Mangrove root system
PLATE. M / FIELD REFERENCE · RHIZOPHORA v.2026 · METHOD
A senior AI engineering studio · healthcare · fintech · legal · logistics

We build & ship
production AI
for funded companies.

Method Data Science is a senior AI engineering studio. We take over stalled builds, ship new AI products, and embed as your engineering team across regulated, data-heavy domains where most shops can't operate: clinical AI on live EHRs, legal and fintech SaaS, underwriting and logistics systems.

20+
Production platforms shipped
15
Years in regulated AI
10+
LLM systems in production
4
Regulated verticals
FIG. 01 / WHAT WE DO v.2026
BUILD × RESCUE × EMBED LIVE
BUILD 0→1 · FULL-STACK EMBED FRACTIONAL CTO + TEAM RESCUE TAKEOVER · DEVOPS
DIRECT ENGAGEMENTS / AI engineering and fractional CTO, 2011–2026
GoodRx CVS Deloitte The Mather Group ListReports Photopharmics Flagright Hiatus Wicker Park Group Spyglaz EstateCo Provenance Vrolio Bonus Homes Sage Capital Skin Research Institute Syncro Monitoring GoodRx CVS Deloitte The Mather Group ListReports Photopharmics Flagright Hiatus Wicker Park Group Spyglaz EstateCo Provenance Vrolio Bonus Homes Sage Capital Skin Research Institute Syncro Monitoring

What we do.
Build, rescue, embed.

Method is a senior AI engineering team. We ship new AI products, take over stalled software, and embed as your engineering team inside regulated, data-heavy domains, end to end.

01 / BUILD IT
Build it

Ship new AI products. From an idea or a half-built app to production. LLM pipelines, agents, full-stack, cloud. We have taken products from barebones to App Store and from concept to demo-day.

LLM · FULL-STACK · 0→1
02 / RESCUE IT
Rescue it

Take over stalled software. Offshore team stalled, vendor underdelivered, or an AI app held together with tape. We stabilize production, own the roadmap, and ship. You own the code, end to end.

CODEBASE RESCUE · VENDOR TAKEOVER · DEVOPS
03 / EMBED
Embed

Be your engineering team. A senior, AI-native team that runs as your fractional CTO plus engineers inside regulated, data-heavy domains. We hold the roadmap and ship alongside you.

FRACTIONAL CTO · HIPAA / SOC2 · EMBEDDED TEAM

One engagement.
Four visible phases.

Start anywhere. The phases are designed to compose. Most engagements run Phase 0 → 1 → 2 over the first months. Phase 3 is for taking over a stalled vendor or offshore team without losing production.

Phase 00
Build / Rescue Diagnosis/ system · gaps · build plan
We map the system, the data, the gaps, and the fastest path to shipping. Whether it's a new build or a stalled one, you get a clear technical assessment and a sequenced plan. Deliverable: a technical assessment plus a 60-minute readout.
$12K–$25K 1–3 weeks · fixed fee READ MORE →
Phase 01
Embedded Engineering/ fractional CTO + engineers
A senior AI engineering team embedded in your company, fractional CTO plus engineers, building and shipping production software. You own 100% of the IP.
$20K–$75K / mo month-to-month · 30-day notice READ MORE →
Phase 02
Compounding AI/ LLM · agents · knowledge systems
LLM pipelines, agentic workflows, and knowledge systems anchored in your proprietary data. AI that amplifies your advantage instead of eroding it. Runs inside your VPC. No data retention by us.
Fixed-fee modules or embedded retainer READ MORE →
Phase 03
Takeover & Scale/ replace vendor / offshore team
Replace an offshore or vendor team without losing production. We stabilize in the first 60 days, own the roadmap, and ship. If an exit comes, the infrastructure transfers cleanly.
Phase-1 fixed then retainer READ MORE →

Shipped. Not slideware.

Firm-voiced summaries of completed engagements. Active retainer clients are omitted. All case studies are published with client knowledge.

3 Months from a half-built repo to a live, paying app on the App Store
CONSUMER PLATFORM MOBILE PAYMENTS

Barebones to App Store in three months.

Outcome: Took an inherited, half-finished codebase and shipped a full consumer streaming app, auth, streaming, search, Stripe payments, and creator payouts, live on the App Store. Full-stack build owned end to end.

FLUTTER · NESTJS · STRIPE CONNECT · AWS
CLINICAL / HIPAA

Physician targeting + ecosystem map operational. Built the treatment ecosystem data layer and a physician-scoring system supporting the commercial team.

HIPAA · SNOWFLAKE · ML SCORING
RIA / MULTI-BILLION AUM

Churn prediction in production. Built a churn-prediction model and the data platform behind it for a multi-billion-AUM advisory, flagging at-risk relationships before attrition hit.

PYTHON · XGBOOST · SF DATA CLOUD
REAL ESTATE TECH

Data platform at scale. Built the data engineering and analytics backbone across 300M+ rows of property data on a multi-year engagement.

AWS · DBT · ANALYTICS
ENTERPRISE HEALTHCARE

Replaced offshore dev team as full product engineering. Clinical AI scribe scaled to enterprise platform. Method embedded as fractional CTO plus dedicated engineering team.

LLM PIPELINE · EHR INT · HIPAA
LEGAL TECH / LAUNCH

Concept to demo-day in under six months. Built a relationship-intelligence SaaS for law firms, full product, security, and roadmap ownership.

