Available for new projects

I'm Igal Malisov.
I build the hard parts
of AI products.

20+ years building data-intensive, high-performance systems. I partner with early-stage B2B SaaS founders who need a senior technical mind — someone who owns the decisions, not just executes them.

20+
Years shipping
0→1
Specialist
10+
AI products
Uptime obsession

Previously shipped at

BuzzGenie · Ducktor Games · Aigency.ai · Velocity · Loora · Justt.ai · mesh.security · Zoomin · Wee.bo · Avantis Team
Python Node.js TypeScript Kafka Kubernetes AWS LLM Agents RAG Systems Postgres MongoDB Airflow Spark Docker Redis MLOps GCP Python Node.js TypeScript Kafka Kubernetes AWS LLM Agents RAG Systems Postgres MongoDB Airflow Spark Docker Redis MLOps GCP

Most AI products fail in production —
often for predictable reasons.

I work with a small number of clients at a time. If the left column sounds familiar and the right column sounds like you, we're probably a match.

What goes wrong

  • Prompts & versioning. Every change is a risk; nobody knows what's live vs. tested.
  • Cost & observability. Bills spike overnight with no dashboards, alerts, or ceilings.
  • Reliability. Missing retries and fallbacks — one bad API call takes the pipeline down.
  • Scale. What worked for ten users breaks at a thousand; rebuilds cost more than doing it right once.

This is for you if

  • No technical co-founder. You need someone who owns architecture and outcomes — not ticket intake.
  • Early-stage, real traction. Funding or paying clients; the gap is shipping correctly at the right pace.
  • AI is harder than the demo. LLMs, agents, or data pipelines need to survive real users.
  • Speed without debt. You can't wait six months for a CTO — but the foundation still has to last.

Senior execution,
not consulting decks.

Architecture decisions, code, systems — things that ship and hold up under pressure.

01 —

AI Product Architecture

Design and build LLM-powered products that work in production. Prompt versioning, agent orchestration, cost controls, observability, and reliability — from day one, not bolted on later.

02 —

Backend & Distributed Systems

High-performance APIs, data pipelines, and distributed architectures built to handle real load. Not demo traffic — production traffic with real users and real consequences.

03 —

0→1 Product Development

From whiteboard to working product. Full technical ownership: architecture, stack decisions, implementation, deployment. I've done this multiple times — the speed comes from not making the same mistakes twice.

04 —

Fractional CTO

Ongoing strategic technical leadership — hiring decisions, vendor evaluation, architecture reviews, roadmap sanity-checks, and keeping your team moving in the right direction without burning out.

20 years of building
the real thing.

From gaming platforms to AI-driven fintech. High scale, multiple industries, different kinds of hard.

2023–2024
Lead Software Architect
Justt.ai
Led system architecture across multiple engineering teams. Designed scalable, maintainable infrastructure for a fast-growing AI-powered fintech platform — standardizing the stack while supporting rapid product growth.
2022–2023
Tech Lead / Architect
mesh.security
Designed and built a fully automated data mining & real-time data processing system from scratch — the core engine of the platform.
2021–2022
Team Leader
Zoomin
Managed 2 teams of 10 across remote and local. Architecture, incident management, stakeholder coordination, and client onboarding.

Earlier: CTO at Wee.bo, Development Manager at Avantis Team — full history on LinkedIn.

Start small.
Commit when it's right.

No long contracts upfront. A scoping sprint means both sides know exactly what we're getting into.

Phase 1

Scoping Sprint

2 weeks · Flat fee

  • 2-hour kickoff — deep-dive into your architecture, codebase, and goals
  • Async Q&A throughout (Slack, same-day responses)
  • Mid-sprint check-in to course-correct
  • Technical assessment of your current state
  • Recommended architecture and tech decisions
  • Roadmap for what needs to be built — and in what order
  • Risk register — what breaks if left unaddressed
Phase 2

Monthly Retainer

Ongoing · 3-month minimum

  • Weekly 1-hour sync — strategy, decisions, unblocking
  • Async availability Sun–Thu, response within 2–3 hours
  • Dedicated Slack channel — direct access, no ticketing
  • Up to 2 critical-issue escalations per month (1-hour response)
  • Monthly written summary — shipped, upcoming, open risks
  • 50% of a senior architect's capacity, fully dedicated to your product

From people who've
worked with me.

Igal is an exceptional leader. His ability to manage and inspire a team is truly remarkable. He has a unique talent for identifying each team member's strengths and channeling them effectively to achieve outstanding results.

Doron Ben David
LinkedIn recommendation

Igal has a rare ability to help teams evolve and grow. He doesn't just solve problems — he helps the people around him become better at solving them too.

Michael Arenzon
LinkedIn recommendation

Got a hard technical problem?
Let's see if I can help.

No pitch. A direct 30-minute conversation about what you're building, what's blocking you, and whether there's a fit.