javier_villagra
20 years · Banking & Fintech

Fractional CTO for AI & Software

In the middle of a technology revolution, I bring the clarity you need so your next step is a success.

Worked with
N5N5Banco ItaúBanco ItaúBanco MacroBanco MacroBanco PatagoniaBanco PatagoniaBanco del PacíficoBanco del PacíficoGlobal BankGlobal Bank
Why me

Four factors that rarely come together.

Each one covers a different front. Together, they get your project to production.

ARCH.

Twenty years of architecture

Mission-critical systems built to scale sustainably — not demonstrations that fail once they reach production.

REG.

Regulated banking experience

Itaú, Macro, Patagonia. Environments where errors carry consequences and regulatory compliance isn't optional.

PROD.

AI in production

Agentic systems with MCP and RAG genuinely running. Most AI pilots never reach production; my role is to ensure yours does.

ACAD.

AI postgraduate degree

Systems Engineer with a postgraduate degree in AI (University of Buenos Aires) — real academic grounding behind the judgment calls, not just practice.

Services

Four ways to start

Each format is designed for a different stage. You can start with whichever fits your current situation.

01

AI Readiness & Architecture Assessment

An audit of your architecture, data, team and compliance, with an actionable roadmap and an executive presentation session. The low-risk way to know precisely where you stand.

2–3 weeks
02

Fractional CTO / CAIO

Senior technical leadership without a full-time CTO's cost: roadmap, architecture decisions, team building and reporting to leadership. In an advisory capacity or with hands-on involvement, depending on what you need.

Ongoing
03

Agentic Engineering

Adoption of AI agent-driven software development in your engineering team: selection and setup of agent runtimes and the frameworks that turn requirements into production-ready software. Includes the architectural decisions and the adaptation of your development lifecycle (SDLC) processes. Your team ships more without losing control of what gets built.

Ongoing
04

Advisory & Due Diligence

Technical due diligence for rounds and acquisitions, point-in-time advisory for founders, and executive AI workshops. Senior judgment exactly when you need it, without an ongoing commitment.

Per project
A full-time CTO with this experience costs between USD 120,000 and 180,000 a year, plus equity. A fractional arrangement gives you the same technical depth for a fraction of that cost, with the flexibility to match your company's stage.
Selected work

Selected work

Executive technical advisor to the CEO · 2024–2025

Design of a fintech's AI division from inception: technical vision, formation of the engineering team and direction of an agentic system with MCP integration and a Vision-Transformer-based RAG.

+15,000 users · +20% productivity · –20% operating costs

MCPRAGVision Transformers
Solutions architect

Migration plan for banking channels from a SOA architecture to microservices, with a Domain-Driven Design approach.

~720K digital clients · 30M+ transfers and payments via web and mobile (2022)

KubernetesOpenShiftQuarkusIstio
Solutions architect · Project lead

Led the implementation of new digital channels and the integration strategy with third-party systems.

~960K daily transactions via web and mobile banking · AR$750bn moved in the year · 1.1M+ users (2019)

J2EEIBM IIBOracle
Solutions architect · Project lead

Recovery of a large-scale project in critical condition, reporting directly to executive leadership.

689K+ accounts · AR$10bn in deposits (2013)

J2EEWAS LibertyIBM Broker
Project lead · Solutions architect

Formation and leadership of the team for the comprehensive requirements gathering of a banking channels project, including the analysis and selection of the most suitable baseline product for the solution.

~4.7M monthly transactions across web and mobile banking · 1.3M clients (2015)

J2EEWebLogicOracle OSBOracle DB
Solutions architect

Designed a tailored SOA banking-channels solution, with gap analysis against the baseline product for non-functional compliance.

2nd-largest Panamanian-owned private bank · assets up 17.5% in the year (2014)

SOAGap analysisNon-functional requirements
Javier VillagraJV
About

Javier Villagra

Systems Engineer with a postgraduate degree in Artificial Intelligence (University of Buenos Aires) and over twenty years across development, architecture and technical leadership. I've worked with clients throughout Latin America and today, independently, I help startups and enterprises align technical strategy with business goals. The right architecture is what separates a tech project that delivers value from one that merely consumes budget.

EducationSystems Eng. · AI Postgraduate
FocusFintech · Banking · AI/ML
LanguagesSpanish · English · Italian

Is your tech initiative stuck at proof-of-concept?

Let's talk. I'll help you define your next steps.

Or write to me at contact@javiervillagra.com