · Principal Engineer · Architect
I work with founders and leadership teams when they need senior technical judgement — not just more output.
I step in to help teams navigate growth, complexity, and technical risk, combining hands-on engineering with calm, pragmatic leadership.
What I Do
I'm typically brought in when a business is at an inflection point — when existing teams are capable, but need experienced reinforcement to move forward with confidence.
That might mean:
- Providing fractional CTO leadership during growth or transition
- Acting as a senior technical counterweight for founders or executives
- Diagnosing delivery, quality, or scalability issues
- Bridging the gap between strategy and hands-on engineering
- Reducing technical risk before it becomes organisational risk
I work alongside existing teams, focusing on clarity, judgement, and progress — not disruption.
How I Help
Most engagements are short, focused, and outcome-driven.
- Diagnostic & Intervention (2–6 weeks) A fast, structured assessment of technical reality — architecture, delivery, quality, and decision-making — with clear recommendations and next steps.
- Hands-on Delivery (1–3 months) Targeted leadership and engineering input to unblock progress, stabilise systems, or support a specific phase of change.
- Ongoing Advisory (1–2 days / week) Senior technical perspective on demand — supporting founders, CTOs, or leadership teams without adding long-term overhead.
I don't offer long-term staff augmentation. My goal is to leave teams clearer, stronger, and better equipped than when I arrived.
Experience & Context
I've worked across a wide range of environments — from early-stage startups to scaling SaaS platforms — often in situations where clarity and judgement mattered more than speed alone.
My background spans:
- Technical leadership at scale
- Complex, real-world systems rather than greenfield demos
- Regulated and non-regulated environments, including work with sensitive data
- Teams with mixed levels of maturity and capability
I've led and supported teams handling high‑risk data — including student and health information — where security, continuity, and trust were non‑negotiable, and where delivery needed to coexist with formal risk and assurance frameworks.
I'm comfortable operating where product, engineering, risk, and business constraints intersect — and translating between technical and non-technical stakeholders when it matters.
Why This, Now
After stepping away from a full-time CTO role, I'm intentionally working in short, high-impact engagements while building my own product.
This lets me apply what I've learned across multiple organisations, stay hands-on, and be selective about the work I take on — focusing on situations where experience genuinely makes a difference.
Let's Talk
If you think my experience could be useful — for a specific challenge, a short engagement, or simply to sense-check a situation — I'm always open to a conversation.