Retainers
Senior engineering, a set number of hours a month.
Three capped retainers for apps that need ongoing senior attention: review, hands-on engineering, or someone who owns the roadmap and the architecture. Each one is scoped, reviewed and signed off by Aaron.
Three retainers
Advisory retainer
US$1,650 a monthA$2,500 a month¥250,000 a month
Up to 4 hours a month
- Async review of your pull requests and technical decisions.
- A monthly call.
Usually suits: Businesses whose AI-built tool has become one they depend on, usually after an audit.
Engineering retainer
US$3,700 a monthA$5,500 a month¥550,000 a month
Up to 20 hours a month
- Hands-on engineering: fixes, features and reviews, delivered as pull requests.
- One active request at a time; the others wait in a queue.
Usually suits: Funded startups and small SaaS teams that need senior capacity without a hire, and agencies shipping AI-built client work.
Fractional retainer
US$6,300 a monthA$9,500 a month¥950,000 a month
Up to 40 hours a month
- Roadmap and architecture ownership.
- A weekly call.
Usually suits: Startups that need senior technical ownership without a hire, and companies operating in or entering Japan that need a bilingual technical lead.
Prices exclude GST / consumption tax where applicable.
Terms
- Retainer terms: Monthly, 30 days' notice, unused hours do not roll over.
- Overage: Overage is billed at the plan's effective hourly rate (the monthly fee divided by the hour cap), only with your prior approval. It is billed monthly in arrears.
- Payment: month 1 at signup, then monthly in advance, charged automatically.
The hours are a monthly cap, not a balance. Work beyond them happens only after you have said yes to it, so no bill ever surprises you.
Why one request at a time
On the engineering retainer, one request is in progress at any moment and the rest are queued. Finishing one thing properly, reviewed and merged, beats five things half done, and the queue means you always know what is being worked on and what is next.
Where a retainer usually starts
Most retainers follow an audit or a sprint: by then both sides know the codebase and what the business needs from it. If you already know you need ongoing help, a 30-minute call is enough to tell which retainer fits.
Talk through which retainer fits.
Book a 30-minute call about your product and what it needs next, or start with the free check of your app's public surface.