Fractional CAIOPart-time Chief AI Officer & AI Advisor
Engineer-led executive AI leadership without a full-time hire.
I work as a Fractional CAIO — a part-time Chief AI Officer and AI advisor for companies not ready for a full-time CAIO. I help you start and steer the AI journey: priorities, guardrails, build decisions, and shipping real systems, not slide decks.
1 hour · Questions first? Message me on LinkedIn before you book.
SENIOR ENGINEER-EXEC IN THE LOOP
25+ years shipping in banking, fintech, and enterprise. Still builds.
What is a Fractional CAIO?
A Fractional CAIO (Chief AI Officer) is a senior AI leader you hire part-time. You get the same job as a full-time CAIO — set the agenda, set guardrails, make build decisions — without a full-time C-level seat.
As an AI advisor, the engagement can also stay lighter: a sounding board for plans and vendors, or focused help on one pilot. The retainer is for teams that want ongoing Chief AI Officer leadership in the loop.
Who hires a Fractional CAIO
Leadership teams that know AI matters, are not ready for a full-time Chief AI Officer, and want a senior engineer-exec in the loop.
Exec teams, not a lone champion
Founders, CEOs, COOs, and CTOs who need a senior AI voice in leadership meetings — not another tool demo for a single department.
Past experiments, no agenda yet
You have tried copilots, vendors, or a pilot. What you lack is a coherent AI agenda and someone who will hold the line on it.
Not ready for a full-time CAIO
A full-time Chief AI Officer is a heavy hire. You want more than a one-off workshop, without creating a new C-level seat yet.
How to engage a Fractional CAIO or AI Advisor
Fractional CAIO retainer if you want ongoing Chief AI Officer leadership on the AI agenda. AI Advisor if you mainly need a senior sounding board. Project-based help for a focused pilot or build decision.
Fractional CAIO retainer
Ongoing leadership on the AI agenda if you want a senior engineer-exec in the loop with your team.
- Weekly, biweekly, or monthly leadership cadence
- Custom number of calls and async availability
- In the loop with your execs and builders
- Agenda, decisions, and guardrails — not a leftover Slack channel
AI Advisor
A senior AI advisor and sounding board when you mainly need counsel, reviews, and pressure-testing of plans or vendors.
- Review strategy, vendors, and build vs. buy
- Pressure-test a plan before you commit budget
- Office hours or a fixed number of calls
- Useful when you are not ready for a retainer yet
Project-based
Focused help for a pilot, architecture choice, or build decision.
- A defined question with a defined end
- Pilot scoping, architecture, or go / no-go
- Can convert into a retainer if the work continues
- For teams that need a decision, not a standing role
Customized. Not a package.
Retainer, number of calls, project basis — we design the engagement around how your leadership team actually works.
Cadence & calls
Weekly, biweekly, or monthly. We set the number of calls and how reachable I am between them.
Depth of involvement
Strategy with leadership only, or in the room with the team on reviews, architecture, and pilots.
Scope of work
Retainer, advisory, or a single project. Mix leadership with a focused build decision when you need it.
Duration
A 30-day trial, a quarterly retainer, or a project with a clear finish line. Designed together, not a fixed package.
What I help you steer
The job is not more AI. It is a clearer agenda, and systems that actually land.
01
What to prioritize
A short, honest AI agenda. The few bets that move the business — and a sequence your team can actually execute.
02
What to ignore
Vendor noise, demo theater, and work that looks innovative without changing how you operate. Saying no is part of the job.
03
How to set guardrails
Data, vendors, risk, and how your team uses models. Enough structure to ship safely without freezing the org.
04
How to ship real systems
Pilots, architecture, build vs. buy, and staying close enough that something ships. Not a slide deck that dies in a shared drive.
Engineer-led. Not slide-deck-led.
Melvin Vivas · Software Engineer & Senior Technology Leader
25 years across banking, fintech, and enterprise — including senior roles at Standard Chartered Bank and Ohmyhome (Nasdaq).
I still build. When I sit in a leadership meeting, I can tell the difference between a real system and a demo. That is the point of a Fractional CAIO with an engineering background: direction, and staying close enough that it ships.
Built with AI
I ship the systems I advise on. These are products I built — not slide-deck case studies.
Fractional CAIO and AI Advisor FAQs
How the Chief AI Officer engagement actually works
A Fractional CAIO (Chief AI Officer) is a senior AI leader you engage part-time, usually on retainer. The role is the same as a full-time CAIO — set the AI agenda, decide what to build and skip, put guardrails in place, and stay close enough that pilots become real systems — without creating a full-time C-level seat.
Start with a conversation.
Book a 1-hour Fractional CAIO advise call. We review your AI goals, pressure-test your plan or stack, and lock clear next steps. Prefer to ask questions first? Message me on LinkedIn.