Steve Petersen — 17 years from silicon to cloud to AI. Stanford EECS. StartX S17. 44 patents. 2 exits.
Full bio →
Full bio →
From LLM Architecture to Production Deployment — Ship AI Products with Confidence
Stanford-trained technical leader with 44 patents and 2 exits. Fractional CTO expertise in AI/ML architecture, LLM integration, and AI-native product development — without the $300K+ price tag.
From first call to active engagement in under a week
Discuss your AI product challenges, architecture questions, and goals. No sales pitch.
Scope, timeline, and deliverables customized to your stage and needs. No surprises.
Onboarding, access setup, and first working session. 24-48 hours for urgent needs.
Deep AI engineering expertise paired with startup leadership experience
From RAG pipelines to multi-agent systems — I architect AI products that scale. Deep hands-on experience with LLMs, embeddings, vector databases, and production ML infrastructure.
I build and deploy the AI-powered developer toolchains your team needs: Copilot/Cursor workflows, AI code review, automated testing with LLMs, and custom internal AI tools.
44 patents across hardware, mobile, and AI. 2 successful exits. I know how to build defensible AI IP and prepare technical due diligence that satisfies investors. View patents →
From rapid AI product sprints to ongoing technical leadership
Hands-on technical depth across the modern AI stack
Model selection, prompt engineering, fine-tuning, cost optimization
Retrieval-augmented generation, embeddings, vector database architecture
Multi-agent systems, tool use, planning, autonomous workflows
CI/CD for ML, model versioning, drift detection, observability
Copilot workflows, AI code review, automated testing, custom tooling
Market analysis, positioning, build vs. buy, GTM for AI products
Real outcomes from AI-driven technical leadership
"Steve joined us pre-Series A when our technical debt was out of control. In 90 days, he architected our refactor strategy, implemented DORA metrics, and prepared our technical due diligence documentation. We closed our $8M Series A with flying colors."
"As a non-technical founder, I needed someone who could translate complex technology into business language. Steve doesn't just build — he educates. Our board presentations are now data-driven and confident."
"The AI Transformation Program increased our team's velocity by 35% in 3 months. The productivity gains paid for Steve's engagement twice over."
You deserve to know exactly what you're paying and what you're getting.
| Engagement Type | New Client | After 1 Year |
|---|---|---|
| Heavy/Hands-On (10-20 hrs/week) | $250/hour | $200/hour |
| Light/Advisory (10-20 hrs/month) | $300/hour | $250/hour |
Save 56% vs full-time CTO ($325K+/year). Start in <1 week. No equity dilution.
An AI-powered technical leadership tool that brings fractional CTO-level insights to your team 24/7. Architecture reviews, code quality analysis, technical debt prioritization, and strategic recommendations — powered by the same frameworks I use with clients.
Join the Waitlist →Thoughts on AI, startups, and technical leadership
How the role of the CTO is evolving as AI becomes the default toolchain for engineering teams.
Lessons from architecting LLM-powered products — what works, what doesn't, and where teams get stuck.
Why more seed-stage startups are choosing fractional technical leadership over premature full-time hires.
Stanford EECS. StartX S17. 17 years from silicon to cloud to AI.
Stack: AI/LLMs, RAG, Agents, Full-Stack (iOS, Android, MERN), DevOps, IoT, HIPAA/FDA/SOC-2
No pressure, no sales pitch. Just an honest conversation about whether I can help. Book a free 30-minute video call to discuss your AI product strategy, technical architecture, and goals.
Schedule Free 30-Min Call →