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

Contract Length:

Currency:

Advisor CTO

$3,600per month

6 hours per week, 24 hours per month

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

2 strategic sessions per month (90 minutes each)
Technical stack and architecture audit
Slack support (48-hour response time)
Hiring support: candidate reviews and recommendations

What's included:

6-month technical roadmap
Architecture guidelines document

Outcome:A clear plan and recommendations for technology and team development without the overhead of a full-time CTO.

Contract term:1 month

Growth CTO

Scale CTO

$12,000per month

≈3 days per week, 80 hours per month

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

Everything from Growth CTO package
Participation in executive meetings and investor discussions
Building engineering management team (leads, engineering managers)
Due diligence support for fundraising
Organizational design: team structure, processes, rituals
Technical debt strategy and refactoring roadmap
Vendor and partner negotiations (AWS, third-party services, contractors)

What's included:

Engineering handbook and team culture code
Leveling and compensation framework
Engineering metrics dashboards (DORA, velocity, code quality, etc.)
Incident management and on-call rotation

Outcome:A mature engineering organization with clear processes, metrics, and a culture of product ownership.

Contract term:from 6 months

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).