0
Platform Users
foriio — Series A venture-backed creator platform
01THE NUMBERS
Results, not résumé lines.
Five years at LinkedIn, tech lead for a 270K-user platform, 98% latency reduction, and zero-downtime cloud migration — measurable outcomes across enterprise and startup scale.
0
Latency Reduction
Elasticsearch: 12 s → 150 ms
0
Zero-Downtime Migration
Full AWS → GCP cutover
0
LinkedIn Engineering
Top-20 Apache Pinot contributor
02THE JOURNEY
From FAANG to founder.
From FAANG engineer to startup founder — building at LinkedIn scale, leading Series A engineering, founding a music tech company, and running a non-profit.
2018 – 2023
LinkedIn
Software Engineer
Built data visualization tooling at scale. Top-20 contributor to Apache Pinot (open-source distributed OLAP). Large-scale feature development across EmberJS and Java services.
2025 – Present
foriio
Tech Lead
Leading engineering for a Series A venture-backed creator portfolio platform (270K+ users). Drove full AWS → GCP infrastructure migration with zero downtime. Built enterprise AI-powered creator search fusing visual embeddings, text embeddings, filters, and machine-learned metrics delivered via an LLM layer. Optimized Elasticsearch from 12s timeouts to 150ms response times.
2023 – Present
Bandruption
CEO & Founder
Full-stack TypeScript music tech platform — NextJS, Fastify, 2 Vike SSG web apps, and a React Native mobile app, all using tRPC for platform types, APIs, and service contracts in an NX monorepo. 35 artists, 200K fans on waitlist. Circle Grant awarded.
2021 – Present
Getaway Growth
Founder & Board Treasurer
Founded and built 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Raised $70,000 in under 2 years. Enabled summer cultural education experiences for 55+ students and counting.
2022 – 2023
Offworld Biotech
CEO & Founder
Established microgravity CRO service (MGaaS — Microgravity as a Service). Published and presented study at ASGSR 2022 replicating ISS growth curves. Pioneered a low-cost microgravity research pipeline for biological studies.
03WHAT I DO
Engagements built for impact.
Fractional CTO engagements include architecture audits, cloud migrations, fundraising tech prep, team building, and AI strategy — delivered at 10–20 hours per week for a fraction of full-time cost.
Architecture Audit & Roadmap
Deep-dive into your stack, infra, and team structure. Walk away with a prioritized 90-day technical roadmap aligned to your business goals.
2–4 weeks
Migration & Modernization
Cloud migrations (AWS/GCP/Azure), monolith → microservices, framework upgrades, zero-downtime cutovers. I've done it at scale — repeatedly.
Ongoing
Fundraising Tech Prep
Technical due diligence preparation, architecture documentation, security posture review. Make your tech story investor-ready.
4–6 weeks
Team Building & Leadership
Hiring pipelines, engineering culture, mentorship frameworks, intern programs. Build the team that builds the product.
Ongoing
AI & Data Strategy
Embedding pipelines, LLM-powered features, search infrastructure, ML metrics. Turn your data into intelligent product capabilities.
2–8 weeks
04THE STACK
Tools I reach for.
Full-stack TypeScript, React, Node.js, Python, and Java across GCP and AWS — with deep expertise in Elasticsearch, machine learning, LLMs, and data infrastructure.
TypeScriptNode.js
ReactReact Native
Next.jsRuby/Rails
PythonJava
FastifytRPC
PrismaDrizzle ORM
PostgreSQLAlloyDB
ElasticsearchRedis/Valkey
GCPAWS
Cloud RunKubernetes
DockerNX Monorepo
GitLab CI/CDMachine Learning
LLMsEmbeddings
TensorFlowClaude Code
SuperClaudeVike
05NOTABLE WORK
Projects that ship.
Open-source contributions to Apache Pinot at LinkedIn, AI-powered search for a 270K-user platform, and a music tech startup with 200K fans on waitlist.
