How is this different from hiring an in-house engineer?

Cheaper, faster to start, no payroll commitment. The trade-off: we have other clients, so the dedicated hours are real but not unlimited. Most clients use Retainer + 1 in-house AI engineer as the right hybrid.

What happens at month 3?

Renewal conversation. If we're not earning it, we'd rather you leave cleanly. We don't auto-renew without a real conversation about whether the math is still working for both sides.

Can I pause a retainer?

Yes, after month 3. 30 days notice. We hold the team allocation for 30 more days after notice in case you want to come back.

Engagement model

Monthly Retainer

Ongoing AI partner. Capped hours, dedicated team, multi-workstream.

When you want a long-term engineering partner — roadmap, iteration, multiple parallel workstreams — a Monthly Retainer is the right model. Three-month minimum, then month-to-month with 30 days notice. Most of our retainer clients renewed at least once.

Discuss this →See all three models

Numbers

Typical retainer: $8K – $35K / month
Minimum commitment: 3 months · then month-to-month
Cancellation notice: 30 days after month 3
Team size: 0.5 – 2 FTE equivalents

Best for

Post-launch ongoing tuning + eval coverage + new agent additions
Companies shipping multiple AI features over the next year
Building alongside an in-house team (we embed)
Operations where the AI changes monthly (catalog, content, ops)

Not for

Companies that only need one build (use Sprint)
Engagements where scope changes monthly without warning (chaos isn't a model)
Teams that won't dedicate a human owner on their side

What you get

Dedicated team allocation per month (capped hours)
Monthly retros + roadmap review
Weekly demos to your team
Same engineers month over month (no rotating)
Embedded in your tools (Slack, Linear, your repos)
Quarterly business review with the engagement lead

Payment terms

Invoiced on the 1st of each month, payable by the 15th. Three-month minimum, then month-to-month with 30 days notice. Hours don't roll over (use them or lose them — keeps the focus tight).

FAQ

How is this different from hiring an in-house engineer?
Cheaper, faster to start, no payroll commitment. The trade-off: we have other clients, so the dedicated hours are real but not unlimited. Most clients use Retainer + 1 in-house AI engineer as the right hybrid.
What happens at month 3?
Renewal conversation. If we're not earning it, we'd rather you leave cleanly. We don't auto-renew without a real conversation about whether the math is still working for both sides.
Can I pause a retainer?
Yes, after month 3. 30 days notice. We hold the team allocation for 30 more days after notice in case you want to come back.