Partner With Me as Your Fractional Design Director—Without the Full-Time Commitment
Ongoing strategic design leadership for companies that need manufacturing expertise, portfolio oversight, and senior-level direction.
What is Fractional Design Leadership?
Think of it as having me as your design director on retainer. I integrate with your team to provide the strategic oversight, manufacturing knowledge, and design direction you need—without hiring a full-time executive.
This isn't consulting where I parachute in and leave. I become part of your rhythm: regular check-ins, strategic guidance on your product roadmap, DFM oversight, and design reviews that keep your team moving forward.
This is me, personally. I don't delegate fractional leadership work—when you hire me for this, you get me.
Why This Works (and Why It's Needed)
Most companies don't need a full-time design director, but they desperately need someone with 20+ years of experience who can:
Navigate manufacturing realities before designs get too far downstream
Provide strategic portfolio guidance across multiple products
Bridge the gap between creative vision and production feasibility
Give your team confidence they're on the right track
I've seen it happen countless times: internal teams work brilliantly on the creative side, but hit walls when it comes to costing, DFM, overseas manufacturing relationships, and exec-level stakeholder management. That's where fractional leadership makes the difference.
What I Offer
Strategic Design Direction
Regular portfolio reviews, roadmap planning, and design strategy sessions. I help you prioritize what to build, when, and why—backed by manufacturing and market realities.
Manufacturing & DFM Expertise
Leverage my 20+ years of overseas manufacturing relationships and production knowledge. I review designs with a manufacturing lens before they get too far downstream, saving you costly revisions and timeline delays.
Team Integration & Mentorship
I work directly with your internal designers, engineers, and PMs—providing real-time guidance, design reviews, and mentorship. Your team gets better while I'm here, and continues to grow after I'm gone.
Executive Stakeholder Management
I translate design decisions into business language for your leadership team. You get someone who can confidently present design strategy, defend creative direction, and communicate trade-offs at the executive level.
My Method (How I Work With Your Team)
Integrate — I start by understanding your products, team dynamics, roadmap, and biggest challenges. I identify where my oversight will have the most impact.
Align — We establish a regular cadence: weekly or bi-weekly check-ins, design reviews, strategic planning sessions—whatever rhythm works for your team.
Guide — I provide hands-on direction where you need it: design reviews, manufacturing guidance, portfolio decisions, stakeholder presentations. I'm in the weeds with you, not observing from a distance.
Build — Over time, your team internalizes the thinking. I'm not creating dependency—I'm building capability while providing the senior oversight you need right now.
Why Fractional? (But Know the Trade-Offs)
Fractional design leadership costs a fraction of a full-time design director, but gives you access to senior-level expertise exactly when you need it.
The upside: You get my 20+ years of manufacturing knowledge, design strategy, and portfolio oversight without the $200K+ salary, benefits, and equity of a full-time hire. You can scale the engagement up or down based on product cycles.
The trade-off: I'm not in your office every day. I'm not attending every meeting. I won't be doing the hands-on design execution—that's what your internal team or external partners handle. I'm the strategic layer.
When it works best: You have products in active development, an internal team that needs senior guidance, and manufacturing challenges that require deep expertise. If you need someone to provide strategic guidance while your team executes, that's me.
How I Do It Differently
This isn't advisory work where I show up quarterly and give high-level feedback. I integrate.
You're not getting generic design consulting—you're getting someone who has managed a $2B+ hardware portfolio at Verizon, launched products with Apple accessory partners, and maintained manufacturing relationships overseas for two decades.
I know how to work with your team without stepping on toes. I know when to push back on engineering and when to adapt the design. I know what questions to ask your manufacturing partners before committing to tooling. And I know how to present design strategy to your leadership in a way that builds confidence and secures budget.
If you've been in a meeting where design gets second-guessed by non-designers, or where manufacturing realities kill a concept after months of work—you know exactly why this matters.
Is This For You?
You're a fit for Fractional Design Leadership if:
You have products in active development (not just early concepts)
You have an internal team that needs senior-level oversight
Manufacturing, DFM, or overseas production relationships are critical to your success
You want strategic design direction but can't justify a full-time design director hire
You value expertise over credentials—you care about results, not resumes