How I Work with Engineers
(Or: What Happens When You Stop Billing by the Hour)
Here’s what most agencies do:
Engineer builds thing. Agency bills hours. Engineer gets salary. Agency keeps the margin.
Simple. Predictable. Soul-crushing.
Here’s what I do instead.
The Model
I work as a fractional CTO. When a client needs something built, I scope it using value-based pricing—not hours, but how much is solving this problem worth to you?
Value-based engineering
What would it look like to be paid for the impact of your work, rather than your time?
Client pays upfront. Full fee.
Then I bring in an engineer from my network—often junior, sometimes senior taking a career break, sometimes someone who’s been “reset” by AI like the rest of us.
We split the fee. 50/50 if we’re new to each other. Higher percentage to them as trust builds.
They get paid upfront. No timesheets. No hourly tracking.
Why This Changes Everything
The engineer isn’t working for me. They’re working with me.
Want to upgrade your Claude subscription to blow through this project faster? Go for it. You just increased your effective hourly rate.
Want to experiment with a new framework because you’re curious? Your call. You’re investing in your own learning.
The faster you get, the more you earn. Not next year at review time. Right now. This project.
AI makes you 2x more productive? You just doubled your rate.
This is what AI should do for engineers. Not replace them. Amplify them.
The Federation
I call this loose network of collaborators “The Federation” (yes, I’m a Trekkie).
It’s not an agency. It’s not an employment model.
It’s humans working together, using AI as Magick, solving real problems for businesses while maintaining autonomy and dignity.
The engineers I work with have told me: I never want to go back.
Not because they’re making money (although this is important). Because they have freedom. Autonomy. The direct reward for getting better at their craft.
And in the age of AI, where we’re all beginners again?
That matters more than ever.