Brett Burbidge

Technology executive and product architect with 25 years in software engineering, including 4+ years as Chief Technology Officer and 2+ years as a fractional CTO to three early-stage companies, two of them taking brand-new products from blueprint to MVP. Equally comfortable setting platform architecture and technical roadmap as reviewing code, prototyping, and unblocking engineers. Deep experience building secure, privacy-conscious platforms in regulated environments (U.S.

Department of Defense, GCP and 21 CFR Part 11 clinical research), standing up founding engineering teams and delivery practices, and shipping products that supported successful fundraising rounds. Currently operating in a fractional capacity and seeking a part-time founding CTO seat where safety, trust, and shipping a focused MVP matter more than feature count.

Fractional Chief Technology Officer, Independent - Burbidge LLC - Lehi, UT

(2024)

Part-time, remote CTO engagements with three early-stage companies.

• Serves as fractional CTO to three early-stage companies, two building brand-new products from zero: sets technical direction, platform architecture, backend design, and delivery process for each while keeping a portfolio of engagements.
• Leads development of an agentic AI product: LLM and model integration, tooling, and the surrounding data and workflow architecture.
• Advises on platform architecture, data migration, and payment and data workflow integration for a custom enterprise application, including build-versus-buy and phasing decisions.
• Hires developers, mentors engineers on building with AI, and sets the engineering practices, documentation, and quality bar for each team.

VP of Platform Enablement - CenExel Clinical Research - Draper, UT

(2025-11 - 2026-07)

18-site U.S. clinical research network, approximately 2,000 platform users. GCP and 21 CFR Part 11 regulated.

• Built the Platform Enablement department from the ground up, defining team structure, accountability, and platform strategy across an 18-site network, bridging strategy and execution over the full platform ecosystem.
• Embedded privacy, security, and compliant data practices throughout the platform lifecycle, aligning system design, site workflows, and operations for consistent execution across a distributed, highly regulated environment.
• Architected the enterprise data warehouse strategy (Microsoft Fabric), defining canonical entities and a dimensional model so teams could self-serve data through analytics and AI agents.
• Led rollout of Pulse, the next-generation CTMS, alongside eSource expansion and the Enterprise AI roadmap, and partnered with AI vendors to accelerate patient recruitment.

Director of Application Services (Enterprise) - CenExel Clinical Research - Draper, UT

(2024-12 - 2025-11)

18-site U.S. clinical research network, approximately 2,000 platform users. GCP and 21 CFR Part 11 regulated.

• Owned roadmap and delivery for the participant mobile app, public web properties, and a custom participant screening platform, with the participant mobile app as a core user-facing product.
• Directed API and platform integrations connecting the mobile app, public websites, and CRM, consolidating disparate SaaS point solutions into a unified platform through deliberate build-versus-buy decisions.

SVP, Product & Engineering (Contract) - Foundations United - Lehi, UT

(2025-01 - 2025-06)

Early-stage technology company. Concurrent with the CenExel role.

• Brought in at executive level reporting directly to the President, with full accountability for team structure, delivery process, and product execution during the pre-launch stage.
• Built the engineering leadership team from scratch, defined org roles and charters, and established the foundational SDLC and architecture required for investor readiness.

VP of Engineering - Nerd United (venture studio) - Lehi, UT

(2022-10 - 2024-12)

Building early-stage software companies zero to one.

• Directed engineering across three concurrent portfolio startups with distinct teams, leads, and roadmaps, owning platform architecture, team structure, resource allocation, and delivery outcomes for each.
• Embedded as VP of Engineering at Set Power Free: defined platform architecture, led MVP execution, cut infrastructure downtime 42%, and enabled a successful fundraising round through delivery performance.
• Created shared hiring, architecture, and DevOps patterns (AWS, Kubernetes, Docker, Terraform, Argo, GitHub Actions) and lightweight CI/CD that accelerated delivery across the portfolio.
• Stood up production observability and on-call (Datadog, PagerDuty) and developed engineering leads so each portfolio company could run its own team autonomously.

Chief Technology Officer - Unique Communications, Inc. - Las Vegas, NV

(2018-03 - 2022-09)

Software for telecommunications within the U.S. Department of Defense.

• Led technology strategy for enterprise software deployed across the U.S. DoD under STIG, JITC, and security accreditation, overseeing all engineering operations, development standards, and team performance.
• Cut security vulnerabilities 40% through STIG-driven hardening and led the successful accreditation of CAIRS Voice v5.1.
• Built a QA and test automation team that increased test coverage 60% and improved release quality; established quarterly OKRs and a consistent operating cadence.
• Reorganized engineering into self-managing product units, raising productivity 30% in six months; delivered 25% cost savings through strategic vendor partnerships.

Director of New Software Development - Unique Communications, Inc. - Las Vegas, NV

(2014-04 - 2018-03)

Software for telecommunications within the U.S. Department of Defense.

• Built and led a new development team for enterprise management software and led its platform modernization to a scalable architecture, coaching the team hands-on.
• Conceived, coded, and maintained the TMS Traffic and Alarms application running in production at 98 Air Force bases worldwide.

Senior Staff Engineer - Unique Communications, Inc. - Las Vegas, NV

(2007-03 - 2012-06)

Software for telecommunications within the U.S. Department of Defense.

• Managed a team of 14 development and QA professionals across delivery, estimation, and iteration planning; developed communications software deployed at 98 Air Force sites and headed a legacy VB6 to .NET conversion.

Chief Architect - Filevine - Las Vegas, NV

(2012-05 - 2014-01)

Legal SaaS startup (case management).

• Architect and lead developer for a new multi-tenant SaaS practice management platform; built and led an offshore team of six engineers, increasing delivery speed 40%.

Software developer roles - Nverzion and other employers - Salt Lake City

(2001 - 2007)

Earlier Career: software developer roles in broadcast automation (Nverzion, Salt Lake City) and DoD communications and finance software.

B.S. - Economics - University of Utah (2000 - 2004)