Golden Cactus Consulting
Software consulting · Scottsdale, Arizona

Senior engineering leadership, without the full-time hire.

Golden Cactus Consulting, led by James Donlan, helps growing companies ship reliable software. Fractional engineering leadership, architecture reviews, and hands-on help for projects that have stalled, with deep roots in SaaS, lead generation and healthcare platforms.

14years building applications
9years leading engineering teams
US-wideremote, or on-site in the Valley

Software Project Health Check

1 of 6

Six questions, about two minutes. No email needed to see your score.
Services

Four ways to engage, depending on where your project is.

For teams without a technical leader

Fractional engineering leadership

A part-time head of engineering, typically one to two days a week, on a monthly retainer.

  • Roadmap and technical direction
  • Hiring, onboarding and 1:1s for your developers
  • Process that fits your team's size
For a second opinion before a big decision

Architecture and code review

A fixed-scope assessment of your codebase, infrastructure and delivery pipeline, with a written report.

  • Risk ranking of tech debt
  • Build-vs-rewrite recommendation
  • Security and scalability concerns flagged
For projects that are late or over budget

Project rescue

Step in, find out why delivery slipped, and get a realistic plan back in front of stakeholders.

  • Delivery audit in the first two weeks
  • Re-scoped plan with honest dates
  • Hands-on unblocking of the team
For new products and internal tools

Application development

Senior, hands-on design and build of web applications and the APIs behind them.

  • Discovery and technical design
  • MVP build with production-grade foundations
  • Handoff to your in-house team
How it works

From first call to signed engagement in about two weeks.

  1. 30 minutes · free

    Intro call

    We talk through your project, your team and what's going wrong or what's next.

  2. Week 1

    Quick assessment

    A look at the code, the backlog or the plan, depending on what you need.

  3. Week 2

    Proposal

    A written scope with deliverables, a timeline and a fixed price or retainer.

  4. Ongoing

    Engagement

    Weekly check-ins and written updates, so you always know where things stand.

About

Built by an engineer who has also run the team.

I'm James Donlan, founder of Golden Cactus Consulting. I've spent 14 years as an application developer, nine of them leading and managing engineering teams. That means my advice on architecture comes with an understanding of hiring, deadlines, budgets and how teams actually work.

Most of that time has been on SaaS products, lead generation systems and healthcare platforms, so I know the realities of subscription businesses, high-volume data pipelines and software where reliability and privacy matter.

SaaSLead generationHealthcare platforms

Based in Scottsdale and working with companies across the US. View my LinkedIn profile

Principal
James Donlan
Industries
SaaS, lead generation, healthcare
Based in
Scottsdale, Arizona
Works with
Startups and mid-size companies
Engagements
Retainer, fixed-scope or hourly
Meetings
Remote, or on-site in the Phoenix metro
Time zone
Arizona time (MST, UTC−7, no DST)
Book a call

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