Become the Engineering leader who redesigns how code gets shipped — not the one shipped around.

The CEO wants 2× velocity. The CFO wants 30% lower spend. Your team wants to know if Cursor is going to replace them. In 12 weeks, you'll rebuild your engineering org around AI-native workflows — and the standing to defend the redesign.

★ Founding Cohort — 7 Seats12 Weeks5 Anchor Outputs + 1 Live AI Dev StackDemo Day

The Reality Check

You're being asked to deliver the biggest productivity step-change in a generation — without breaking the team that ships the product.

You're a senior engineering leader: VP Eng, Head of Eng, CTO. You're accountable for shipping velocity, platform reliability, hiring and retention, and now — a CEO demanding an AI-first eng org by next quarter.

You've trialed Copilot, Cursor and Claude Code. You've drafted three versions of the AI dev policy. You've sat through four vendor demos that all promised 10× engineers.

But you don't have time to chase every coding agent. And you can't afford to be the eng leader whose org gets quietly outshipped by a team half your size.

You need to redesign the org. Not get reorganized around.

The Opportunity

Close the AI Velocity Gap in Engineering.

The pattern is visible: engineering leaders who rebuild their workflow around coding agents are shipping 2–3× more features per sprint with the same headcount. The ones still trialing tools without changing the workflow are losing senior engineers to teams that already shipped the redesign.

AI fluency at the engineering-leader level has gone from differentiator to default. Boards now ask CTOs about their AI dev workflow before they ask about uptime. And a small group of eng leaders has gone further — building portfolio careers as fractional CTOs, advisors and product-engineering coaches, on the back of the AI systems they shipped themselves.

This program makes you more valuable inside your current role first. Then it gives you optionality.

The Solution

The AI-First Engineering Leadership OS

A 12-week peer advisory program for sitting CTOs, VPs of Engineering and Heads of Eng. One goal per week, five tasks per goal, 12 live sessions, and 5 anchor outputs you actually ship — plus one live AI dev workflow running in your real codebase.

1

Build Without Bullshit

Get past the vendor noise. Using Claude Code, Cursor and a curated tool stack, you'll ship working AI dev workflows tailored to your codebase: PR review agents, test-generation bots, on-call summarizers, RFC drafters.

2

Ship Tangible Eng Artifacts

You won't leave with just opinions. Every cohort member ships five anchor outputs + one live AI dev workflow — the kind you can demo on a CEO 1:1 or in a CTO peer dinner.

3

Cross-Pollinate in a Private CTO Room

Pressure-test your eng strategy in a curated, NDA-protected room of fellow eng leaders. Peer pairs, weekly check-ins, no vendor pitches, no recruiters.

4

Build Career Optionality

Learn the exact sequence to make yourself indispensable where you are — and, when you're ready, to land fractional CTO mandates or advisory seats. On your timeline.

The Five Anchor Outputs

No CTO leaves with just notes. You leave with assets.

#
Output
Ships
1
Eng Org DiagnosticVelocity, quality, cycle-time and AI-readiness scored. One page. The doc that frames your board memo.
Week 3
2
Eng Second BrainClaude Code + Notion / Obsidian, querying your RFCs, incidents and architecture docs. The infrastructure your team's AI workflow runs on.
Week 4
3
AI Dev Workflow SpecCoding-agent stack, prompt patterns, PR review automation. The doc you hand a senior engineer to roll out.
Week 6
4
Eng Productivity DashboardCycle time, PR throughput, AI-assist ratio. Live, queryable, board-ready.
Week 7
5
Hiring & Leveling RubricAI-era eng leveling rubric, scorecards, and interview loop — calibrated for engineers who code with agents.
Week 9
Live AI Dev WorkflowOne AI workflow shipped end-to-end in your real codebase — PR review, test gen, or on-call assistant.
Week 11
🎤
Demo DayPresent your 5 anchors + live workflow to the cohort and sign your 90-day plan.
Week 12

Who This Is For

This room is intentionally curated.

Senior Eng Leaders

CTOs, VPs of Engineering, Heads of Eng, Senior Directors at Series B+ startups, scale-ups and mid-market enterprises.

Proactive Operators

Tired of being asked 'so what's your AI strategy' on every board call. Ready to ship the redesign, not narrate it.

Hands-On Builders

You still write or read code most weeks. You want a curated room to install AI-native workflows for compound impact — not another webinar.

Not for: Engineering managers early in career, individual contributors, or anyone looking for a generic 'intro to LLMs' course. This is an eng-leadership room.

Your Guide

Forward Achieve Faculty

Forward Achieve Faculty

Veteran CTO · Engineering Leader · Forward Achieve Partner

Your guide has scaled two engineering orgs from 6 to 80+ engineers, shipped production AI features at unicorn scale, and currently runs a fractional CTO practice powered by the AI dev workflows the cohort will build. The curriculum draws on the Forward Achieve eng-leadership library, the Beast Score diagnostic and a library of unlisted CTO interviews.

