Bastien BoutonnetServices
What I do, and how we’d work together.
The problems I take on, the shape an engagement usually takes, and honest rates.
Data/ML Engineering & Architecture
Designing and building the full ML and data stack — from the pipelines, warehouses, and platforms underneath to the models, features, and serving infrastructure on top. Hands-on or advisory work across feature stores, model deployment and monitoring, pipeline design, warehouse architecture, and data quality workflows, so that what runs in production actually holds (e.g. MLflow, Dagster, dbt, Snowflake/BQ, Airbyte, Soda).
AI / Data Science & LLM Integration
Models and analysis; turning data into decisions that run on their own, not another dashboard nobody opens. RAG & Agentic systems. Built where they earn their keep rather than driven by hype.
Advisory, Problem Diagnosis & Leadership
Working out what's actually wrong in with your architecture, process or technical roadmaps. I guide you on where to focus, how to get unstuck or stick around to lead those through and leave you with a solid base on which to build on.
R&D, Product Thinking & Management
Taking fuzzy, early-stage ideas from experiment to shippable product. Shaping what's worth building, and steering it through to something real.
How we'd work together
However we start, an engagement usually takes one of these shapes or a blend.
Fractional / embedded
Ongoing, hands-on work inside your team (building or leading), at a regular weekly cadence. I set direction, ship alongside your engineers, and leave a team that can run it.
Monthly retainer
Review / Problem assessment
Deep-dive into your systems, processes, and potentially people. I formulate written recommendations and a roadmap for you to implement or I'm happy to embed fractionally to guide you through achieving this roadmap
~ 2-3 weeks
R&D sprint
A vague but promising idea taken to a working prototype that de-risks the decision to invest further. A fixed appetite, and an honest read on what's real.
~2–6 weeks (potentially rolling/repeatable)
Fixed-scope build
A specific build or integration with clear scope, shipped end to end: a pipeline, a model, or a proof-of-concept turned into something real your team can carry.
Scoped up front
Build
Build products · R&Dfrom €800/day · companies, embedded
Build products
Hands-on design and build of products (usually data- or AI-heavy): the models, the systems, and the interfaces around them. I ship, and I leave your team able to run it.
Embedded, or fixed-scope project
R&D
Turning a vague but promising idea into a working prototype that de-risks the decision to invest further. A fixed appetite, and an honest read on what's real.
Fixed-scope research sprint, or embedded
Lead & Advise
Lead a team · Product management · Advisoryfrom €1,000/day · companies, embedded
Lead a team
Standing up or steadying a data / AI / product team: direction, the first hires, and the operating rhythm that makes it deliver; then handing off something that runs without me.
Fractional / embedded
Product management
Setting product direction and making the calls: what to build, what to cut, and how you'll know it worked.
Fractional / embedded
Advisory
I review your architecture, roadmaps, problems. I give you recommendations, a second opinion if you're stuck or need someone different to offer a fresh perspective.
What I don't do
- Pure staff augmentation. Being an extra pair of hands with no say in the work. If I'm in, I'm helping shape what gets built; not just filling a seat.
- Long-term embedded roles. I'm most useful in the intense build phase: starting something, getting it working, and handing off a team that can run it. Need a permanent hire? I'll help you find one but that's not me.
- "AI" for its own sake. Models to tick a box or chase a trend. I build AI where it earns its keep and I'll tell you when the honest answer is that it doesn't.
- Strategy that never ships. I'm glad to advise on direction and what's worth building but I focus on concrete strategy that turns into something real, not endless decks and meetings. Advice you can act on.