Originally published on rohitraj.tech
Every comparison of a fractional AI engineer against a full-time hire is published by someone selling one side of it. This one is written from the delivery side \u2014 the five conditions that make fractional the right call, the four where it is the wrong one, the week-to-week cadence that actually works, and what has to be true on your side before any of it does.
Read the full version with code samples, diagrams, and architecture details: Fractional AI Engineer vs Full-Time Hire: How to Decide (2026)
More engineering notes: rohitraj.tech/notes
