Architecture, modernization and mentoring
The right system structure before you scale, rewrite or add AI, with every decision on record and no full-time executive hire. For CEOs and CTOs.
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The Hackett Group (NASDAQ: HCKT):
39ADRs, 45 specs and 14 RFCs
Master Jobs (own product):
Hexagonal architecture, 8 bounded contexts, 26 ADRs
Assessment of a platform of ~325K lines of code
Quilt Software / PosNation:
Zero-touch update strategy in 5 ADRs
The Hackett Group (NASDAQ: HCKT): 39 ADRs, 45 specs and 14 RFCs
Master Jobs (own product): hexagonal architecture, 8 bounded contexts, 26 ADRs
Assessment of a platform of ~325K lines of code
Quilt Software / PosNation: zero-touch update strategy in 5 ADRs
Architecture decisions live in two people's heads, and every squad solves the same problem in a different way.
The product grew, deploys became risky, and nobody can say whether the answer is to refactor, modularize or rewrite.
Leadership wants AI in the platform, but there is no senior person to say where it fits without compromising data and cost.
You need an experienced architect a few hours a week, and a full-time hire does not fit right now.
A reading of the code, the infrastructure and the deployment flow, with a report of risks ranked by impact and effort and recommendations the team can execute.
A plan to get from the current system to the target architecture in stages, with module boundaries, data flow and LLM integration points defined.
Decisions leave two people's heads and go into the repository: ADRs (architecture decision records) and RFCs (change proposals), with context, alternatives and consequences.
Bounded contexts, ports and adapters, and dependency rules between modules, so the domain evolves without coupling to a framework or a database.
Each customer's data isolated from the others: the isolation strategy (database per tenant or shared schema), provisioning, RBAC and secrets management, validated with the team.
Recurring participation in the team's decisions: design reviews, reviews of critical pull requests, traceable requirements and quality criteria enforced in CI.
See also: AI agent development and custom software development.
Engineering operating model based on Spec-Driven Development: decisions, specifications and requirements recorded and traceable.
Multi-tenant user management system built from scratch for a retail-pricing platform in 20,000+ locations across 30 countries.
Multi-tenant ERP SaaS for SMBs, e-commerce retailers and franchise networks, with a database per tenant, subdomain provisioning and self-service signup.
Jackpot Party: deployment-scoped feature-flag and reward configuration on an event-driven architecture, so business teams launch rules without engineering involvement.
Facing a similar challenge? Tell us the problem and the timeline.
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Software architecture consulting is assessing how a system is organized, deciding where it should go and recording every decision in documents the team can follow. As a fractional AI architect, a senior architect joins your team part-time. Hire it before you scale, rewrite, serve many customers from one platform or add AI to the product.
We read the code, the infrastructure and the documentation, and talk to the people who decide and the people who maintain the system. You receive a report with the current architecture mapped, the risks ranked and the recommendations.
We design the target architecture and record every decision in ADRs and RFCs, with alternatives and consequences. You receive the design, the staged migration plan and the acceptance criteria.
We validate in code the decision that is most expensive to reverse: a module, the isolation of one tenant or an AI flow. You receive a working PoC and a recommendation to proceed, adjust or stop.
Your team implements, with the architect in design reviews and reviews of critical pull requests. You receive updated ADRs and the quality criteria enforced as gates in CI.
As a fractional AI architect, under a monthly retainer, the architect takes part in decisions, reviews RFCs and coaches tech leads. You receive reserved hours and a record of every decision made.
| Scope | Typical timeline | Engagement model |
|---|---|---|
| Architecture reviewA reading of the code and the infrastructure, a report of ranked risks and recommendations | 1–2 weeks | Fixed-scope project |
| Target architectureDesign, ADRs and RFCs, a staged migration plan and a PoC of the riskiest decision | 2–4 weeks | Fixed-scope project |
| Implementation supportDesign and pull request reviews, quality gates and updated ADRs while your team implements | 6–12 weeks | Time & materials with a cap |
| Fractional AI architectA senior architect part-time for decisions, RFCs, reviews and coaching of tech leads | Ongoing | Monthly fractional retainer |
Timelines are typical ranges. Discovery defines the scope and the estimate of each project; the contract can be in USD or BRL.
Want to know which format fits your project?
