Validation Sprint
Quick read on a codebase before an investor or acquirer gets it. We find what their diligence team will find — before they find it.
h1e — Human First Engineering
Senior engineers
using AI tools.
Most AI-engineering shops are junior operators running tools. We’re senior operators using tools. Different price point. Different buyer. World-class expertise.
The shift
Every company built something with AI in the last 18 months.
-
50%
doesn’t hold up under load.
-
33%
has secrets committed to the repo.
-
25%
will fail its first real audit.
“Half of it doesn’t hold up under load.”
Who’s going to fix it?
What we do
Four shapes of engagement.
One operating philosophy.
Audit / Rescue
Offshore-built, AI-heavy, or orphaned codebases. We make them shippable again — rescue when rescue is right, rewrite only when rewrite is right.
Fractional Engineering
Senior pair-of-hands for a team that needs adult supervision. We sit inside your engineering practice and ship with it.
Advisory
Standing access for founders making high-stakes technical calls. On-demand judgment from someone who’s built, sold, and fixed the broken parts.
Every engagement starts with a 60-min discovery call. Free. First deliverable is always a written assessment. You can walk at any time.
How we’re different
Paid by outcome.
Not by headcount.
| Other AI shops | h1e |
|---|---|
| Junior engineers running Cursor | Senior engineers using Cursor |
| Paid by headcount | Paid by outcome |
| “Rewrite it” is always the answer | Rescue when rescue is right |
| No opinion on whether it should exist | We tell you when it shouldn’t |
| Certification-driven | Experience-driven |
“We tell you when it shouldn’t.”
Proof
De-identified, recent,
and still running.
Case 01 · Consumer app, pre-Series A
631
MB
Heap dump with AWS credentials committed to the repo. XSS vectors open. Encryption silent-failing. Delivered a prioritized remediation plan in three weeks.
- XSS vectors in the client-side HTML parser
- Encryption using the wrong cipher function — decrypt failed silently
- Delivered: prioritized remediation plan + 90-day rescue roadmap
Case 02 · Aviation platform, offshore vendor fired
1
engineer
Replaced a multi-vendor contract. Senior-plus-AI, solo operator, shipped production-grade auth, verification, matching, and messaging. Months, not quarters.
- Rebuilt backend + mobile with a senior-plus-AI approach, solo operator
- Shipped production-grade auth, verification, matching, messaging
- Months, not quarters, to production
Case 03 · Compliance platform, monolith migration
7,000+
LOC
Analytics ported without rewriting. Flask monolith to FastAPI + React, strangler-fig pattern, zero downtime. In-production the entire migration window.
- Flask monolith → FastAPI + React, zero downtime
- Strangler-fig pattern, both systems live throughout
- In-production the entire migration window
Who we work with
Four kinds of calls.
All urgent.
- → Founders raising a B-round who need to show a clean diligence packet.
- → Companies who fired an offshore vendor and need to rescue what’s left.
- → Regulated-industry teams — defense, healthcare, finance — who need senior engineering with AI fluency.
- → Investors doing technical diligence on portfolio companies.
Next step
Book a 60-min discovery call.
Free. Non-binding.
Either we have the right shape for you, or we tell you who does.
hello@h1e.aiUnder Magnetic Ventures — investment + management consulting.