Technical rescue.
In, out, better than we found it.
When the previous team disappeared, the codebase is on fire, and you need senior engineers in the building by Tuesday — not a 12-week scoping deck.
- 1–4 weeks
- Senior engineers only
- Diagnostic first
- Written report
The shapes
Five common rescue shapes.
Stalled MVP
Prior agency is gone, codebase exists, you can't ship the next feature without breaking three others.
Late migration
Database engine swap, monolith → modular, on-prem → cloud. The spec exists; the execution doesn't.
Prototype → product
Code that worked for the demo but won't survive paying customers. We refactor in place, not rewrite.
Failed offshore
Code that compiles but isn't recoverable as architected. We make the honest call: rebuild, salvage, or document.
Acqui-hire integration
You bought a startup. Their codebase needs to land in yours without breaking either.
Tell us
How a rescue runs
Three phases. The first one stops the bleeding.
| Phase | Duration | Output |
|---|---|---|
| Diagnostic | 1 week | A senior engineer reads the codebase, talks to anyone who built it, writes the honest report: what's salvageable, what's not, what the next 30 days should look like. The diagnostic fee credits in full toward any engagement that follows. |
| Stabilize | 2–4 weeks | Stop the bleeding. Fix the things blocking your team from shipping. Document the architecture as it exists today. |
| Hand-off or extend | varies | Either we leave with a clean handoff (most common), or we transition into a monthly engagement and run engineering for you while you hire. |
We write a written diagnostic — readable by a non-technical founder — at the end of week one. You can stop after the diagnostic. Many do, and use the report to scope an in-house plan. That's a fine outcome.
What you get
Senior engineer reading your codebase by Wednesday.
- A senior engineer reading your codebase by Wednesday of week one.
- A diagnostic report that explains the state of the system in plain language, with named risks and recovery paths ranked by cost and impact.
- A stabilization plan with weekly milestones — not "12-week roadmap" theater.
- Documentation that didn't exist before — README, runbook, ADRs for any structural decision we make.
- A clean exit ramp — we leave the codebase in a state your team or a future hire can immediately extend.
What we don't do
Honest scoping is part of the engagement.
- “Rebuild from scratch” disguised as rescue. If the right answer is rebuild, we'll say so on day one and pitch an MVP development engagement. We don't bill rescue rates for greenfield work.
- Permanent maintenance retainers. Rescue is short-form. Long-form senior support is a separate monthly engagement.
- Forensic post-mortems for legal disputes. We're engineers, not expert witnesses.
- Engagements where the prior team is still in place and politically active. Rescue requires clear authority. If the politics are unresolved, we'll wait until they are.
How rescues run
Three ways a rescue ends.
| Outcome | Duration | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Diagnostic only | 1 week | Written audit, recommendation, optional rebuild scope |
| Diagnostic + stabilization | 3–4 weeks | Audit, surgical fixes, clean handoff to your team |
| Diagnostic + stabilization + embedded transition | 6+ months | We stay on the system as your team while you re-staff |
The diagnostic fee credits in full toward any engagement that follows.
Quick answers
Rescue, common questions.
How fast can we start a rescue?
Application to engineer-on-codebase: typically 5–10 business days. We respond to applications within 48 hours, do a 30-minute scoping call within a week, and start the diagnostic the following Monday if there's mutual fit. For genuine emergencies (critical infra outage, regulator deadline) we can sometimes start within 72 hours.What if the codebase isn't recoverable?
We say so in the diagnostic, in writing, at the end of week one. Then we scope a rebuild as a separate engagement (typically an MVP development build or a phased migration). Roughly one in four rescues we diagnose ends in a "salvage what's worth saving, rebuild the rest" recommendation.Will the rescue team keep maintaining the system after?
Sometimes. If you want long-form senior coverage post-rescue, we transition into an embedded engagement. If you want a clean handoff to your in-house team, we do that — most rescues end this way. We don't sell ongoing maintenance retainers as a default; the rescue is supposed to leave the system in a state someone else can run.How does a rescue get scoped?
Every rescue starts with a short paid diagnostic that produces a written report. From there we scope stabilization (and a follow-on rebuild if the codebase needs it) with a clear, agreed scope. The diagnostic work credits toward any follow-on engagement, and you own everything from day one.
Next step
See if we're a fit.
Apply with the four-step form. We respond inside 48 hours, every time, with a real reply from a named founder.