Four ways founders use the retainer.
A senior engineer already runs your product? Great — the retainer exists to make that person's job easier, not to replace them. If you don't have one yet, the retainer buys you the same brain in the room for the decisions where getting it wrong is expensive.
- 01
Architecture reviews
A written review of the current or planned system diagram — trade-offs called out, risks flagged, the two or three decisions that will define the next year highlighted. Delivered as a document, walked through on the sync call.
- 02
Product & PRD counsel
Taking an idea, a founder's memo, or a scattered thread of Loom videos and turning them into an engineer-readable PRD the team can ship against. Includes acceptance criteria, edge cases, and the questions the team will ask on day two.
- 03
Senior hiring calls
Interviewing your senior engineering candidates on your behalf. Rubric-based scoring, written debrief, hire/no-hire recommendation with reasoning. Includes offer negotiation counsel when asked.
- 04
On-call second opinion
A private channel for the decisions that don't belong in Slack: stack switch, first senior hire, a rewrite, a security posture, whether to say yes to that acquirer. Async by default; a 30-minute call when it matters.
Engagement shape
- Monthly retainer. 5–15 hours per month, capped in writing. No overage without written agreement.
- Async by default. One weekly sync (usually 30 minutes) — the rest is written: comments in your repo, PRD in your doc tool, thread on your Slack.
- Evenings and weekends. Gulf time zones welcome. No weekday daytime commitments — the retainer runs in parallel with existing senior work.
- Private by default. Confidentiality in writing on request before the discovery call. Every prior client stays private, and so will you.
- Pauseable, cancellable. Written notice, no long-term lock-in. When you outgrow the advisory scope, I hand off cleanly — usually a documented architecture, a hiring shortlist, and two weeks of overlap.
Questions founders ask
Who is Abedalaziz Alezeizat?
Abedalaziz Alezeizat is a senior software engineering advisor based in Amman, Jordan. He leads engineering across five disciplines (software, AI, QA, UI/UX, security) and advises Gulf founders and CTOs on architecture, system design, and product specs through ALEZEIZAT.
What does an engineering advisor do for a startup?
An engineering advisor gives founders senior technical judgment without a full-time hire: written architecture reviews, PRD and SRS authoring, interviews for senior engineering candidates, and a private second opinion on decisions like a rewrite, a stack switch, or a security posture.
Do you work with companies in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and the Gulf?
Yes. The practice is built for Gulf and Arab-world founders — Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Oman — working remotely in Arabic or English, on Gulf-friendly hours.
Can you write an SRS or PRD for my software project?
Yes. Turning a founder's idea, memo, or scattered notes into an engineer-readable SRS or PRD — with acceptance criteria, edge cases, and the questions the team will ask on day two — is one of the core advisory deliverables.
How does the advisory retainer work?
It starts with a 30-minute discovery call, then a written scope within 48 hours covering month-one outcomes, a monthly hour cap (typically 5–15 hours), and a fixed monthly fee. Delivery is async on your tools, with one 30-minute sync per week.
How much does an engineering advisor cost?
The fee is a fixed monthly number agreed in the written scope, sized to the hour cap and the outcomes you need. There are no open-ended hourly bills; book a discovery call to get a scope and number within 48 hours.
Can I see past work or case studies?
Past work is shared privately on the discovery call rather than published — the same discretion every client gets. Request proofs from the contact page.
Will what I share stay confidential?
Yes. Nothing you share is published, named or reused, and if you want that in writing, send your paperwork over.