Chief technology officer services · fractional, interim, part-time, permanent

CTO Services · fractional, interim, part-time and permanent

CTO services come in four shapes: fractional, interim, part-time and permanent.

The CTO owns the technology the product is built on: architecture, engineering team, delivery and technical risk.

This hub sets out what the seat covers, which shape fits which situation, and what the market publishes on rates.

Each route has its own page; every brief gets a shortlist of 3–5 with rate, availability and IR35 position set out.

Submit a brief → →

How a brief runswhat we undertake

01Brief30-MINUTE SCOPING CALLDay 0
02Shortlist of 3–5VETTED · RATE BENCHMARK · IR35After the brief
03InterviewsYOU MEET THE SHORTLISTYour diary
04Scoped startFIRST-MONTH OUTCOMES AGREEDYou set the date
05Fractional, interim and permanentIR35 POSITION SET OUTOn every brief

Shortlist3–5

£1,000–£1,600

Fractional day rate · Leadership Services 2026

£800–£1,800

Interim day rate · Exec Capital 2026

£120,000–£201,500

Permanent salary · Robert Half 2026

15 minutes · video or phone

Book 15 minutes to hire a CTO

Tell us the scope and the days a week. We come back with CTO Services candidates, their day rates and availability.

0115 minutes, video or phone
02We scope the role and the days a week
03A shortlist of 3–5 after the call
04Fractional, interim and permanent briefs

Prefer email? Use the booking page →

Pick a day that suits · live availability

Open the booking calendar →

01/ the role

What CTO services cover

The CTO owns the technology the product is built on: architecture, engineering team, delivery and technical risk.

In scope: technical strategy and architecture decisions; building and leading the engineering team; delivery cadence, quality and engineering process; security, scalability and technical debt; technical due diligence for investors or acquirers.

Internal IT, end-user devices and business systems usually belong to a CIO or IT director.

Product discovery and roadmap ownership belong with a product leader, working closely with the CTO.

What the seat does day to day is set out in the CTO role explained; executives looking for this work can see current CTO roles; the full cost picture is on the CTO cost guide.

02/ scope

Four ways to buy the CTO seat

Fractional CTO services

A fractional CTO holds the CTO seat on a standing weekly commitment, usually alongside a small number of other clients, and owns outcomes rather than hours.

A fractional CTO sets architecture, hires and leads the first engineers, and represents technology to the board and investors on a standing weekly commitment, leaving day-to-day coding to the team.

Fractional CTO services sets out the scope, the rates and how we shortlist.

Interim CTO services

An interim CTO works full-time for a fixed term to cover a gap, lead a change or see a transaction through, then hands over.

Interim executives are hired for immediate impact: they expect to take decisions from the first week.

Interim CTO services sets out the scope, the rates and how we shortlist.

Part-Time CTO services

A part-time CTO works set days each week for one organisation.

A part-time CTO works agreed days each week as a member of the leadership team, suited to a product with a stable team that needs consistent technical leadership rather than a full-time executive.

Part-Time CTO services sets out the scope, the rates and how we shortlist.

Permanent CTO

A permanent CTO is right once the engineering organisation needs daily leadership, or technology is the core of the company’s value and the board wants a full-time owner of it.

Our permanent CTO search page covers the process.

Outsourced CTO services

Sold as virtual CTO: a provider or a named individual off your payroll.

See outsourced CTO services.

03/ the route

Fractional, interim or permanent?

Four taps. The answer names the route for the seat and the page that covers it.

How much of the week does the work fill?

Is there a fixed end or a programme?

Does the seat sit on the board for years?

Is the need now, or can it wait for a search?

The route · Fractional

A fractional CTO services.

The work fills part of the week, so buy the days it needs.

A fractional CTO services holds the seat on agreed days for as long as the seat is needed, and works for other clients on the rest.

The fractional CTO services route Talk it through

04/ rates by stage

CTO rates what the published benchmarks say

Every figure is the named source’s own published band. Fractional Quest publishes no fees: each candidate on a shortlist states their own rate.

