Remote / Hybrid • GST Timezone

Fractional CTO in Dubai

Expert technical leadership for Dubai startups. CTO services in GST timezone. Build, scale, and transform your product without full-time CTO costs.

Why Dubai Startups Choose Fractional CTO

Dubai is rapidly becoming the MENA region's leading tech hub. The city is home to hundreds of startups with unprecedented access to capital, tax advantages, and strategic positioning as a gateway to Middle Eastern and African markets. Industries like FinTech, E-commerce, Real Estate Tech, Logistics, and Enterprise SaaS thrive in this ecosystem.

However, rapid growth creates unique challenges: competition for experienced technical talent is intense, international teams require special management, and DIFC and Central Bank regulatory requirements demand deep expertise. Many startups find that traditional full-time CTO hiring—costing AED 600K-1M (~$165K-$275K USD)—is impractical at early stages.

Challenge

Challenges for Dubai Startups

High salaries make full-time CTO expensive in tax-free environment
Intense competition for senior engineers in the region
Complex DIFC and Central Bank regulatory environment
Need for rapid scaling across MENA markets

Managing international distributed teams
High salaries make full-time CTO expensive in tax-free environment
Intense competition for senior engineers in the region

Complex DIFC and Central Bank regulatory environment
Need for rapid scaling across MENA markets
Managing international distributed teams

How Fractional CTO Solves These Challenges

Access to experienced CTO without Dubai bonuses and premium salaries (AED 400K+ annual savings)
Start immediately—no 3-6 month hiring process
Expertise in DIFC regulatory requirements and FinTech licensing
Expertise in building distributed teams with remote-first focus
Experience with international talent and diverse cultures

What I do

Build MVP

Turn your startup idea into a working product

Tech stack selection for international talent market
Launch in 3-4 months with scalable foundation
Architecture ready for MENA investor demos

Scale Product

Grow from seed stage to Series A

Handle 10x growth without outages
Manage technical debt and refactoring
Prepare for regional VC due diligence

AI Transformation

Integrate AI/ML into your startup

LLM integrations and GPT-powered solutions
ML systems for competitive advantage
Strategy, implementation, and MLOps

Technology Audit

Technical assessment before raising capital

Code quality and architecture review
Prepare for Dubai VC due diligence
Risk map and recommendations

Technical Due Diligence for Investors

For MENA investors evaluating startups

Comprehensive technical risk assessment
Team and product scalability analysis
Reports for investment committees

Team Building

Hire your first 5-10 engineers

Navigate Dubai talent market and international hiring
Build hybrid teams (local + remote engineers)
Establish engineering culture

Pricing

Packages for Dubai Startups

Currency:

Advisor CTO

$3,600per month

~6 hours per week of dedicated time

For early-stage startups with an MVP or an idea that need oversight and support without full-time involvement.

How we work:

Bi-weekly strategy session with founders (90 min)
Technical stack and architecture review - are you building on the right foundation?
Code review of critical decisions and risky PRs
Candidate screening: resume review, interview structure, hire/no-hire recommendations
Infrastructure and tooling spend review - are you overpaying for cloud and third-party services?
Async access via Slack (48-hour response time)

What you walk away with:

Technical assessment report - honest evaluation of your codebase, infrastructure, and risks
Technology roadmap - prioritized recommendations for the next 6 months
Hiring scorecard - what to look for in your first 3-5 engineers

Outcome

Confidence that your technical decisions are sound and a clear plan to build on - without costly mistakes.

Month-to-month, cancel anytime

Growth CTO

Scale CTO

$11,000per month

~20 hours per week of dedicated time

For Series A+ startups with 15-20+ engineers preparing for the next funding round.

How we work:

Everything from Growth CTO package
Daily involvement in engineering operations - standups, planning, escalations
Executive team participation - board prep, investor meetings, due diligence support
Engineering management development - coaching team leads into engineering managers
Organizational design - team topology, processes, rituals, communication structures
Vendor strategy - cloud cost optimization, service negotiations, contractor management
Technical debt strategy - refactoring roadmap balanced against product delivery

What you walk away with:

Engineering handbook - culture, standards, processes, expectations
Leveling and compensation framework - career ladders and salary bands
Engineering metrics dashboard - DORA metrics, velocity trends, code quality
Incident management playbook - on-call rotation, severity definitions, postmortem process
Technical due diligence package - investor-ready architecture and security documentation
Security and compliance assessment - SOC2, GDPR, HIPAA readiness evaluation
Engineering headcount plan and infrastructure budget forecast

Outcome

A mature engineering organization ready for due diligence and the next funding round.

3-month minimum commitment

How Remote Work Functions with Dubai Startups

Working hours overlap: convenient overlap with 9am-6pm GST daily—sufficient for meetings and calls. Outside this window, available asynchronously via Slack and email, enabling work without downtime.
Communication rhythm: Weekly strategic call with founders. Bi-weekly team sync. Daily communication via Slack. Emergency availability for critical issues.
In-person visits: Quarterly visits to Dubai available for Scale CTO and higher packages. Available for board meetings and investor presentations (remote or in-person).