Your mission can't afford a technical failure.
Technology leadership that helps founder-led companies scale from early success to operational maturity.
I bring NASA/JPL-mission-grade engineering rigor to two kinds of teams as a
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Technical Advisor helping space and deep tech founders de-risk and scale engineering, AI, and infrastructure during rapid growth so they can pass enterprise, investor, and mission-critical readiness milestones.
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Fractional CTO to software and software as a service companies scaling their engineering org, without the cost or risk of a full-time executive hire.
- Years of engineering leadership
- 20+
- Program budget managed
- $50M+
- Cloud cost savings delivered
- 35%
- Engineers scaled
- 200+
Years engineering leadership
Program budgets managed
Cloud cost savings delivered
Engineers scaled from founding teams
Technical Advisor
Space & Deep Tech
For space and deep tech founders to de-risk and scale engineering, AI, and infrastructure during rapid growth, so they can pass enterprise, investor, and mission-critical readiness milestones.
Mission-Critical Systems
Architecture and reliability engineering for systems that don't get a second chance: distributed, real-time, built for 99.9%+ uptime.
Compliance & Gov Readiness
Security posture and technical due diligence for government contracts and funding rounds backed by a JPL/NASA mission background.
Fractional CTO
Software & SaaS
For founders who need CTO-level judgment on tap - especially where operating costs, security and compliance maturity matter.
Fractional CTO Leadership
Executive-level engineering leadership for Series A-C companies scaling past founder-led technology - roadmaps, org design, and hiring the right senior talent.
Cloud Cost & FinOps
A proven track record cutting cloud spend - 35% savings delivered, without sacrificing performance or slowing the roadmap.
Where the credibility comes from
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Engineering leadership on NASA missions and ground systems where reliability isn't a feature but a requirement.
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Managed $50M+ in program budgets, translating engineering decisions into terms a board and executive team trust.
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Founded and led a startup end-to-end making the tradeoffs you're making, not just advised on them.
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Scaled engineering organizations from founding teams to 200+ engineers without losing delivery velocity.
Usha Guduri
I'm a visionary engineering leader who thrives at the intersection of people, process, and purpose. Over 20+ years on NASA missions, at JPL, and as a startup founder. I've stabilized fractured teams, scaled engineering operations, and brought clarity to complex, high-stakes systems.
Whether I'm aligning cross-functional teams, shaping a long-term technical roadmap, or navigating organizational change, I lead with empathy, integrity, and a relentless focus on outcomes that matter because for the missions I've worked on, the outcomes always mattered.
Schedule a call →Is this a fit?
This tends to be a good fit on one of two tracks, depending on where you are:
Technical Advisor
- Your board or investors are pushing for technical leadership on a mission-critical program.
- You're pursuing government or defense contracts and need the credibility to back it up.
- You're architecting distributed, real-time, or hardware-integrated systems.
Fractional CTO
- You're scaling your engineering team from 10 to 30+ this year.
- Your cloud bill is climbing and no one's owned it strategically.
- You serve regulated or government-adjacent customers and need security/compliance maturity.
It's probably not a fit if you need a full-time hands-on builder from day one, or you're still at the idea/pre-seed stage. Happy to point you in the right direction either way.
Let's talk about your engineering roadmap.
A 30-minute call is enough to know if this is a fit, for you and for me.
Schedule a Call Now