Job Description: Fractional CTO (2–3 Days/Week) – Bristol
Location: Central Bristol (On-site preferred)
Engagement: Fractional / Part-time (2–3 days per week to start)
Contract: Rolling contract, typically with 4 weeks’ notice
Day Rate: Up to £800 per day
Start Date: ASAP – interviews targeted within 1 week
About the Company
We are a 13-person organisation undergoing an exciting transition, scaling down a legacy project to refocus on a startup-driven initiative. We’re looking for a hands-on, strategic Fractional CTO who can bring technical leadership, stabilise our development processes, and support us in bringing a new project to market quickly—ideally ahead of the Christmas period.
Role Overview
The Fractional CTO will lead our technology direction while working closely with the internal team to strengthen our technical foundations. This role blends strategic oversight with practical, hands-on engineering guidance. You will assess the current environment, define best-practice processes, support technical decision-making, and ensure our development workflow is robust, scalable, and aligned with business goals.
Key Responsibilities
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Provide high-level technical leadership and act as the senior technology authority for the business.
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Review and optimise current development processes, introducing modern engineering best practices.
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Offer hands-on guidance on architecture, coding standards, deployment processes, and QA.
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Work with the existing team to assess technical debt and define a roadmap for improvements.
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Support the delivery of a new product initiative, ensuring reliable, stable, and efficient execution.
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Advise on team structure, hiring needs, and capability-building within the technical team.
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Oversee and support decision-making on infrastructure, tools, and technology choices.
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Ensure smooth collaboration and progress using GitHub workflows and AWS infrastructure.
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Be available for on-site collaboration in Bristol 2–3 days per week, with flexibility during critical periods.
Tech Environment
Candidates should be comfortable working with or managing teams working with:
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Front end: NoJS
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Back end: Python
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Infrastructure: AWS
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Version control & collaboration: GitHub
Experience stabilising or modernising development workflows is essential.
About You
You will be a strong fit if you:
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Have held CTO, Head of Engineering, or senior technical leadership roles in a startup or scale-up environment.
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Possess a strong coding background and can engage directly with the technical detail when required.
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Excel at establishing processes, technical governance, and engineering discipline where it may be lacking.
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Are comfortable providing both strategic vision and hands-on support.
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Communicate clearly and can provide structure in fast-paced or evolving environments.
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Are available quickly and can commit to 2–3 days/week on-site in Bristol.
