Ben Herila

Advisory

Limited technical advisory.

Not accepting new engagements

I’m not taking on new advisory engagements right now. This page stays up so the engagement model is clear when availability reopens.

A narrow, senior advisory offering for a very small number of companies at a time: an experienced outside technical voice for founders and engineering leaders, structured as recurring working sessions and written guidance rather than day-to-day execution.

What it covers

  • Architecture and system design reviews.
  • Reliability, incident readiness, and operational maturity.
  • Delivery: planning, sequencing, and de-risking significant technical work.
  • Technical strategy, including build-versus-buy and platform decisions.
  • Engineering operating models: processes, tooling, and quality practices.
  • Organization design, hiring plans, and leadership coaching for engineering teams.

What it is not

This is advisory, not a fractional executive engagement. I do not take day-to-day ownership of a team, roadmap, or production system.

  • No staff augmentation or general hourly coding.
  • No on-call, 24/7, or production operations responsibility.
  • No work competitive with my employer, and no use of any confidential information from current or past employers or clients.

Engagement structure

Limited engagements start at $5,000/month for a defined monthly cadence of working sessions and asynchronous review. Capacity is deliberately small, and the starting point reflects that: this is a good fit for a company that wants senior judgment on hard problems, not extra hands.

Startup engagements typically also include a standard advisory equity grant in addition to the cash retainer, agreed as part of the written scope.

Before any work begins, two things must be complete: a written scope agreed by both sides, and all approvals I require for outside work on that specific engagement.

Independence

Advisory work is personal and independent. It is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by any employer, and it never draws on confidential information.

Background is on the resume