BenchmarkPublished figureSource

Fractional CTO day rate£1,000–£1,600Leadership Services 2026

Interim CTO day rate£800–£1,800Exec Capital 2026

Permanent CTO salary (25th–75th percentile)£120,000–£201,500Robert Half 2026

05/ comparison

Four ways to buy a CTO fractional, interim, part-time or permanent

The same CTO seat can be filled four ways. The difference is commitment, contract and how long you need it.

FractionalInterimPart-timePermanent

CommitmentDays a week, ongoingFull-time, fixed termSet days each weekFull-time, open-ended

Usual contractContract for services, often via the executive’s companyDay-rate contract for the mandateOften pro-rata employment; sometimes a contractorEmployment contract

Clients at onceA small portfolioOneOneOne

Best whenYou need CTO judgement every week, not every dayYou need full-time cover or a change led nowYou want the same person on the same days for the long termThe seat is full-time work for years

ExitNotice period, or convert to permanentHand-over at the end of the mandateEmployment noticeResignation or redundancy

06/ timing

Which shape fits your situation

Match the shape to the work, not the title.

Scenario 01

Weekly judgement

Fractional

You need a CTO to own decisions every week, but the work does not fill five days.

A non-technical founding team, an agency-built product that needs taking in-house, a raise that will include technical due diligence, or engineering velocity that has stalled.

Scenario 02

Now, full-time

Interim

The engineering team needs a leader now.

An interim CTO steadies delivery, keeps the roadmap moving and helps recruit the successor.

Scenario 03

Long term

Part-time or permanent

A part-time CTO works agreed days each week as a member of the leadership team, suited to a product with a stable team that needs consistent technical leadership rather than a full-time executive.

A permanent CTO is right once the engineering organisation needs daily leadership, or technology is the core of the company’s value and the board wants a full-time owner of it.

07/ vetting

How we vet the shortlist

Five stages: qualification, mandate fit, reference deep-dive, shortlist and analysis, kick-off.

01
Qualification screen
Verify CTO Services tenure, sector context and stage fit.
SOURCING
02
Mandate fit
Match to your situation — stage, board dynamics, timing.
MATCHING
03
Reference deep-dive
We take references ourselves, from recent past clients — real outcomes, not titles.
VERIFY
04
Shortlist
Three to five candidates with day rate, availability and IR35 position set out.
SHORTLIST OF 3–5

08/ before you brief

Before you buy CTO services what to decide first

The decisions.

Write down the three decisions the CTO will own in the next ninety days.

That list decides the shape: weekly decisions point to fractional, a time-bound programme to interim, a steady load to part-time.

The neighbours.

A CTO builds the product’s technology; a CIO runs the company’s own systems.

Early-stage businesses need the CTO first.

The checks.

A public reference for agile delivery, technology choices and working with contractors: see the GOV.UK Service Manual.

For a contractor engagement, agree how it will run in practice, because that decides IR35 status; HMRC’s guidance for clients sets out who makes the determination.

09/ questions

CTO services FAQ

The questions people ask before bringing in a CTO.

Ways of filling the CTO seat without, or before, a permanent hire: fractional (days a week, ongoing), interim (full-time, fixed term) and part-time (set days, one employer), alongside a permanent search. The CTO owns the technology the product is built on: architecture, engineering team, delivery and technical risk.

Fractional when you need CTO judgement every week but not every day; interim when you need full-time cover or a change led now; part-time when the load is steady and you want the same person long term; permanent when the seat is full-time work for years.

Published UK bands: Fractional CTO day rate £1,000–£1,600 (Leadership Services 2026); Interim CTO day rate £800–£1,800 (Exec Capital 2026); Permanent CTO salary (25th–75th percentile) £120,000–£201,500 (Robert Half 2026). Fractional Quest publishes no fees; each candidate on a shortlist states their rate.

Internal IT, end-user devices and business systems usually belong to a CIO or IT director. Product discovery and roadmap ownership belong with a product leader, working closely with the CTO.

You brief us on scope, shape and start date. We come back with a shortlist of 3–5, each with rate, availability and IR35 position set out, assessed through our five-stage vetting.

Book 15 minutes · shortlist of 3–5

Bring the brief. We architect the team.

A shortlist of 3–5 with day rate, availability and IR35 position set out, after five-stage vetting.

Book a call →Submit a brief