Engineering
leadership,
on demand.

Prime Directive Consulting is a fractional engineering leadership firm for growth-stage software companies, PE-backed portfolios, and FinTech operators. We step in to run engineering, ship the work that's stuck, and tighten operational posture before it becomes a board conversation.

Book a 30-Minute Call How We Engage
SOC 2 Type 2 Production Experience
FinTech Track Record
Multi-Cloud (AWS & GCP)
Who We Work With

Built for the situations
that need adult supervision.

Growth-stage software

Series A to Series C. Engineering team between 15 and 60. The CTO left, never existed, or is overloaded.

PE operating partners

Diligence support, interim coverage, and post-close stabilization across portfolio companies. We sit on your bench.

FinTech & regulated industry

SOC 2, change management, and audit-ready release practices for teams shipping into regulated environments.

How We Engage

Three categories.
One way of working.

Each category has a fixed-scope entry point and a deeper engagement for the work that follows.

AI & Operational Effectiveness

Audit + Implementation
Fixed-scope wedge, scoped implementation

We help engineering and operations teams ship more with the same headcount. Concrete opportunities, scoped and ranked. Real implementation, not strategy decks.

  • 3-day AI Operations Audit
  • AI workflows & n8n integrations
  • Custom agents & process automation
  • Engineering productivity tooling
Start with the Audit
Anchor Service

Engineering Leadership

3 to 6 Month Retainer
Fractional VP of Engineering

We embed a senior engineering leader with bench support, run the org while we work, and leave it shipping faster than we found it. Used by PE operating partners for diligence, interim coverage, and post-close stabilization.

  • Technical strategy & 90-day plan
  • CI/CD & release modernization
  • Hiring, leveling, team operations
  • Compliance posture & SOC 2 readiness
Book a Working Call

SOC 2 & Compliance

2-Week Readiness Sprint
Plus ongoing advisory

Two-week fixed-scope engagement that tells you exactly where you stand against SOC 2 Type 2 and what it takes to close the gaps. Optional ongoing advisory for teams already in audit cycles.

  • Written gap analysis & remediation plan
  • 90-day execution roadmap
  • Vanta, Drata, Secureframe pairing
  • Optional retainer advisory
Start the Sprint

When clients need it, we also build.

Custom SaaS platforms, platform modernization, and the kind of senior IC work clients ask for once we are already inside the company. Not how we lead, but on the menu when the work calls for it.

Talk to us about a build
Our Approach

No discovery deck.
No pitch.

Three steps from first call to hand-off.

01

Working call

A 30-minute conversation about the actual problem. No discovery deck. No pitch. We tell you whether we can help and how we would scope it.

02

Scoped engagement

A wedge or a retainer with named deliverables and a fixed price for fixed-scope work. Clear start and end dates. No indefinite engagements.

03

Hand-off

We leave behind documentation, a 90-day plan, and an org that does not need us anymore. The right outcome is your team running without us.

Track Record

Real work. Real outcomes.

Curated proof from FinTech platforms, regulated industries, and global engineering scale events.

FinTech Platform Scaling

Scaled global FinTech engineering team across 5 time zones while maintaining SOC 2 Type 2 compliance for Fortune 500 financial institutions.

  • Daily deployments on 17M+ LOC codebase
  • 25% improvement in release predictability
  • Multi-cloud architecture across AWS & GCP
200%+
Team Growth
Through active scale event
5
Time Zones
Distributed engineering ops

AI & Operational Effectiveness

Federated AI governance across engineering, product, and operations. Workflow automation that recovers measurable hours per engineer per week.

10%+ accuracy gains
Custom workflow deployment

SOC 2 Type 2, In Production

Stood up and maintained SOC 2 Type 2 compliance posture across global teams during active scaling. Penetration testing and audit cycles managed without slowing the release train.

Multi-cloud audit readiness
Daily-deploy compliance posture
About the Firm

A small firm built
for the work that matters.

How we are structured

Prime Directive operates as a small core team supported by multiple partnerships and contractors in their specialized sectors. That structure lets us match the depth of an engagement to the actual problem rather than the size of the firm.

When a SOC 2 readiness sprint needs a compliance specialist for a week, we bring one. When a fractional retainer needs a senior platform engineer for two months, we bring one. We do not staff engagements with people who are learning on your dime.

Founder

Blake Bowling. Software engineering executive with 15+ years running engineering organizations across Fortune 500 and venture-backed software companies.

Background includes leading FinTech engineering teams through SOC 2 Type 2, multi-cloud architecture across AWS and GCP, and scaling engineering organizations through 200%+ growth events.

Greater Cincinnati, KY. US business hours.

Common Questions

What buyers usually want to know before the first call.

How long is a typical retainer?

Three to six months. Two-month engagements happen when the scope is narrow. We do not pitch indefinite fractional arrangements. The right outcome is your team running without us.

How many hours per week?

15 to 25 hours per week from the assigned lead, with bench support layered in as the engagement requires. We can flex up for a launch window or audit cycle and back down for steady-state work.

Do you replace our existing CTO or VP of Engineering?

No. We work alongside existing leadership, or we provide interim coverage when there is a gap. We do not compete with permanent hires. PE operating partners often use us between hires or to stabilize during a transition.

What happens after a wedge engagement?

Sometimes nothing. The deliverable stands on its own. When clients want continued help, we convert into the retainer or implementation work at a discounted first-month rate. No upsell pressure inside the wedge itself.

What does pricing look like?

Wedge engagements are fixed price by named scope. Retainer engagements are a monthly fee scoped to the engagement and the bench required. We quote per engagement after a 30-minute working call. Reach out and we will send the relevant one-pager.

Are you the right fit for an early-stage startup?

Probably not for the retainer. The engineering leadership work is priced for companies with meaningful operational complexity. For smaller teams, the AI Operations Audit or a one-off advisory call is usually the right starting point.

Engineering org stuck?
Let's talk.

A 30-minute working call. No deck. No pitch. No obligation.

Prefer to put it on the calendar?

Book a 30-minute working call directly.

Schedule on Cal.com