Engineering leader and builder for teams at inflection points.
I help teams ship reliably, at the pace the market demands, at the quality the product requires. I build the culture that sustains it and I write the code that proves it. Architecture, coaching, delivery.
Fractional CTO, founding engineer, or hands-on coaching. I work with founder-led and midsize companies who need someone technical enough to build and experienced enough to lead.
Based in Austin, working with teams remotely.
Three ways I work with you.
Whether you need coaching, technical leadership, or hands-on development, my work is practical, specific, and grounded in what your team actually needs.
Coaching for Managers & Directors
I help managers lead effectively through transition by strengthening relationships, aligning with business constraints, and mastering clear escalation.
Explore coaching →Fractional CTO / Trusted Translator
I serve as a technical partner for founders and executives, aligning product and engineering while navigating complex organizational transitions.
Explore fractional CTO →Hands-On Product Engineering
When the work demands it, I get in the weeds to transform brittle systems into maintainable software focused on speed and cost.
Explore engineering →What it's like to work together.
“A short, specific quote about the outcome Nathan drove — from a founder or executive he partnered with.”
“A quote from an engineering leader he coached — what changed for them and their team.”
Why Nathan.
These are outcomes, not just resume points. The common thread is a translator who bridges the gap between business strategy and technical reality.
Person engineering org
Led a 50-person organization across mobile, backend, frontend, data, architecture, cloud operations, and QA, with distributed teams spanning multiple continents.
Attrition through acquisition
Led technical due diligence and team integration for an acquisition, delivering 0% attrition and 10%+ budget savings.
Lead time reduction
Led modernization from legacy PHP to Django APIs and a TypeScript/React SPA, cutting lead time by roughly half.
Platform surge absorbed
Scaled a mission-critical platform through an immediate 3x surge in usage without outages or major rework.
About Nathan.
Nathan is an engineering leader and coach who builds where it counts, from founder-led startups to modernizing enterprise SaaS. He thrives on clarity, acting as a translator between complex business goals and technical reality. He doesn't do reports — he partners with leaders who want someone willing to stay in the weeds until the work is actually better.
Engineering leadership
Scaling teams and building the management layers that make consistent delivery possible.
Trusted translation
Bridging the gap between executive needs and engineering reality, without distortion in either direction.
Hands-on execution
Still building. Architecture, code reviews, and prototypes, maintaining the credibility that comes from staying close to the craft.
No thought leadership fluff, just the work.
I write about the realities of engineering leadership, team health, and leading through ambiguity. If you want a feel for my approach before we talk, start here.
June 16, 2026
Your Team Is Not Underperforming. It Was Built for a Different Problem.
Read on Medium →May 25, 2026
How do you make a decision with 25 people in the room?
Read on Medium →May 11, 2026
Expanding the Tent
Read on Medium →LinkedIn highlights go here — pick 1–3 public posts and drop in their official embeds.