The engineering team you do not have.
Engine is Ego Eimi's embedded engineering team for companies without a tech department. One senior owns the work, AI does the building under that judgment, and we keep improving your software in production month after month. You own the repository, the infrastructure, and everything we make, from the first line of code.
01 / What Engine is
Engine is the ongoing engineering team you do not have, on a recurring basis, built to last for years.
Most companies without a tech department face the same wall after a launch. The software works, but it needs to keep moving. Bugs surface, customers ask for more, the market shifts, and there is no one inside the company who can safely change the code. Engine is that team. We design, build, and run your software end to end, and we keep making it better while it serves real users.
This is the same studio that ships a Forge build, now working with you continuously instead of against a single fixed deadline. The work compounds. Every change is tested, documented, and written back as a structured artifact, so the system gets stronger and easier to run over time, not more fragile.
What lives inside Engine
- New features and product work, shipped in production every week.
- Maintenance, monitoring, and the fixes that keep uptime where it needs to be.
- The AI behind the product: models, agents, and automation, with the evals that judge them.
- Security and AI-governance program ownership as the system grows.
- Audit-readiness work toward frameworks like SOC 2 and ISO 42001, when you need it.
Builds ascend here once trust exists. A first project usually starts as an Audit or a Forge. When that ships and the relationship is proven, Engine is where the work settles in for the long term.
02 / How we work inside Engine
One senior owns your account and writes the evals. AI does the building under that judgment. The result is more tests, better docs, and someone catching the vulnerabilities AI itself can introduce.
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01
Every sprint
A senior owns it
One accountable lead holds your roadmap, your code, and your standards. No handoffs, no subcontract roulette, no rotating faces.
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02
Weekly
Ship continuously
We build in the open and put working software in production on a regular cadence, so progress is visible and never a mystery.
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03
Ongoing
Run it in production
We watch how customers use the product, keep it up, and fix what breaks. Running the software is part of the job, not an extra.
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04
Continuous
Write it back
Tests, docs, prompts, and evals are produced as structured artifacts on every job, so the system compounds and stays portable.
Want the build that comes before this? See Forge, the fixed-price build, or learn how we build.
03 / Engine vs Forge
How Engine differs from a Forge build.
A Forge is a single system, shipped in 4 to 8 weeks at a fixed price and a fixed date. Engine is the ongoing team that keeps building once that system is live: new features, maintenance, and the running of it, on a monthly retainer agreed up front.
| Forge (the build) | Engine (the team) | |
|---|---|---|
| Shape | One project, fixed scope | An ongoing engineering team |
| Time frame | 4 to 8 weeks, one deadline | Recurring, multi-year where possible |
| Commercials | Fixed price for agreed scope | A monthly retainer, about $14,000 to $48,000 |
| What you get | The agreed system, shipped | New features, maintenance, and the running of it |
| Guarantee | Free remediation against signed acceptance criteria, time-capped | Continuous ownership of outcomes in production |
| Security & governance | Built to a recognized standard | Program ownership and audit-readiness as expansions |
| Ownership | Yours from the first line of code | Yours from the first line of code |
The line is simple. A Forge proves we can deliver. Engine is what you move to when the proof is in and you want that capability to stay. New asks on a Forge become a change order, and at some point a stream of change orders is really an ongoing team. That is Engine, named honestly.
Engine runs on a monthly retainer agreed up front, typically $14,000 to $48,000 a month depending on scope. The published ranges are on the pricing page.
04 / Who Engine is for
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01
Companies without a tech team.
- You run a real business, not an engineering org.
- Software is now core to how you operate, but you cannot hire a department to own it.
- You want one accountable partner, not a stack of freelancers to manage.
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02
Teams with software already live.
- You have a product in production that needs to keep moving.
- It needs new features, steady uptime, and someone to fix what breaks.
- You want it to get stronger over time, not slowly rot.
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Buyers who need to be audit-ready.
- Your customers or regulators expect a security and AI-governance program.
