Case Study
Fractional CTO
Stabilising an AI-driven SaaS platform for scale
Stompp had a working AI-driven product in the hands of early customers, but the underlying system lacked the structure required to scale safely. I joined as Fractional CTO to stabilise the platform, reduce operational risk, and lay the foundations for a structured engineering function.
- Role
- Fractional CTO
- Duration
- Mar 2026 - Present
- Industry
- SaaS / AI / Recruitment Tech
- Team Size
- Founder-led (pre first engineering hire)
What Stompp needed to solve
The platform had been built rapidly using AI-assisted tools, prioritising speed over structure. While core features were live and in use, the underlying system lacked the engineering foundations required for reliability, security, and scale.
There was no formal engineering leadership, no clear deployment or testing process, and several critical operational risks were already emerging as usage increased.
No engineering leadership
Technical decisions were being made ad hoc by non-specialists, leading to inconsistent patterns and uncertainty around architecture, security, and integrations.
Inconsistent delivery and ownership
Features were being developed quickly but without clear ownership or process, increasing the risk of regressions, duplication, and fragile implementations.
Fragile operational foundations
The platform was running on a constrained free-tier database with no backups, no error tracking, and sensitive data being logged, creating real risk of data loss or service interruption.
No hiring or scaling plan
The business was preparing to grow but had no clear plan for hiring its first developer or structuring an engineering function, risking chaotic scaling.
How I tackled it
I focused first on stabilisation rather than expansion, removing immediate risks and introducing structure before any further feature development. From there, I defined a phased roadmap that separates leadership, system design, and execution, ensuring the platform can scale through a team rather than a single individual.
Engineering Strategy
Conducted a full technical audit of the platform, identifying critical risks and structural gaps, and translated this into a phased roadmap aligned with business priorities and upcoming integrations.
Team Structure & Hiring
Defined the role and profile for the company’s first engineering hire, ensuring they could integrate into a structured system with clear ownership rather than inheriting a fragile codebase.
Delivery & Process
Introduced initial development standards including GitHub workflow structure and testing foundations to enable predictable, safe delivery as the team grows.
Infrastructure & Security
Addressed immediate operational risks by upgrading infrastructure, enabling backups, removing PII from logs, and introducing error tracking for production visibility.
Stakeholder Communication
Translated technical risks into clear business priorities, enabling faster decision-making and alignment between product, operations, and engineering.
AI-Assisted Development Strategy
Reframed the use of AI tools from uncontrolled code generation to a structured workflow where AI supports development but engineers retain ownership of architecture and quality.
What we achieved together
Within the first week, the platform moved from a high-risk prototype state to a stabilised foundation ready for structured development and hiring.
Critical infrastructure risks resolved
Upgraded from a constrained free-tier database to a production-ready plan, enabling backups and removing the risk of sudden service interruption or data loss.
Engineering foundation established
Introduced testing infrastructure and development workflow standards, allowing future developers to contribute safely and consistently from day one.
Production visibility introduced
Implemented error tracking to provide immediate insight into runtime issues, enabling faster debugging and more reliable operation as usage grows.
Clear hiring and scaling plan defined
Provided a structured roadmap and developer profile, enabling the business to begin hiring with a clear understanding of how engineering will scale.
Technologies involved
Stompp is built on a modern TypeScript stack with a backend-as-a-service architecture and AI-assisted workflows.
Hi, I'm Steven Noble
I'm a Fractional CTO and Digital Product Leader with nearly two decades of experience helping technology companies scale their engineering teams, improve delivery, and build the foundations they need to grow. I work with startups and scale-ups across the UK, typically on 6–12 month engagements.