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Architecture defines where AI may act and where it needs a limit. We use AI coding agents to read and document systems; the decisions and the trade-offs stay with the architect.
Where AI comes inAI coding agents (Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Copilot, OpenCode) speed up reading large systems, mapping dependencies and drafting ADRs and specs.
What humans decideModule boundaries, trade-offs and every ADR are decided and signed off by a senior architect.
Architecture for AIA provider abstraction, per-tool action limits, an audit trail and cost per call are part of the design from the start.
Quality gatesThe criteria set by the architecture become tests, coverage targets and static analysis in CI.
SecurityThreat modeling (STRIDE) and tenant isolation are reviewed before an agent touches data.
Your dataClient data never trains models, and we work under NDA.
| Criterion | Fractional architect | Full-time hire | Consulting firm |
|---|---|---|---|
| When it makes sense | Recurring architecture decisions that do not fill a whole month of one person | A volume of decisions and management that fills every day of one person | Large programs that need many people and several specialties at once |
| Who does the work | A senior Master Timm architect, from discovery to reviews | The person hired, fully dedicated | A staffed team, with its composition set in the contract |
| How it starts | A 1–2 week discovery and a proposal | Recruiting, selection and an onboarding period | A proposal, then team assembly and staffing |
| Commitment | Monthly retainer with reserved hours | Permanent position, with fixed salary and benefits | Project with scope and team set in the contract |
| Main limit | Part-time: it does not replace day-to-day leadership | A fixed cost even when architecture demand drops | Requires a planned knowledge transfer at the end of the project |
A fractional AI architect is a senior architect who works part-time with your team, setting the architecture, recording decisions in ADRs and RFCs, reviewing design and critical pull requests, and defining where AI fits in the platform. You get seniority without opening a C-level position. At The Hackett Group, a Master Timm client, the engineering operating model adds up to 39 ADRs, 45 specs and 14 RFCs.
There is no fixed package: the number of hours is set in the proposal, based on discovery, according to your team's volume of decisions and reviews. Design and migration phases need more presence; maintenance phases need less. The format is a monthly retainer with hours reserved for decision sessions, reviews of RFCs and critical pull requests, and the team's questions between sessions.
A fractional CTO answers for technology management: people, budget, hiring and the relationship with the board. A fractional architect answers for technical decisions: architecture, standards, quality and system risk. If the company already has engineering leadership and lacks seniority in architecture and AI, the fractional architect is the right role. We know both sides: beyond architecture, we have run technology management for SaaS products such as Mahout ERP Cloud and Consulta Já.
A review takes 1–2 weeks and ends in a report with the current architecture mapped, the risks ranked and an action plan. We read the code, the infrastructure, the deployment pipeline and the documentation, and talk to the people who maintain the system. The report separates what is urgent from what can wait and states the effort of each recommendation. It is presented to leadership and to the technical team.
The architect works inside your team's flow: same repository, same pull request tools and same rituals. Decisions are proposed in RFCs, discussed with the tech leads and recorded in ADRs, so the team understands the reasoning and can decide alone later. The goal is a more autonomous team, not a dependent one. We have mentored 10+ engineering teams.
Hire it before a decision that is expensive to reverse: rewriting a system, moving to multi-tenancy, splitting a monolith, changing clouds or putting AI in the product. It also pays off when deploys have become risky, when the team disagrees on the path or when the board needs an independent technical assessment before investing. If the decision is already made and well recorded, you may only need execution.
Master Timm reviews the architecture of large systems from São Paulo, Brazil, for companies in the United States and Brazil. We bring 20+ years of software engineering. For The Hackett Group, we assessed a platform of roughly 325K lines of code, and Mahout ERP Cloud, which we built, has roughly 417K lines.
The cost depends on three factors: the monthly hours, the size and complexity of the system and the number of teams served. That is why we do not publish a price list. An architecture review is a fixed-scope project; a fractional architect is hired under a monthly retainer. A 1–2 week discovery defines the scope and the estimate, and the contract can be in USD or BRL.
AI-focused IT consultancy
Senior engineering from discovery to delivery: whoever designs the architecture also writes and reviews the code.
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In the first conversation we look at the system, where the team stands and the decision on the table, and tell you plainly whether it calls for a review, a fractional architect or nothing yet.
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