What to Expect

Designed for a working CTO's calendar.

Duration12 weeks · Starts [START DATE]
CadenceLive sessions [DAY] at [TIME + TIMEZONE]
Time Commitment2–3 hrs most weeks; ~5 hrs in build weeks (Weeks 4, 7, 11).
FormatLive sessions (60–90 min) · Peer pairs · Async build sprints
Learning TracksPick Read OR Listen each week — your call
ToolingClaude Code, Cursor, Notion / Obsidian, repo of starter prompts
CommunityPrivate Circle space + office hours
Cohort Cap7 seats
InvestmentFounding-cohort pricing starts at [$X]. Final fit and price confirmed on a short intro call.

Frequently Asked

The questions every CTO asks first.

Will this work with my current stack?

Yes. Every workflow you build runs in your real codebase, on your real CI/CD. We don't make you adopt a tool you don't use.

How technical is the build work?

Hands-on. You'll be in Claude Code and Cursor every week. This is for eng leaders who still ship — not those who've been out of the IDE for five years.

How much time will this take?

2–3 hours most weeks, ~5 in the three build weeks. If your on-call rotation can't hold that, this isn't the right cohort.

Is this a job-search program?

No. It's a capability-and-optionality program. You leave more valuable where you are, with the assets to choose a portfolio path if and when you want one.

How is this different from typical AI training?

Most training teaches you to think about AI dev workflows. This one ships them — five anchor outputs, one live workflow in your codebase, and a Demo Day.

What if it's not for me?

Ship Anchor 1 by the end of Week 3 and decide it's not delivering — tell us and we'll refund in full. [CONFIRM refund terms before publishing.]

The Full Syllabus

Curious about the week-by-week?

Three stages. Twelve weeks. Click any stage to expand.

Week 1

The Snap and the Score

Run the Eng Beast Score with the cohort. Diagnose your AI Velocity Gap. Draft your 12-week target.

Session 1 · 90 min · Cohort orientation.

Week 2

Reading Your Dev Stack

Map your dev workflow against the 3-tier framework (Substitute / Augment / Elevate). Identify your top 3 automation candidates.

Session 2 · 60 min · Task-stack clinic.

Week 3Anchor 1 ships

Ship the Eng Diagnostic

Run the Clarity Prompt against velocity, quality and cycle-time data. Ship a one-page diagnostic. Pressure-test with peers.

Session 3 · 90 min · Diagnostic clinic.

Week 4Anchor 2 ships

Build Your Eng Second Brain

Install Claude Code + Notion or Obsidian. Load your RFCs, postmortems and architecture docs. Query your own KB.

Session 4 · 60 min · Build session.

Week 5

AI Skills Sprint: Eng Edition

Move from AI Operator to AI Translator. Ship one production-ready coding-agent prompt for a real PR.

Session 5 · 90 min · Prompt-engineering lab.

Week 6Anchor 3 ships

Ship the AI Dev Workflow Spec

Lock the coding-agent stack, prompt patterns, PR review automation. Roll out to one squad in week.

Session 6 · 60 min · Workflow clinic.

Week 7Anchor 4 ships

Ship the Eng Productivity Dashboard

Build the dashboard — cycle time, PR throughput, AI-assist ratio. Push to live. Send to your CEO.

Session 7 · 90 min · Dashboard shipped live.

Week 8

Choose Your Hiring Bet

Pre-score 3 candidate leveling rubrics. Run the Stream Filter Test live. Lock your anchor leveling rubric.

Session 8 · 60 min · Leveling clinic.

Week 9Anchor 5 ships

Ship the Hiring & Leveling Rubric

Sharpen rubric + scorecards. Push one open role through the new system. Send three calibrated offers.

Session 9 · 90 min · Hiring role-play.

Week 10

Eng Org Design in the AI Era

Walkthrough of squad shapes that work post-Copilot. Decide on a 90-day org-design experiment.

Session 10 · 60 min · Org-design audit.

Week 11System ships

Build the Live AI Workflow

Ship one AI workflow end-to-end in your real codebase — PR review, test gen, or on-call assistant. Runs in CI.

Session 11 · 90 min · Workflow built live.

Week 12Demo Day

Demo Day + 90-Day Forward Plan

Present your 5 anchors + live workflow. Sign your 90-day plan.

Session 12 · 90 min · Demo Day.

Apply

First cohort. 7 seats. Founding-member status.

This is the inaugural run of the program. Pricing, access, and the seat at the table all reflect that — and won't repeat in future cohorts.

Founding Pricing
Materially below what future cohorts will pay.
Direct Access to Your Guide
A 7-person room means real 1:1 time every week.
Shape the Curriculum
Your feedback locks in v1. Future cohorts inherit it.

We build AI workflows for a living. For this room, the intake is a conversation, not a form — so there's one step:

Internal: Sales playbook — ICPs, Apollo search & 5-touch sequences ↗

If you're a sitting CTO, VP Eng or Head of Eng ready to lead the AI shift inside your org — let's talk.