I take a small number of advisory engagements alongside my work at openJII, typically two to four at a time. The companies I work best with are scaleups and mid-market businesses where engineering, data, and the commercial side need someone who can translate between them. I’m most useful where the org is real (15–80 engineers), the questions are hard (data platform GTM, AI strategy, restructuring, pricing), and the leadership team wants a sparring partner rather than a deck.
Scaling and restructuring engineering organisations, performance and career frameworks, DORA-style measurement, hiring and team composition. I’ve done this in growth and in downturn, building a 35-person org, restructuring 40 → 25 → 30, doubling deployment frequency without losing quality.
What to build in-house vs buy, where AI actually creates leverage in your business, how to productise data work into a service or platform line that earns its keep. Hands-on Databricks across three contexts now: the data-platform practice I launched at INFO, an agritech digital-transformation engagement that adopted it on my recommendation, and openJII’s silver/gold lakehouse layers today. I’m completing the Databricks certification track in 2026. MBA in AI & Data Analytics at UvA, useful for arguing the commercial logic, not just the architecture.
Helping research-grade groups behave more like product organisations, and helping product teams take research-grade systems seriously. Currently the central problem of my day job at the Jan IngenHousz Institute. Especially relevant for biotech, agritech, climate-tech, and any company sitting on a research output that needs to become commercial.
Independent technical assessment for investors, acquirers, and boards. Architecture, team, delivery practices, scalability, key-person risk, what the next 12–24 months of engineering investment actually buys you. I’ve done this through INFO on enterprise engagements, in earlier freelance work for early-stage investors, and ad-hoc since.
1–2 days / quarter · multi-year · retainer or equity
One to two days per quarter, ongoing. I sit in board or leadership meetings, prepare for them with the CEO/CTO ahead of time, and stay on call between sessions for the questions that matter. Suited to growth-stage companies where the leadership team needs continuity rather than a single intervention.
4–8 hours / month · monthly fee
A fixed envelope of hours each month (typically four to eight) to be a sparring partner for the CEO or CTO. Reviews of architecture decisions, hiring, vendor choices, organisation moves; sometimes a workshop or off-site. The point is a high-trust relationship and continuity, not transactional consulting.
1–3 days · fixed scope
A focused engagement on a specific question: entering a new market, productising a service line, restructuring engineering, evaluating an AI/data investment. Usually one or two days of preparation, a working session with leadership, and a written follow-up.
1–2 weeks · fixed fee
A bounded engagement on a deal timetable. Document review, interviews with engineering leadership, architecture and code-base assessment, written report with risks and a 12–24 month investment view.
I’m a full-time Technical Program Manager at the Jan IngenHousz Institute, so my advisory bandwidth is finite, typically two to four engagements at a time. I’m especially well placed for work that touches plant science, photosynthesis, agritech, or open research infrastructure: that’s where the openJII context compounds rather than competes, and where the boring groundwork I do during the week becomes directly useful in an advisory conversation. The line I won’t cross is a direct conflict of interest with JII itself; everything else, including organisations adjacent to or parallel with JII’s mission, I’m happy to discuss case by case.
I work best with founders, CEOs, CTOs, and boards who are willing to be direct and who want a sparring partner rather than someone to validate a decision they’ve already made. I’m based in Amsterdam and work in English, Dutch (improving), and Croatian. Engagements are invoiced through my Dutch ZZP.
The right way to start is a 30-minute conversation. Email dominikvrbic01@gmail.com with a paragraph or two on what you’re working on and what you’d want from an advisor. I reply to everything.