Most AI projects fail on the data, not the model.
Data you can't trust
Pipelines break silently and nobody finds out until the board deck is wrong.
Platforms that don't scale
What worked at ten thousand rows falls over at ten million.
Governance bolted on late
Retrofitting lineage, access control and AI compliance costs more than building it in.
What we do
How an engagement runs
Discovery call
30 minutes, no charge. We map your stack, your data and the outcome you need.
Scoped proposal
A written plan with fixed deliverables, timeline and price. Usually within five working days.
Build
Weekly demos, code in your repos, your cloud, your accounts. No black boxes.
Handover
Documentation, runbooks and a working session with your team. You own everything.
Discovery call
30 minutes, no charge. We map your stack, your data and the outcome you need.
Scoped proposal
A written plan with fixed deliverables, timeline and price. Usually within five working days.
Build
Weekly demos, code in your repos, your cloud, your accounts. No black boxes.
Handover
Documentation, runbooks and a working session with your team. You own everything.
Ways to work with us
Four engagement models, same senior people. Most clients start with Discovery and step up only once they have seen the work — you do not have to pick the right one cold.
Discovery
A short, fixed-price assessment of where your data actually stands, ending in a written recommendation.
Project
A defined build with a fixed scope and delivery date.
Fractional
A named architect or engineer embedded with your team for an agreed number of days per month.
Advisory
A retained review cadence: architecture decisions, code review, hiring input.
| Model | Best for | Cadence | You get | Pricing | Commitment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Discovery | Finding out whether the problem is what you think it is, before committing budget. | Fixed scope, one to two weeks | A written assessment and prioritised recommendation you keep, whatever you do next. | Fixed price | One-off. No obligation to continue. |
| Project | A clear outcome — platform slice, pipeline, or readiness pack — with a finish line. | Fixed scope and delivery date | Production deliverables in your cloud and repos, with tests and handover. | Priced per scope | Scoped up front. Cost capped before we start. |
| Fractional | Ongoing design authority without a full-time principal hire. | Agreed days per month | Named senior, ADRs, code and design review in your tools. | Priced per days / month | Rolling monthly. Pause or stop with notice. |
| Advisory | Leadership that needs a sharp second opinion on a regular rhythm. | Retained review cadence | Architecture challenge, review, and hiring input on a schedule. | Priced per retainer | Rolling monthly. Pause or stop with notice. |
How we contract
Senior data engineering, without the consultancy lock-in.
Smaller teams get quoted six-figure programmes and twelve-month minimums for problems that need a few focused weeks. We work the other way round: start with the smallest piece that answers a real question, and only continue while it is worth continuing.
- Rolling monthly
- No six or twelve-month minimum term. Ongoing work runs month to month and you can end it with notice.
- Pause and resume
- If your funding slips or priorities move, pause the engagement and pick it up later. No penalty for stopping.
- Start small
- Begin with a short fixed-price piece of work. Scale up only once you have seen how we work.
Senior engineers only. No pyramid.
Senior engineers only
No pyramid. You work with the people who wrote the proposal.
Your cloud, your repos
We build directly into your environments. No proprietary wrappers.
Fixed scope, fixed price
Clear deliverables and timelines agreed before we write a line of code.
Documentation is a deliverable
Runbooks and handover sessions are included, never an afterthought.
Tell us what you're building.
Whether you need a complete platform rebuild or a fractional architect to unblock your team, we're ready to help.