Find the structure
Map the forces at work: product pressure, architecture, delivery risk, team shape, and the business decision underneath the technical one.
Technical clarity for complex terrain.
Senior engineering leadership for founders and small product teams.
Salt Flat Software works with a few teams at a time, turning ambiguous technical problems into decisions, plans, and shipped work — through fractional leadership, focused audits, and scoped build sprints.
- Salt Flat Software LLC
- Silicon Slopes, Utah
- Architecture, delivery, execution
01
Approach
Find the structure. Shape the path. Execute cleanly.
Every engagement follows the same sequence, whether it is a short audit or ongoing fractional work.
Shape the path
Turn a noisy problem into a practical sequence of decisions, tradeoffs, and deliverables that a team can actually follow.
Execute cleanly
Move from diagnosis to shipped work: working code, written decisions, and plain reporting on progress and risk.
02
Services
Three ways to engage.
Most engagements start with a short conversation. If there is a fit, the recommendation is the simplest structure that works.
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01
Fractional technical leadership
Ongoing
Technical direction for founders and small teams: roadmap shaping, architecture decisions, delivery planning, hiring input, and vendor evaluation. Senior involvement without a full-time executive hire.
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02
Architecture and delivery audit
Two weeks, fixed scope
A review of product direction, technical shape, delivery risk, and process bottlenecks, ending in a written assessment: what is working, what is not, and what should happen next.
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03
Focused build sprint
Scoped, hands-on
A defined slice of work with clear boundaries: a high-priority feature, an AI-enabled workflow, a platform transition, a prototype, or a delivery reset.
03
Fit
Where this is most useful.
- The product is real, but the next move is not fully clear.
- A founder needs a technical partner, not just extra hands.
- Delivery has become muddy, fragile, or slow.
- The team needs stronger architecture judgment.
- Technical choices have real business consequences.
- A key feature or platform decision needs to be handled well the first time.
04
Field notes
Scope
Salt Flat Software is not a dev shop.
It is a single-principal practice that takes a small number of engagements at a time.
That constraint is deliberate: every engagement gets direct principal involvement, and commodity work is referred elsewhere.
Background
Where the experience comes from.
The principal's background spans support, incident response, software engineering, engineering leadership, and founder-led product development.
That is why code gets considered in context: systems, delivery, team shape, and risk.
First conversation
How an engagement starts.
The first step is a short conversation about what is happening and what kind of outcome you need. No deck, no discovery questionnaire.
If the fit is wrong, you will hear that directly — usually with a suggestion for where to look instead.
When to reach out
A short note is enough to find out if this is a fit.
You will get a straight answer: a recommendation, a scope, or a pointer elsewhere if the work is not aligned.
05
Contact
Tell me what you are trying to ship, fix, or decide.
Context is enough. One honest paragraph about what is happening beats a polished brief. Inquiries go directly to the principal.
Direct email: maximo.valadez@saltflatsoftware.com
Salt Flat Software LLC, Silicon Slopes, Utah