How We Engage

Four engagement models designed to fit the way your team works — whether you need a focused project, ongoing support, embedded engineers, or strategic guidance.

Fixed-Price Project

Defined scope, timeline, and budget. You know exactly what you're getting and when.

  • Clear deliverables agreed upfront — no scope creep surprises
  • Milestone-based payment schedule tied to delivery
  • Ideal for greenfield builds, migrations, and defined integrations
  • Weekly progress reports and a dedicated point of contact

Best for: one-off projects with clear requirements

Start a project conversation

Monthly Retainer

A block of dedicated engineering hours every month. Priority access and continuous improvement without the hiring overhead.

  • Guaranteed hours per month — rollover policy available
  • Priority response for incidents and escalations
  • Ongoing platform operations, security patching, and observability
  • Monthly review meeting to align on priorities and report on outcomes

Best for: teams needing steady-state engineering support

Discuss a retainer

Staff Augmentation

One or more ICF engineers embedded directly in your team — same tools, same stand-ups, same Slack channels.

  • Engineers work within your existing development workflow
  • Skills in Kubernetes, Terraform, Golang, CI/CD, and cloud platforms
  • Flexible duration — scale up or down as your roadmap evolves
  • Knowledge transfer so your in-house team grows alongside delivery

Best for: teams with skill gaps or accelerating delivery

Find the right engineer

Advisory & Architecture Review

Strategic guidance without long-term commitment. Ideal for engineering leaders who need a second opinion or an expert sounding board.

  • Architecture review: cloud, Kubernetes, CI/CD, and infrastructure design
  • Technology assessment — evaluate tools, vendors, or migration paths
  • Platform and DevEx roadmap planning for VPs and CTOs
  • Available as single sessions or a short advisory engagement

Best for: CTOs, VPs of Engineering, and platform leads

Book an advisory session

Not sure which model fits?

Describe your team, your challenge, and your timeline. We'll recommend the engagement that makes the most sense — no sales pressure.

Get a recommendation