Architecture, Audits & Engineering Stewardship
A senior engineer's perspective on your most critical technical decisions — from system design and codebase audits to ongoing maintenance and fractional technical leadership.
When You Need a Senior Perspective
The most expensive technical decisions are the ones made early, with incomplete information. Architecture choices, technology selections, and data model designs made in week one shape every engineering decision for years. I work with founders, engineering leads, and investors who want to get those decisions right — or understand what it will cost to correct them.
My consulting process is direct and actionable. Architecture reviews produce prioritised findings with remediation effort estimates — not a list of abstract recommendations. Code audits flag security vulnerabilities immediately, not at the end of a two-week engagement. System design work produces ADRs, C4 diagrams, and API contracts that your team can implement from, not slide decks that sit in a Google Drive.
For teams that need ongoing technical stewardship — not a one-off engagement — I offer monthly retainers covering dependency management, security patches, performance monitoring, and iterative feature development. Live products deserve the same engineering rigour after launch as they received during it.
6+ yrs
Senior engineering experience across FinTech, HealthTech, EdTech, and enterprise SaaS.
48hr
Typical turnaround for critical security findings flagged during a code audit.
Core Capabilities
Proven engineering solutions for complex, real-world business problems.
Code Audits
Deep-dive codebase review covering security vulnerabilities, performance bottlenecks, anti-patterns, test coverage gaps, and technical debt — with a prioritised remediation plan.
System Architecture Design
Microservices vs monolith decisions, event-driven architectures, API contract design, database schemas, and C4 system diagrams with Architecture Decision Records.
Technical Due Diligence
Pre-investment and pre-acquisition codebase assessment covering code quality, scalability ceiling, security posture, team quality, and cost of identified technical debt.
Maintenance & Support
Monthly retainer-based stewardship for live products: dependency upgrades, security patches, bug triage, performance monitoring, and iterative feature development.
Fractional CTO Advisory
Technical leadership for early-stage teams: engineering standards, hiring interviews, vendor evaluation, architectural guidance, and investor technical Q&A.
Security Reviews
OWASP Top 10 assessment, authentication flow review, secrets management audit, dependency CVE scanning, and infrastructure exposure analysis.
The Engagement Process
Scoping Call
Understand the engagement goals, access requirements, key concerns, and desired output format. Agree NDA and timeline.
Deep-Dive Assessment
Systematic review of codebase, infrastructure, architecture diagrams, and existing documentation. Critical findings flagged immediately.
Findings Report
Structured written report with findings categorised by severity, root cause analysis, and remediation recommendations with effort estimates.
Readout & Q&A
Live walkthrough of findings with your engineering team and/or stakeholders. Answer questions and validate understanding of recommendations.
Remediation Support
Optional: hands-on support implementing the highest-priority recommendations or ongoing retainer for continued stewardship.
Primary Technology Stack
Pricing & Investment
Consulting engagements are structured around your specific need — a one-time audit, a strategic architecture review, or an ongoing advisory relationship. All engagements start with a free 30-minute discovery call.
Code / Architecture Audit
£800 – £2,500
A systematic review of your codebase, architecture, or infrastructure with a written report covering risks, technical debt, performance bottlenecks, and a prioritised improvement roadmap.
Ideal for: Teams inheriting a codebase, pre-investment technical due diligence, pre-scaling reviews
System Design Engagement
£2,500 – £6,000
Collaborative architecture design for a new system or major migration. Includes requirement analysis, design documentation, ADRs, and a working session with your team.
Ideal for: Greenfield projects, database migrations, monolith-to-microservices breakdowns
Ongoing Technical Advisor
From £500/week
Regular advisory retainer providing architecture guidance, code reviews, hiring interview support, vendor evaluation, and a senior engineering perspective on your key decisions.
Ideal for: Non-technical founders needing a CTO, scale-ups without senior engineering leadership
All audit engagements produce a written deliverable you own. Advisory retainers include access to async Slack support and a weekly 60-minute call. Minimum advisory retainer is 4 weeks.
Frequently Asked Questions
Related Services
Web Development
Full-stack implementation once the architecture is defined.
API Development
API design and build following the contracts from the architecture review.
Cloud & DevOps
Infrastructure implementation from the DevOps audit findings.
MVP Development
Architecture-first MVP build with a solid foundation from day one.
Need a Senior Technical Perspective?
Whether you're making a critical architectural decision, preparing for investor due diligence, or dealing with a codebase that's becoming a liability — let's talk about what an independent technical review can uncover.