- You want readiness against a framework like SOC 2 or ISO 42001, owned and kept current.
- Search funds and holdcos that bought a software-dependent company with no CTO, where Engine picks up after tech due diligence and runs the acquired system.
One honest boundary. We remove technical and ROI uncertainty, not business responsibility.
On security we make you audit-ready against a framework. We never promise you will not be attacked or breached. That readiness is bounded and shaped to be insurable as technology errors-and-omissions coverage. We are clear about that line on purpose, because pretending otherwise would not be honest.
05 / Proof
Software we built and kept running.
Engine is what keeps systems like these alive and improving. Each one is a build we shipped and kept running, with delivery credit noted in its case study.
- Return on investment, reportedDecklar
- 11×
- Uptime in productionHigh-concurrency platform
- 99.9%
- Shopify ads generatedShoperator AI
- 534K+
- MRR across 576 stores, founder-reportedShoperator AI
- $50K
- Administrative hours removedAI Employee
- −70%
- Insurance carriers integratedMedical billing platform
- 150+
These are not one-off launches. HYSS runs an AV and live-events company's crew operation in production: staffing a show, catching conflicts before they land, and paying everyone across employers. Shoperator AI is the engine behind 534K+ Shopify ads and, as its founder reports, $50K MRR across 576 stores. AI Employee cut administrative hours by 70%. A medical billing platform we run reconciles carrier statements across 150+ insurance carriers and 1,000+ document formats. Across the studio we have 32 shipped case studies spanning healthcare, fintech, e-commerce, supply chain, marketing, and operations.
Numbers like those hold because someone keeps owning the system after launch. That is the work Engine exists to do. See the full set in our case studies, or read about the studio and the founder behind it.
06 / Common questions
What is an embedded engineering team?
An embedded engineering team is a senior-led group that works as your dedicated software department without sitting on your payroll. At Ego Eimi this is Engine: a recurring, multi-year engagement where one senior owns the work, builds and runs your software in production, and you own the repository, infrastructure, and everything we make from the first line of code.
How is Engine different from the Forge build?
A Forge is a single system shipped in 4 to 8 weeks at a fixed price and fixed deadline. Engine is the ongoing team that keeps building once that system is live. Forge proves we can deliver; Engine is where you move when you want that capability to stay, on a recurring basis, multi-year where possible. Builds ascend to Engine once trust exists.
Do I own the code if you run it for me?
Yes. You own everything from the first line of code: the repository, the infrastructure, the documentation, the prompts, the evals, and the deployment. There is no lock-in. We run and improve the software for you, but it is always yours, and you can take it elsewhere at any time.
Can Engine make us audit-ready for SOC 2 or ISO 42001?
Yes, as an expansion within Engine. We can own your security and AI-governance program and the recurring audit work that goes with it, including readiness against frameworks like SOC 2 and ISO 42001. We make you audit-ready against a framework. We do not promise you will never be attacked or breached, and that readiness is bounded and shaped to be insurable as technology errors-and-omissions coverage.
Who does the work, people or AI?
Both, in that order of judgment. One senior owns your account and writes the evals that define correct behavior. AI does the building under that judgment. The senior is what makes it safe: more tests, better documentation, and someone catching the vulnerabilities that AI can introduce on its own.
How do we start working with Engine?
Most relationships start with an Audit or a Forge build, so trust is earned on a defined piece of work first. Once that ships, Engine is the natural next step. Start a conversation and we reply within one business day, and you get a fixed price and a date in writing before any code.
Already have software that needs a team to keep it alive? Just closed on the company that runs on it? Read the first 100 days owning custom software, start a conversation, or see the Forge build.
If it goes wrong, the risk stays contained: the repo and infrastructure are in your name from day one, there is no retainer you cannot leave, and if we part ways you keep everything. Most Engine relationships start with an audit, credited in full to the work that follows. Ask to speak with a past client before you sign.
Last updated July 2026 · Talk with Felipe
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