LinkedIn · Open Source
ThirdEye / Apache Pinot
LinkedIn's business-wide monitoring platform for realtime time series analysis and interactive root-cause analysis. Top-20 contributor to Apache Pinot, an open-source distributed OLAP used by LinkedIn, Uber, Intuit, and more.
foriio · AI/ML
AI-Powered Creator Search
Enterprise search system fusing visual embeddings, text embeddings, filters, and machine-learned metrics — delivered via an LLM layer. Built for a 270K-user creator platform to power intelligent discovery and matching.
Bandruption · Music Tech
Bandruption Flagship
Music tech platform where fans get digital point cards and can follow, subscribe to, and buy from their favorite artists to earn loyalty points. Circle Grant awarded. 35 artists, 200K fans on waitlist.
06COMMON QUESTIONS
Frequently asked.
Answers to the most common questions founders and CEOs ask about fractional CTO engagements, pricing, and working with Harley Jackson.
A fractional CTO is a senior technology executive who embeds part-time into your company, typically 10–20 hours per week. Unlike consultants who advise from the outside, a fractional CTO takes ownership of technology strategy, architecture decisions, and team leadership — acting as a true member of your executive team.
Fractional CTO engagements typically range from $10,000 to $25,000 per month depending on scope and hours. This represents 60–80% savings compared to a full-time CTO salary of $300K–$500K plus equity and benefits. Project-based engagements like architecture audits have fixed pricing.
Hire a fractional CTO when you're facing scaling challenges, preparing for fundraising, making critical architecture decisions, struggling with technical debt slowing delivery, or need senior technical leadership but can't justify a full-time executive hire. Common triggers include post-seed funding, team growth past 5 engineers, or preparing for Series A.
Architecture audits and roadmaps, cloud migrations (particularly AWS to GCP), Rails-to-TypeScript modernization, engineering team building, and fundraising tech preparation. This is backed by 5 years at LinkedIn, leading engineering for a 270K-user platform, and founding a music tech startup applying direct democracy and fan action to music culture.
Both. Engagements can be fully remote, in-person, or hybrid depending on what works best for your team. Clear communication, regular syncs, and strong documentation keep every engagement effective regardless of format.
Engagement length varies by need. Architecture audits run 2–4 weeks, fundraising tech prep takes 4–6 weeks, and ongoing strategic leadership engagements can run 6–12+ months. Engagements can scale up or down as your company's needs change.
07CREDENTIALS
Education & research.
BS Computer Science from Florida State, graduate work at Purdue and Stony Brook, Wharton Executive Education, and published research in microgravity biomanufacturing.
Degrees
- BS Computer Science — Florida State University
- Master of Public Health (MPH) — University of West Florida
- Master of Public Administration (MPA) — Strayer University
- BA Natural Sciences/Mathematics — Thomas Edison State University
Programs
- Entrepreneurship Acceleration — Wharton Executive Education
- Artificial Intelligence Nanodegree — Udacity
- Machine Learning Specialization — Coursera
- Engineering Immersion Bootcamp — Thinkful
Graduate Coursework
- 6 ECE courses — Purdue University (Deep Learning, Control Theory, Epidemics over Networks)
- 5 CS courses — Stony Brook University (AI, Computer Networks, Computational Biology)
- 3 Deep Learning courses — Coursera (Neural Networks, Hyperparameter Tuning, ML Projects)
Publications
- Comparative Behavior of E. coli Cultured in Simulated Microgravity or Earth Gravity for Biomanufacturing in Space
ASGSR 2022 · Mars Society Convention 2022 - Utilization of Florida's Syndromic Surveillance System (ESSENCE-FL) to Estimate Hospitalizations for Influenza in Pregnant Women
2014 - Monitoring Respiratory Syncytial Virus in Children Aged Five and Under Using Emergency Department Chief Complaint Data
2014 - Achieving High Facility Participation in Electronic Syndromic Surveillance: Strategy and Considerations
PHIN 2014 - Time is Almost Up: Success with Big Bang go Live Requires Big Bang at the Elbow Support
McKesson Insight 2013
1 SPOT OPEN · Q2 2026
Ready to stop
guessing at your tech?
I work with a maximum of 2 companies at a time to give each engagement the depth it deserves. If you're a founder or CEO facing a critical technical inflection point, let's talk.
Apply to Work With Me →Typical response within 48 hours. Not a fit? I'll point you in the right direction.