FAQ
Practical questions, straight answers
The stuff you actually want to know before getting in touch.
Engagement & commercial
How long is a typical engagement?
It depends on the problem. Architecture advisory is usually 1-2 weeks. Fractional embedded work runs 2-6 months. Delivery sprints are scoped to the outcome. I'm flexible — the engagement lasts as long as it's adding value and ends when the job's done.
What are your commercial terms?
Advisory and delivery sprints are typically fixed-fee against a defined scope and deliverable. Fractional retainers are a monthly fee based on agreed days per week. I'm comfortable working under your SOW, MSA, or through procurement frameworks. Happy to discuss what works for your organisation.
Do you work through intermediaries?
Yes — regularly. I work with talent platforms like Toptal and with consulting firms who need specialist depth in areas like MLOps, cloud platform architecture, or AI agent infrastructure. I'm used to operating under client SOWs, NDA frameworks, and enterprise procurement processes.
Are you IR35 compliant? (UK clients)
I operate through HollandTech Limited, my own limited company. I'm experienced with IR35 assessments and happy to work inside or outside IR35 depending on the engagement structure. I can provide CEST assessments and work with your internal determination process.
Do you have professional indemnity insurance?
Yes. Professional indemnity and public liability insurance are in place. Details available on request.
Working together
Are you remote or on-site?
Remote-first, based in Scotland. I've led distributed teams across multiple time zones for years — remote is my natural environment. Happy to travel for workshops, kick-offs, or key milestones. I've worked on-site in London, Basel, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Palm Beach Gardens among others.
How do you handle IP and confidentiality?
All work product belongs to you. I sign NDAs as standard and I'm comfortable with enterprise confidentiality requirements. I've worked in regulated environments including banking (HSBC) and pharmaceuticals (Roche, Zoetis) — I understand what "confidential" actually means.
Do you have security clearance?
I've worked in environments requiring enhanced background checks and am happy to undergo any clearance process your organisation requires.
What if we already have an architecture / a plan?
Great — I'll work with it. I'm not going to walk in and propose a rewrite in my favourite language. But I will give you an honest assessment of whether the plan will deliver the outcomes you need. If it will, I'll help you execute it. If there are gaps, I'll flag them constructively with alternatives.
What happens when you leave?
That's something I think about from day one. I pair with your team, document decisions, and design systems your people can maintain. If you still need me six months after I leave, I haven't done my job properly. The goal is always to make myself redundant.
Technical
Which cloud platforms do you work with?
All three — Azure, AWS, and GCP. I hold certifications across all three hyperscalers and have delivered production platforms on each. I don't have a favourite — I pick the right platform for the problem and the organisation.
What's your experience with AI / ML in production?
Deep and current. I've built ML platforms with Kubeflow, Vertex AI, SageMaker, and AzureML. I've designed AI agent infrastructure with multi-provider LLM orchestration, prompt evaluation frameworks, and enterprise governance. I use AI coding tools daily in my own work. This isn't theoretical — it's what I do.
Do you write code or just architect?
Both. I believe the best architecture comes from people who also write production code. I design systems and build them — Go, Python, TypeScript, C#. I review PRs, debug production issues, and ship to production. Architecture without implementation is just PowerPoint.
Question not answered?
Drop me a message. I reply to everything and I don't do sales calls — just honest conversations about whether I can help.