Luis Saffie
Fractional CTO & CPO
I step into growth-stage companies to fix engineering execution, product direction, and delivery alignment.
25 years scaling tech orgs at Amazon, Wealthsimple, and companies I've built and sold. Same problems everywhere: tech debt crushing velocity, teams that can't ship, and founders and engineers speaking different languages. I've fixed this dozens of times.
Why Organizations Choose Me
I Deliver, Not Just Diagnose
I don't send a deck and disappear. I work alongside your team, write code, fix architecture, and build the systems that scale.
Battle-Tested at Scale
Scaled HomeStars to acquisition. Built Amazon warehouse optimization globally. Led engineering at Wealthsimple. I've seen every failure mode.
Executive Leadership That Builds
Product strategy, engineering execution, and delivery operations—all in one person. I align organizations from idea to customer impact.
Sound Familiar?
These are the patterns I see in every scaling organization.
Engineering vs. Everyone Else
Engineering says 6 months. Sales promised 2 weeks. Product doesn't know what's possible. Nobody's aligned.
Everything Takes Too Long
Simple features take months. Your competitors ship faster with smaller teams. Tech debt is crushing velocity.
No Clear Roadmap
50 feature requests, zero prioritization. Everything's urgent. No data on what drives business outcomes.
Constant Production Fires
Weekend outages. Emergency patches. Customer escalations. No time to fix root causes.
Talent Exodus
Good engineers won't join. Your best people are burned out and leaving. Can't compete for senior talent.
Manual, Fragile Deployments
Still deploying manually. No CI/CD. Testing is an afterthought. Every release is a nail-biter.
One Month. Complete Clarity.
No long-term commitments. See results before you decide what's next.
How I Work
I embed with your team. Interview key people, sit in critical meetings, review architecture and processes. I diagnose what's actually broken.
Weekly check-ins. No surprises. You know exactly what I'm finding and where we're headed.
End of month: comprehensive assessment with 3-5 high-impact fixes, prioritized by business value.
What You Receive
- 3-5 prioritized improvements with business impact quantified
- Concrete implementation roadmap with timelines
- Architecture review with technical recommendations
- Team structure assessment and hiring roadmap
- Process and tooling gaps with modern alternatives
Then You Decide
I can stay to implement. Or hand it off to your team with a clear execution plan. Your call.
What Changes
These aren't aspirational. These are typical outcomes after 6 months.
Faster Delivery
Features ship in weeks instead of months. Predictable velocity your business can plan around.
Less Firefighting
Systems that don't break at 3am. Engineering time redirected to building, not fixing.
Roadmap Clarity
Clear priorities tied to business outcomes. No surprises. Predictable costs.
Revenue Impact
Ship features customers pay for. Technology drives growth, not costs.
Retention Rate
Engineers stop quitting when systems work and they see their impact.
Engineering ROI
Every engineering dollar becomes a measurable contributor to business growth.
Mini Case Study
Biiibo: From daily outages to predictable delivery
Worked alongside the team, stabilized production, introduced delivery rituals, and rebuilt the roadmap around revenue impact. Outages dropped, delivery timelines tightened, and leadership regained trust in engineering.
Track Record
Organizations I've scaled, from hypergrowth to acquisition
Owned workforce optimization tools deployed across all global warehouses. Reduced operational costs while improving productivity at scale.
Led infrastructure modernization with infrastructure-as-code and security practices that scaled through hypergrowth.
Eliminated daily production outages, built real-time revenue tracking, reduced delivery delays by 50%. Turned operational chaos into predictable execution.
As CTO, repositioned product strategy, rebuilt technology platform, and aligned organization—leading directly to acquisition.
Let's Talk
Tell me about your technical challenges. I'll tell you if I can help.
Or reach me directly:
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a Fractional CTO do?
A Fractional CTO provides executive technology leadership on a part-time or project basis. I embed with teams to fix execution bottlenecks, align engineering with business goals, and build scalable systems—without the cost of a full-time C-level hire.
How is this different from hiring a consultant?
I don't send decks and disappear. I work alongside your team, write code, fix architecture, and build the systems that scale. You get hands-on execution, not just advice.
What's the typical engagement length?
We start with a 30-day assessment to diagnose what's broken. After that, you decide: I can stay to implement (typically 3-6 months), hand off to your team with a clear plan, or continue as an ongoing executive partner.
What size companies do you work with?
I work with growth-stage companies, typically with 5-50 engineers, that have product-market fit but are facing execution challenges. If your team is busy but not shipping, or tech debt is crushing velocity, we should talk.
How much does it cost?
The 30-day assessment is a fixed fee. Implementation engagements are structured based on scope and outcomes, not hours. You'll know the cost upfront before we start. Contact me for specific pricing based on your needs.