Fractional CTO · Manchester
Fractional CTO in Manchester.
Delivery dates moving and a dev team you cannot properly assess? Senior technical leadership for founders and boards in Manchester and the North West — without a full-time executive hire. Former CTO and COO, and founder of my own consultancy for over fifteen years.
Part of Fractional CTO in the UK. Remote-first across the UK, with London and Manchester on-site days available.
Who you would be working with
I am Timothy Ng. I founded Scryla in Manchester over fifteen years ago and have held CTO and COO roles in technology businesses — so the judgement you are buying comes from running technology and operations, not from advising on them.
I take on a small number of clients at a time, and I have no development team to keep busy and no supplier referrals to protect. If the work is not right for me, I will say so.
When to hire one
The moments founders call me
You are competing for engineers against much bigger payrolls
Manchester has a deep technical talent pool and no shortage of employers bidding for it. A fractional CTO lets you buy the senior judgement first and hire the team around a plan, rather than paying up for a leader before you know what shape the role should be.
A local agency built it and now nobody owns it
The North West is thick with development agencies, and plenty of good products started in one. Someone independent has to read the codebase, the contract and the roadmap before the handover, renewal or rebuild decision lands.
You want the CTO in the room, not on a call
Board meetings, delivery reviews and difficult conversations with a supplier go better face to face. Being based here means on-site days are a short journey rather than a line item.
Northern investors are about to look at the technology
Regional funds and angel syndicates diligence the build the same way anyone else does. Knowing what they will find, and having the answers written down before they ask, is worth more than a tidy deck.
How the work runs
On-site where it helps, remote where it does not
On-site across Greater Manchester
City centre, Salford, Stockport, Trafford and the surrounding boroughs are a short journey, so in-person days with founders and development teams are straightforward to arrange rather than something to negotiate.
The North West corridor
Leeds and Liverpool are both inside an hour by train. Where a client wants regular face-to-face time on a delivery review or a board meeting, that stays practical without travel dominating the engagement.
Remote for everything in between
Written reports, scheduled calls and availability between them. Most of the work runs this way already, with in-person time used where it genuinely changes the outcome.
Monday to Friday, 9am to 6pm UK time. UK mornings overlap with South East Asia afternoons (GMT+8) and UK afternoons with US East Coast mornings.
Sectors I have run technology in
- Fintech
- iGaming and gambling
- Digital health
- SaaS
- Data
- Agencies
What clients say
“I highly recommend Tim Ng and Scryla Consultancy to any company seeking technical analysis or development process strategic advice. Tim's expertise and professionalism are second to none, and his contributions to Tahdah Verified Ltd have been invaluable.”
Questions
Fractional CTO in Manchester — FAQs
- Are you actually based in Manchester?
- Yes. Manchester is where I am based and where Scryla, the consultancy I founded over fifteen years ago, has operated from. It is not a service-area page for a business located somewhere else.
- Will you work on-site with my team in Manchester?
- Yes. Being local means on-site days are easy to arrange — sitting with a development team, running a delivery review in person, or attending a board meeting. The default rhythm is remote-first with in-person time where it earns its place, and in Manchester that time costs you nothing in travel.
- Do you only work with Manchester companies?
- No. Manchester and the North West are where in-person work is easiest, but I work with founders across the UK and internationally on a remote-first basis. Manchester to London is roughly two hours by train, so a monthly on-site rhythm in the South East is practical too.
- What does a fractional CTO actually do?
- Audits where your technology, team, spend and risk stand today; sets a technology plan that follows from the business plan, with sequence and cost named; holds in-house and outsourced development teams to what they promised; and coaches founders and technical leads so the capability stays in the business.
- How much does a fractional CTO cost in Manchester?
- It depends on cadence and scope — a one-off audit with a written report is a different commitment from ongoing weekly involvement. I do not publish rates, because quoting a number before understanding the work is not useful to either of us. Tell me what is happening and I will tell you what it would take.
- Is this the same as a technology non-executive director?
- No, and I keep the two separate. A fractional CTO works inside the business, owning technical decisions and leading the team. A non-executive director sits outside it, holding the executive to account and giving the board independent assurance. I will say which one you actually need.
Need a fractional CTO in Manchester?
Tell me about the business, the stage it is at, and what is worrying you. I will tell you plainly whether I am the right person, and what I would look at first.