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.
Previously shipped at
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.