▶ Fractional data science lead
Your data team problem is not always a hiring problem.
If you have no data team, or are just building one, I act as a part-time senior data lead: setting priorities, running projects and helping you build the team when it's needed.
Before you commit to a full-time leader, we make clear together what the role should be.
Atalay Deveci · Updated 2026-10-08
What this service actually is
A fractional data science lead takes on the senior data leadership role in your company on set days of the week. They own the data and AI roadmap, prioritize and run projects, and guide the existing team if there is one.
It is not project consulting; I don't finish one job and leave. Nor is it a full-time hire: you don't have to commit to a permanent salary before the scope of the role is clear.
The uncomfortable part
Stalled data work is usually explained with "we couldn't find the right person". Most of the time the problem starts before hiring.
Hiring happens before the role is defined.
A data scientist with no clear job ends up building reports or cleaning data, and leaves soon after. The work has to be defined first, then the role.
Data is everyone's job, so it's nobody's job.
When IT runs the infrastructure, finance the reports and marketing its own tools, data projects have no owner. Projects without an owner start but never finish.
A one-person team has no lead.
When the company's only data specialist works without anyone who can judge their work and clear the way, they either get buried in the wrong priorities or stall.
I will tell you early which of these applies. If I see you need a single project rather than a lead, I will tell you that too.
▶ How I work
- First month
Situation and priorities.
Data, systems, teams and ongoing projects are reviewed. The work that contributes most to business results is identified and a written roadmap comes out.
- Following months
Running the projects.
Prioritized projects get delivered, and where needed I do part of the work myself. Management gets regular, readable progress reports.
- When needed
Team and hiring.
If a team is to be built, role definitions are written, candidates are assessed technically, and new joiners are supported as they start.
- At the end
Handover.
The goal is not to stay forever. When a team or a full-time lead is ready, responsibility is handed over with the roadmap, processes and documentation.
▶ When you should not hire me for this
If any of these is true for you, let's not start this engagement:
You want to finish one project.
A fixed-scope pilot or project is the better frame. A monthly leadership role isn't needed.
You already have a strong data lead.
A second lead creates confusion. If you need support on a specific topic, working per project is better.
You need someone in the office every day.
That is a full-time hire. The fractional role works on set days with set responsibilities.
No decision-making authority will be given.
A data lead without the authority to prioritize turns into a consultant who only gives opinions.
▶ Engagement shape
We work monthly. Weekly time and responsibilities are agreed in writing up front and updated together as needs change.
The goal at the end is to hand responsibility over to a team inside the company or to a full-time lead.
- 30-day exit
- If it isn't working, you can end the engagement with 30 days' notice.
- Invoiced from Türkiye
- I invoice through my company registered in Türkiye.
- Reply within 24 hours
- I reply to every message within 24 hours.
▶ Questions and answers
How many days a week do you work?
It is set up front based on need. We update it together as the scope grows or shrinks.
How do you support hiring?
Writing the role definition, technical assessment of candidates and helping new joiners get started. The final decision is always yours.
How do you work with our existing IT team?
IT keeps running the infrastructure; I own the priorities and projects on the data and analytics side. The boundaries are agreed up front.
How long do we work together?
We go month by month. The goal is to hold the role until a team or a lead is ready to take it over.
▶ Fastest route
Start with one email.
The link below opens an email with the questions that make the first conversation useful already written in. No form, no account. I reply within 24 hours.
hi@klarvoanalytics.com
▶ Other services
- Corporate trainingsThe team can't work with data.
- In-house AI assistantsCompany knowledge gets lost in documents.
- Demand and sales forecastingNobody can predict what will sell.
- Customer analyticsLost customers are noticed too late.
- Reporting and data infrastructureReports are built by hand and take days.
- Custom dashboardsOff-the-shelf BI tools can't show what we need.