Functional Consultant

Functional Consultant

What you'll own

The problem space. You translate client needs into scoped outcomes a swarm can ship in a 5-day pulse cycle. Part project manager, part product manager, part UX thinker. You're the reason the swarm builds the right thing, not just the thing that was spec'd three weeks ago.

How we work

Critical Propulsion amplifies human delivery. Our swarm model pairs 3-4 senior operators with AI agents to cut cycle times 30-50% and multiply effective capacity 2-5x versus traditional teams. Zero handoffs. Single timezone. No offshore blended teams. No sprint theater.

Week 1 is productive delivery, not onboarding. We define outcomes and trust operators to get there.

What we expect

• You scope work into pulse-cycle-sized outcomes. If a deliverable can't ship in 5 days, you break it down until it can.
• You practice spec-driven development. You write clear, detailed specs before the swarm starts building. You know that a well-scoped spec is the difference between shipping in one pulse cycle and burning two on rework.
• You run the cadence, remove blockers, and keep the swarm focused on what matters this cycle.
• You talk to clients directly and often. You close the gap between what they asked for and what they actually need.
• You embrace agentic development. You don't treat AI as autocomplete. You use AI agents to accelerate research, scoping, and documentation. You see this as the future of how delivery gets run, not a novelty.
• You think in terms of user experience, even if your title doesn't say "designer." You catch the friction before it ships.
• You communicate directly. No status theater. No 40-slide readouts that could be a 3-line message.
  
  

What we don't filter on

• Whether your background is "PM" or "PdM" or "BA" or "UX" or "consultant." We care about whether you can own a problem space and keep a swarm pointed at the right outcomes.
• Years of experience as a number. If you can run the cadence for a swarm shipping in 5-day pulse cycles, the number is irrelevant.
• Pedigree. No school, company name, or certification substitutes for demonstrated ability to scope, prioritize, and ship.
  
  

Nice to have

• Experience writing detailed specs that engineering teams can build from without ambiguity. You've practiced spec-driven design and seen how it reduces rework cycles.
• Familiarity with Azure cloud services, enough to have informed conversations with architects and engineers about what's feasible and what's not.
• Working knowledge of Python, Node.js, React, or TypeScript. You don't need to write production code, but you understand what the swarm is building well enough to scope it accurately.
• Hands-on experience with agentic AI tooling: Claude Code, Cursor, Copilot Workspace, or similar. You've used AI agents to draft specs, synthesize research, or accelerate delivery planning.
• Background in consulting or client-facing delivery. You've managed client expectations, navigated scope changes, and shipped under real constraints with real stakeholders watching.
• Prior experience on small, autonomous teams. You've run delivery for a 3-4 person crew, not managed a backlog for a 15-person feature factory.
• UX sensibility. You've run usability reviews, created wireframes, or shaped product decisions based on how real users interact with software.
  
  

What you get

• A team where everyone builds. No layers of management between you and the work.
• AI agents as real teammates. You'll use AI tooling to accelerate scoping, research, and documentation.
• Pulse cycles that create natural rhythm without traditional sprint overhead (KT +75%, Rework +60%, Mgmt +45% in typical sprint models).
• Direct client impact. The outcomes you scope hit production in days, not quarters.
• Competitive comp
  
  

How to apply

Send us a resume and something that shows how you think about problems. A project plan, a scope doc, a spec, a case study, a write-up of how you kept a complex delivery on track. Skip the cover letter unless you actually want to write one.

Let's have a real conversation. No fluff.