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Production Readiness Partner

$15,000/mo3-month minimum

A fractional AI systems architect on retainer, giving your team senior judgment on specs, evals, hiring, and architecture without a $400k full-time hire.

For funded teams that need continuous senior AI judgment but aren't ready to hire a Head of AI. You get a predictable weekly cadence, ownership of the spec-and-eval discipline, and a defensible answer whenever your board asks how the AI systems work.

What you get

Artifacts your team will use.

  1. Weekly architecture review call

    60 minutes every Wednesday. We work through open decisions: architecture trade-offs, spec changes, eval strategy, cost or latency issues. Structured agenda you set on Monday, so time is spent on judgment not status.

  2. Async availability during the week

    Shared Slack channel with defined response windows (target: same-day for questions, next-business-day for anything requiring analysis). Not on-call, but reachable when a call would be overkill.

  3. Ongoing spec and eval ownership

    As your product evolves, so do the specs and evals. We keep both current, refactor when scope shifts, and version everything in your repo. Your engineers stop having to reason about what the agent 'should' do.

  4. Interview support for AI hires

    Loop design, take-home review, live technical interviews for your first one or two AI engineering hires. We won't do the offer conversations, but everything up to that point is covered.

  5. Monthly executive summary

    One document per month, forwardable to your board or leadership. Covers what shipped, what's coming, what changed in the architecture, and what risk was retired. Written in prose, not slides.

What's included

Concrete, technical, in-scope.

  • weekly architecture review
  • spec ownership
  • eval strategy
  • cost and latency review
  • hire loop design
  • interview support
  • monthly board memo
  • async slack availability

Sample deliverable

Sample weekly cadence

The rhythm is deliberately predictable. Async work fills the gaps, but the calendar shape stays the same week to week so your team can plan around it.

  1. 01Mon: async status review (we read the week's changes and post open questions)
  2. 02Wed: 60-min architecture review call
  3. 03Fri: deliverables shipped (updated specs, eval changes, memos)
  4. 04First Fri of month: monthly executive summary delivered
  5. 05Ongoing: shared Slack channel for questions and rubber-ducking
  6. 06As-needed: interview loops when you're hiring

Timeline

What happens when.

  1. Month 1
    Ramp

    Full audit in the style of the Pilot Pre-Mortem, followed by spec and eval setup at Sprint depth. By end of month, ownership of both is in our hands with your team consulted on every substantive change.

  2. Months 2-3
    Steady state

    Weekly cadence stabilizes. Architecture calls focus on upcoming product decisions rather than remediation. Monthly board memos start landing. First AI hire interviews scheduled if the timing fits.

  3. Month 3 review
    Continue or wind down

    Structured decision at the end of Month 3. Continue month-to-month if the value is clear. Wind down cleanly with a handoff document if you've hired a Head of AI or the engagement has run its course.

Not in scope

What this isn't.

Setting expectations up front so you can send us away quickly if it's the wrong fit.

  • We don't do daily standups. This is judgment on retainer, not staff-aug.
  • We don't code review every PR. Architecture-shaping PRs, yes. Line-by-line reviews, no.
  • We don't handle vendor procurement, contract review, or purchasing decisions. We can recommend a stack, you buy it.
  • We don't take on-call rotations. If your agent goes down at 3am, that's your team.
  • We don't sign non-competes. Serving multiple non-competing clients is how the retainer stays sustainable.

Questions

Specific to this engagement.

What's the minimum commitment?

Three months. That's how long it takes to properly ramp, hit steady state, and produce enough signal to know if the arrangement is working. After Month 3, month-to-month with 30 days notice either direction.

How is this different from hiring a Head of AI?

It's not a substitute for a full-time head when you actually need one. It's the right fit when you need senior AI systems judgment but aren't at the headcount, budget, or scope where a $400k hire makes sense. Many clients use the retainer to buy time to hire well.

Can you take equity instead of cash?

No. Cash retainer only. Keeps the incentive structure clean and lets us stay focused on the work, not the cap table.

How many clients do you take on at once?

Small on purpose. Three concurrent retainers is the ceiling, so we can guarantee response windows and give each engagement real attention. When we're full, we're full.

Something else? info@aitechmagic.com

Senior AI systems judgment. On retainer. Without the $400k hire.

20 minutes on a call tells you if the retainer is a fit, and whether now is the right time.

Book your Pilot Fit Call →

20 minutes · No slide deck · No pressure