- The company needs senior Product Security ownership now, but a full-time leadership hire is premature or still in progress.
- Architecture, risk acceptance, tooling, roadmap, and stakeholder decisions need a consistent accountable owner.
- Security work exists across teams, but there is no operating cadence that turns it into a coherent program.
Service 11
Fractional Head of Product Security
Ongoing principal-level advisory for software companies that need Product Security strategy, architecture support, prioritization, metrics, and operating discipline without building a full leadership function immediately.
Lean-team friendlyRemote-first · worldwideFrom $4,000/month
LeadershipStrategyAdvisoryOperating Model
Starting priceFrom $4,000/month
Indicative USD baseline for a clearly bounded scope.
Typical deliveryMonthly / tailored
Calendar timing depends on access, evidence, target size, and stakeholder availability.
Commercial modelFixed scope
Scope, assumptions, deliverables, timeline, and price are confirmed before delivery begins.
Baseline scopeOngoing principal-level Product Security direction with roadmap, architecture/risk decisions, metrics, governance, and engineering enablement.
No surprise hourly overages on agreed packaged work. If the scope changes materially, additional work is agreed in writing before it starts.
When this service fits
Recognize the decision before choosing the scope.
01
What should Product Security own now, and what can remain embedded in engineering or other security functions?
02
Which risks, initiatives, and architecture decisions deserve leadership attention each month?
What we review
Focused on the controls that change real product risk.
The exact evidence set is tailored during discovery. A typical engagement covers the areas below.
- Product Security strategy and roadmap
- Architecture and risk decision support
- Tooling, investment, and prioritization decisions
- Vulnerability and exception governance
- Metrics and executive reporting
- Security Champions, engineering alignment, and operating cadence
Deliverables
A decision package — not a scanner export.
Recommendations are prioritized, contextualized, and structured so engineering and leadership can move from findings to action.
Monthly leadership cadence
Included or adapted to the agreed engagement scope.
Prioritized Product Security roadmap
Included or adapted to the agreed engagement scope.
Architecture / risk decision support
Included or adapted to the agreed engagement scope.
Executive reporting package
Included or adapted to the agreed engagement scope.
Improvement tracking
Included or adapted to the agreed engagement scope.
Access to focused advisory sessions
Included or adapted to the agreed engagement scope.
“The model is deliberately pragmatic: establish priorities, create operating rhythm, support engineering decisions, and build enough structure that security can scale.”Engagement principle
Engagement shape
Clear scope. Evidence. Priorities. Remediation.
01Discover
Goals, environment, constraints, evidence, and success criteria.
02Review
Technical and process assessment with targeted automation where useful.
03Prioritize
Risk, attack paths, engineering effort, and business context.
04Enable
Report, roadmap, workshop, and optional remediation validation.
Ongoing advisory engagement; cadence is tailored to the organization.
Client side of the engagement
Know what changes, what is needed, and what can follow.
What changes after
- Product Security gains a recurring operating rhythm and a senior point of accountability.
- Architecture and risk decisions are made with more context and fewer unresolved ownership gaps.
What we need from you
- Regular access to product, engineering, platform, and leadership stakeholders.
- Current roadmap, architecture context, material risks, customer pressure, and existing security work.
Natural next steps
Related
Build a broader engagement.
01
Product Security Program Assessment
Know where your Product Security program stands — and what to improve first.
02Secure SDLC Assessment
Build security into the way software moves from idea to production.
03Secure Architecture & Threat Modeling
Find architectural risk before it becomes production vulnerability.
Discuss this service
Start a conversation →Bring the architecture, problem, or current security backlog.
We can define the smallest useful scope and a clear output before work begins.