About Dustin
I lead engineering teams. Architecture, hiring, delivery, team development.
Hi, I'm Dustin Parnell. I'm an engineering leader with 15+ years of experience across software engineering and technical leadership.
I've held multiple CTO and co-founder roles, led teams from 3 to 30+ engineers, and delivered products from zero to production across startups and enterprise initiatives.
CTO & Managing Partner at GAIN Fitness where I built and led the engineering team.
CTO & Co-Founder at MentorFit taking a product from zero to production.
Co-Founder at Better World Software where I founded a development firm.
Fractional CTO at Next Epic leading a Fortune 500-backed fitness technology initiative for Life Fitness.
Three former employers brought me back for a second engagement. I take that as the strongest signal that I deliver real value.
I work as a contract and fractional engineering leader. Companies bring me in when they need experienced technical leadership without the cost or commitment of a full-time executive hire.
I also built and run a 100+ agent AI orchestration system for software development. Not a product to sell, but proof that I go deep on the tools and workflows I recommend. I'm a CTO who has gone deep on AI-augmented development, not an AI/ML engineer.
How I Work
Week 1
Listen and Learn
I meet the team, understand the codebase, sit in on standups, and map the current state. No changes yet. Just listening.
Weeks 2-4
Lead and Ship
I start owning decisions. Architecture direction, hiring priorities, delivery cadence. The team feels the difference quickly.
Ongoing
Build Momentum
I embed as part of the team. Part-time, remote, flexible. I stay as long as I'm adding value and the team is shipping.
Ready to move faster?
Let's talk about your team and where experienced engineering leadership can make the biggest impact.
30-minute call. No prep needed. No obligation.