Good to know
Common questions
- Who is this for?
- I do the senior platform, cloud, and infrastructure work that small and mid-size teams need but can't yet justify hiring for full-time: platforms and IaC, security and hardening, keeping the cloud bill sane, and reliability. And I coach, helping developers and ops teams pick up good DevOps habits. It is just me: the person you talk to is the person who does the work.
- What is a fractional platform engineer?
- Someone senior who owns your platform part-time, instead of a full-time hire. You get the standards, the paved road, and the reliability and security practice a growing team needs, at a fraction of the cost and commitment of a permanent head of infrastructure.
- Do you work remotely, and across which time zones?
- Yes, fully remote from Slovakia and remote since 2013. The working day is UTC+1 (Central European), but it shifts to overlap with your team, so covering UK and US hours is routine. Later calls, evenings or occasionally beyond, are fine when a project needs them. For fractional and project work, that flexibility is expected. Time on site is fine too, a week or a month as part of an engagement; what I do not do is a daily desk in your office.
- How do engagements work?
- Work is B2B, invoiced directly through my Slovak company, Phi Solutions s.r.o. Bring me in as a fractional retainer to own the platform over time, or as a fixed-scope project for a specific piece of work.
- How much does it cost?
- Pricing depends on scope and whether it is a retainer or a fixed project. I work it out in conversation once I understand what you need. Book a call to talk it through.
- Which clouds and tools do you work with?
- Primarily AWS, with Azure and on-prem experience. Infrastructure as code with OpenTofu and Terraform, configuration management for servers, containers on ECS and Fargate, CI/CD with GitHub Actions, and security work like CIS hardening and GuardDuty. Cloud, hybrid, or on-prem.
- What can you help with?
- Six areas: fractional platform and DevOps leadership, platform engineering and IaC, security and hardening (SecOps), cloud cost optimization, SRE and reliability, and AI-augmented operations.
- Can you help with security?
- Yes. Server and container hardening, CIS baselines, supply-chain security, and day-to-day security operations.
- Are you taking on new work?
- Yes, I am currently taking on new engagements. Book a call and tell me about your setup.
- How do I get in touch?
- Book a call through the contact page, or email me. Tell me what your setup looks like and what you need, and I will tell you honestly whether I can help.