Three ways to engage. Fixed prices for each.
Cipher Projects is an Australian AI engineering studio. Most clients run a managed AI or cloud engineer from AUD $8,900/month — fully managed, cancel monthly. Senior advisory is fixed-scope from AUD $1,950, and fixed-price builds start at AUD $15,000. All pricing shown in Australian, US and Singapore dollars.
Managed engineers
Our core engagement. A full-time AI or cloud engineer dedicated to your roadmap — Australian-led direction, a dedicated delivery manager running the day to day, delivered from our Australian and Vietnam development offices. One all-inclusive invoice, no recruiter fee, cancel monthly. You direct outcomes; you never manage the engineer. See the embedded AI engineer offer.
Solo founders: the most common setup is one managed AI engineer as your technical counterpart — they ship the product while you run the business. See the solo founder path. Other roles (frontend, backend, full-stack, mobile from AUD $7,500/mo) via offshore dedicated teams.
Senior advisory
Senior Australian time, deliberately fixed-scope or capped. Advisory maps the work and makes the decisions; managed engineers do the building. Roadmap fees are credited toward engineering engagements.
AI Readiness Snapshot
One call, a lightweight review of your systems and AI posture, and a short written brief. A low-friction entry point — priced like a serious diagnostic, not a giveaway.
AUD $1,950–2,400 / fixed scope
~6–8 hours · one call + brief
Architecture Mapping & Roadmap
Full environment audit, mapped architecture, written roadmap, and a delivery session. Credited toward a managed engineering engagement if you proceed.
From AUD $5,000 / fixed scope
~12–16 hours · audit + roadmap session
Ongoing Advisory Retainer
Capped senior architecture guidance once the roadmap is delivered — decisions, vendors, and delivery oversight. Not a substitute for an engineer: when the work needs hands, we add a managed seat.
AUD $2,000–3,600 / per month
5–8 hours/month · ~$400/hr senior time
Fractional CTO
Ongoing technical leadership for founders and leadership teams. Strategy, architecture, delivery oversight and the hard calls, without hiring full-time.
From AUD $8,000 / per month
1–3 days/week, scoped to the engagement
Led personally by Keith Vaughan — read his approach
Fixed-price builds
When you want an outcome, not a seat. Scoped after discovery, quoted fixed, shipped in weeks.
AI Build Sprint
A fixed-scope, fixed-price build that ships a specific software or AI product. Discovery, design, build, ship.
From AUD $20,000 / fixed scope
4–8 weeks typical
Custom Medusa Commerce Build
A custom Medusa storefront and backend, built for founders who have outgrown template shops — product model, checkout, integrations and deployment, owned by you.
From AUD $15,000 / fixed scope
4–6 weeks typical · scoped after discovery
All prices are starting rates in the stated currency, excluding GST where applicable. AUD is our billing currency; USD and SGD are indicative conversions confirmed at contract.
Pricing questions
What does a managed AI engineer cost?
Managed AI engineers run on fixed monthly bands: AI Engineer from AUD $9,500/month (USD $6,600 / SGD $8,600), Senior AI Engineer from AUD $12,500/month (USD $8,600 / SGD $11,300), and an AI Pod — senior engineer plus delivery manager plus Australian-led architecture direction — from AUD $16,500/month. All-inclusive, no recruiter fee, cancel monthly. Full offer at cipherprojects.com/embedded-ai-engineers/.
What does a managed cloud engineer cost?
Managed cloud and platform engineers are AUD $8,900/month (USD $6,100 / SGD $8,000) at mid level and AUD $11,500/month (USD $7,900 / SGD $10,400) at senior level, all-inclusive and fully managed — AWS, Azure, GCP, Kubernetes, Terraform and CI/CD.
Why are AI engineers priced slightly above cloud engineers?
Market rates for production AI engineering talent are higher than for cloud engineering at the same seniority, and we pass that through transparently rather than flattening it. The delivery model — Australian-led direction plus a dedicated delivery manager — is identical for both.
How does delivery work — do I manage the engineer?
No. You direct outcomes; we run everything else. Australian-led direction sets the roadmap and architecture, a dedicated delivery manager runs the day to day, and work is delivered from our Australian and Vietnam development offices. You never manage the underlying engineer or team yourself.
I am a solo founder — what should I start with?
The most common solo-founder setup is one managed AI engineer from AUD $9,500/month with Australian-led direction — a technical counterpart who ships your product while you run the business. Many founders start with the AI Readiness Snapshot (AUD $1,950) or go straight to a fixed-price build. See cipherprojects.com/solo-founders/ for the full path.
How much does a fractional CTO cost?
Fractional CTO engagements start from AUD $8,000 (USD $5,500 / SGD $7,200) per month for 1–2 days per week of technical leadership, and scale with scope and seniority. Most founder engagements sit between AUD $8,000 and AUD $25,000 per month. Pricing is scoped per engagement after a short call.
What does an AI Readiness Snapshot cost?
The AI Readiness Snapshot is AUD $1,950–$2,400 (USD $1,350–$1,660 / SGD $1,760–$2,160) for roughly 6–8 hours of work: one discovery call, a lightweight review of your systems and AI posture, and a short written brief. It is a low-friction entry point — priced like a serious diagnostic, not a giveaway.
What does the AI Roadmap & Architecture engagement cost?
The AI Roadmap & Architecture engagement is AUD $5,000 (USD $3,450 / SGD $4,500) flat. It includes a discovery call, a review of your current systems and workflows, and a written roadmap with clear next steps — delivered in two weeks. If you move into a build or managed engineering afterward, this fee is credited toward that engagement.
What does an ongoing advisory retainer cost?
Ongoing advisory retainers run AUD $2,000–$3,600 (USD $1,400–$2,500 / SGD $1,800–$3,250) per month for 5–8 hours of senior architecture guidance at roughly $400/hr. Retainers are deliberately capped: they cover decisions, vendors and delivery oversight, and when the work needs hands-on engineering we add a managed seat rather than stretching advisory hours.
What does an AI build sprint cost?
AI build sprints are fixed-scope and fixed-price, starting from AUD $20,000 (USD $13,800 / SGD $18,000) for a focused 4–8 week build that ships a specific software or AI product. Larger sprints and full product builds scale from there. You get a fixed quote after discovery, not an open-ended estimate.
What does a custom Medusa store build cost?
Custom Medusa commerce builds start from AUD $15,000 (USD $10,400 / SGD $13,500) fixed-price for a founder-scoped storefront and backend — custom product model, checkout, integrations and deployment, with all code owned by you. Larger catalogues, ERP integrations and multi-region setups are quoted after discovery.
Do you offer other dedicated developer roles?
Yes. Beyond the AI and cloud seats listed here, we provide fully-managed frontend, backend, full-stack and mobile developers from AUD $7,500 (USD $5,200 / SGD $6,800) per month, typically starting within 14 days. See cipherprojects.com/offshore-dedicated-teams/ for the dedicated team model.
What currencies do you bill in?
We are an Australian company and bill primarily in Australian dollars (AUD). We also quote and invoice in US dollars (USD) and Singapore dollars (SGD) for clients in those markets. USD and SGD figures are indicative conversions and are confirmed at the time of contract.
Where are you based?
Cipher Projects is an Australian AI engineering studio headquartered in Canberra, with development offices in Australia and Vietnam, serving clients worldwide — with deep focus in Singapore and Australia.