LLM · RAG · AGENTIC WORKFLOW
FREIGHT / OPTIMIZATION

Voice-driven AI sales CRM, shipped. Built a freight CRM with voice capture and LLM next-step recommendations. Fixed Phase-1 build then ongoing roadmap ownership.

PYTHON · OPTIMIZATION · ROUTE ML

How we think about
your business.

Method is run by technologists who came up through field ecology. That lens changes what we look for in your company, and what we refuse to optimize for. Four principles that govern every engagement.

01 Fitness > efficiency

Specialists win the era. Generalists win the extinction.

Dinosaurs dominated the planet for 165 million years. When the environment shifted, the lineages that survived were not the most specialized ones. They were the ones carrying redundancy they didn't strictly need in the good times: dietary flexibility, metabolic range, behavioral plasticity. Companies optimized purely for efficiency are fragile to environment change. Method invests in redundancy and resilience where it matters: data, IP, and institutional memory.

Applied in → Phase 00 / Build / Rescue Diagnosis
02 Moats as ecosystems

A moat is an ecosystem, not a wall.

Walls fail at a single breach. Mature ecosystems keep functioning even when individual species are lost. The remaining web re-routes flows around the gap. We build resilient systems as a network of interdependent assets: proprietary data, codified expertise, hardened infrastructure, institutional workflows. Remove any one and the others still hold.

Applied in → Phase 01 / Technical Codification
03 r vs K strategy

Most portcos inherit r-strategy DNA. Post-close, the job is K-conversion.

r-strategists ship fast, reproduce everywhere, protect nothing. It's the right strategy pre-product-market-fit. Then the company gets acquired and keeps running the same playbook into a new environment. Post-close, the winning move is K-conversion: concentrating investment in the 2–3 assets that actually compound, codifying what's proprietary, and retiring the bets that no longer serve the thesis.

Applied in → Phase 02 / Compounding AI
04 Roots > canopy

Compound the root network, not the canopy.

Canopies get defoliated. Root networks regenerate. Method invests engineering hours in infrastructure, data architecture, and proprietary models that compound quietly over time. The marketing surface, the shiny app, the sales motion all regrow from a healthy root system.

Applied in → Phase 03 / Takeover & Scale
15YRS
Regulated-industry depthHealthcare · Fintech · Wealth · Legal
10+LLM
LLM systems in productionShipped across client products
HIPAABAA
Active covered engagementsRuns inside your VPC · no retention
20+PLT
Production platforms shippedFunded startups & growth-stage

Answered plainly.

Q.01 Who is Method for? +
Funded startups and growth-stage companies that need to build and ship real AI software and don't have the senior engineering bench to do it in-house. We work primarily in regulated, data-heavy verticals: healthcare, legal tech, logistics, fintech, and wealth management.
Q.02 How is this different from a fractional CTO? +
A fractional CTO gives you technical leadership. Method gives you that plus an embedded team that actually builds: LLM pipelines, data infrastructure, and full-stack product, shipped. Most fractional CTOs advise; we lead and build, because that is how the studio is staffed.
Q.03 What's the smallest way to start? +
A $12K–$25K Build / Rescue Diagnosis. One to three weeks. We map your system, the gaps, and the fastest path to shipping, and hand you a sequenced build plan. Stop there or continue into Phase 1 with 30-day notice at any time.
Q.04 What does a full engagement cost? +
Month-to-month retainers run $20K–$75K depending on team size and scope: embedded CTO plus dedicated engineering, scaled to the engagement. 30-day notice. Scope adjusts monthly. Phase 0 diagnostics and Phase 3 takeovers are fixed-fee. Method prices transparently and publishes ranges publicly, so you never have to ask.
Q.05 Who owns the IP you create? +
You do. In every case. Method retains zero ownership over client software, methods, or derivative IP. Assignment is executed at kickoff. This is a non-negotiable part of how we work.
Q.06 Do you work under HIPAA / BAA? +
Yes. Multiple active HIPAA-covered engagements with executed Business Associate Agreements. Method operates comfortably inside regulated-data environments and will run inside your VPC if required. No data retention outside your environment by default.
Q.07 Can you replace an offshore or vendor team? +
Yes. Phase 3 Takeover & Scale is designed for exactly this. We stabilize production in the first 60 days, then own the roadmap. Method has replaced a large offshore vendor and two domestic teams without a production incident.
Q.08 Who is on the team? +
Each engagement is led by a senior operator backed by the studio's bench: dedicated LLM, data, and ML engineers assigned per engagement, not subcontracted, plus 15+ years of combined delivery in regulated industries. You work with the same team from kickoff through completion. Team composition is disclosed in the engagement letter.
Q.09 What happens if the lead is unavailable mid-engagement? +
Every engagement letter names a successor with equivalent authority, all IP and documentation is escrowed in your environment as the work happens, and the embedded team is built to continue delivery without lead involvement for up to 30 days. Continuity is a contract term, not a promise.
SHIPPED. NOT SLIDEWARE.
NOW BOOKING BUILD & RESCUE WORK

Tell us what you're
trying to build,
rescue, or ship.

A 30-minute call. No pitch deck. If we can help, we'll tell you. If we can't, we'll tell you that too.

or email contact@methoddatascience.com Newport Beach, CA