Fractional CTO · Boston, MA
Fractional CTO in Boston.
Eric Hassey is a Boston-based fractional CTO for healthtech and regulated startups. Remote by default — and in the room for the moments that justify one: kickoffs, architecture reviews, investor diligence, security reviews.
The case
Code is remote. Judgment has a geography.
Most of a fractional CTO engagement — reading code, writing architecture, reviewing PRs, hiring — happens remotely and always has. What geography changes is the part around the engineering: being fluent in this ecosystem before the first call, same-timezone mornings when a decision cannot wait a day, and being able to sit down when the stakes justify it.
Boston technical leadership means knowing what a hospital security questionnaire is actually asking, what an SBIR commercialization plan has to show a reviewer, and what Boston investors ask in technical diligence — because those conversations shape the architecture months before they happen. A local fractional CTO carries that context into every decision; a remote one learns it on your clock.
The clusters
Where Boston work concentrates
The domain argument lives on each vertical page. This is the map.
Healthtech & medical AI
Boston is one of the densest healthtech markets in the country — hospitals, universities, and the companies that grow out of them. HIPAA, PHI boundaries, and clinical AI claims are architecture decisions, not paperwork.
Fractional CTO for healthtech →SBIR-funded spinouts
Federal research money turns into companies here. If you are carrying an NSF or NIH award toward commercialization, the technical plan and the PI workload are the same conversation.
Fractional CTO for SBIR startups →AI startups
The question is rarely "can we use AI" and usually "what survives contact with real users and real data." That is an architecture and evaluation problem before it is a model problem.
Fractional CTO for AI startups →B2B SaaS
Multi-tenant architecture, billing, integrations, and the first engineering hires — the standard SaaS decisions, made once, correctly, before they get expensive to change.
Fractional CTO for B2B SaaS →Working rhythm
What in-person buys, and what it doesn't.
In person: the kickoff that aligns founders and stakeholders on architecture before anything is built, the whiteboard session that solves a hard design problem in an afternoon, the diligence conversation where having your CTO at the table is the point. Remote: everything else, including most of the engineering.
On-site availability covers Boston, Cambridge, and the MetroWest / Route 128 corridor. Beyond that — and for clients everywhere else in the country — the engagement runs the same way senior practices everywhere do: video, shared documents, and work that is reviewable because it is written down.
Based in Boston, working with clients nationwide.
Request a triage
Talk through what you're building in Boston.
Free, 30 minutes. Tell me where you're stuck — I'll tell you what it takes. I confirm every request within 24 hours.
FAQ
Boston, specifically
Do you work on-site in Boston? +
Yes. I am based in Boston, and the moments that justify a room happen in person where the client wants that: project kickoffs, architecture reviews and whiteboarding, investor and diligence conversations. The day-to-day engineering is remote by default, like any senior practice.
Do you only take Boston clients? +
No. Based in Boston, working with clients nationwide. Most engagements run remote-first; Boston and Eastern Massachusetts clients additionally get practical on-site availability.
Does location change the price? +
No. Retainers run $5,000–$12,000 per month based on days per week and scope — regulated work (HIPAA, medical AI) sits at the upper end — not on your ZIP code. A fixed-price Technology Health Check is $2,500 wherever you are.
What is on-site time actually used for? +
The decisions that go faster face to face: aligning founders and stakeholders on architecture before a build, working a hard design problem at a whiteboard, and sitting with your team when an investor or security review asks questions your engineering has to answer.