FabTech-IGM For Rob

Metal Fabrication: A 90-Day CTO Plan

Rob, here’s your new Director of IT’s first 90 days. What to fix first, where AI pays off soonest, and what the hire should own.

If the Director of IT seat can stay open another quarter, ignore this. If it can’t, the next two minutes are worth it.

What we noticed

Since 1967, a vertically integrated manufacturer with 600+ employees across 300,000+ square feet, and an Operator Information System of your own that already guides builds step by step.

Your Director of Information Technology posting went up on October 19, and it asks one person to own the roadmap, the software team, the infrastructure team, ERP, cybersecurity, disaster recovery and AI governance at once.

Your own product Metal fabrication, PCBA and system integration under one roof, for OEMs in data center, controls, energy, public safety and medical. fabtech-igm.com
Your own software An in-house Operator Information System that gives step-by-step work instructions and flags errors instantly, and the PCBA floor runs on Mycenter ERP for kitting and traceability. Production data already exists. Lean manufacturing page
Your team A three-developer software team and a four-person infrastructure and support team, per your posting, plus 20+ engineers and dedicated Lean engineers on the floor. Director of Information Technology posting
Your tech Sage Intacct preferred for ERP, Azure and AWS named, and a WordPress site with HubSpot behind it. Director of Information Technology posting

Seen in your stack: WordPress · Divi · HubSpot · Google Tag Manager · Google Analytics · Mycenter ERP · Sage Intacct · Azure · AWS · Operator Information System

What your posting asks for

“Define and execute a multi-year IT roadmap that scales with the business, covering software, infrastructure, data, cybersecurity, and AI.”
“Build, buy, or contract decisions; hire or engage outside developers and vendors as needed.”
“Ensure development standards, code review practices, and CI/CD pipelines are in place and followed.”
“Create and maintain an AI governance framework.”
“Build a single source of truth for company data and deliver dashboards for leadership and ownership.”
“Maintain IT general computer controls that are audit- and lender-review ready.”

From your Director of Information Technology posting, posted October 19, 2026.

What changes for your new Director of Information Technology

Your new Director of IT starts with a plan: what to fix first across software, ERP and security, where AI saves your engineers and planners time soonest, and a clear line between what they own and what a fractional lead can carry while they settle in.

Your new Director of Information Technology’s first 90 days

Three phases, each item with the reason it’s there and where that came from.

Days 1 to 30

Learn the floor and the systems

1
Walk both plants and sit with the people who use the systems
The posting wants hands-on leadership. The first month is for learning how Libertyville and Las Vegas actually run on the OIS, ERP and test systems.
Source: Director of Information Technology posting
2
List every system and how it connects to the ERP
The posting requires ERP and integration with production systems. A map shows where data is retyped or lives in a spreadsheet.
Source: Director of Information Technology posting
3
Review the three developers’ work and where it lives
Your posting asks the lead to direct and evaluate developers, so start with what exists: repositories, releases and who knows what.
Source: Director of Information Technology posting
4
Test a backup restore and check the recovery times
Disaster recovery with tested recovery times is a named duty, and a manufacturer pays for every hour a line sits idle.
Source: Director of Information Technology posting

Days 31 to 60

Put controls and standards in place

5
Write the development standards and set up code review
The posting asks for standards, code review and CI/CD that are in place and followed. Start with the OIS, since the floor depends on it.
Source: Director of Information Technology posting
6
Document access, change and incident procedures
Audit and lender review need written procedures, and the posting names incidents, requests, change, access and assets.
Source: Director of Information Technology posting
7
Close the gaps in security questionnaires
OEM customers send third-party security questionnaires. Answers should come from a maintained control set instead of a scramble.
Source: Director of Information Technology posting
8
Inventory the AI tools employees have built
Your posting expects employee-built tools to become supported production systems, so find them and rank them by value and risk.
Source: Director of Information Technology posting

Days 61 to 90

Write the roadmap

9
Set the AI governance rules for data access and acceptable use
Customer designs and IP are the asset. The rules say what AI can touch and who approves it.
Source: Director of Information Technology posting
10
Build the first leadership dashboard from one source of truth
The posting asks for one data source and dashboards for leadership and ownership. Start with on-time delivery and quality.
Source: Director of Information Technology posting
11
Write the multi-year roadmap and the build, buy or contract calls
This is the posting’s first strategic ask, with a cost and an order for each item.
Source: Director of Information Technology posting

Where AI pays off soonest

Workflows from your own business, in the order they save your team time.

1 Quote and engineering questions answered from your own drawings and past builds
You engage OEMs early on design for manufacturability. An assistant on past quotes and DFM notes drafts a first response for your engineers to review.
Source: fabtech-igm.com
2 Work instructions drafted for the OIS from drawings and BOMs
Every new part needs step-by-step build instructions. A draft from the drawing and bill of materials cuts the time before an engineer approves it.
Source: Lean manufacturing page
3 Shortage and expedite alerts from the schedule and inventory
Your supply chain page promises less expedite cost and predictable delivery. Flagging shortages against the build schedule gives planners days, not hours.
Source: Supply chain page
4 Security questionnaires answered from your control documents
The same questions come from every OEM. A first draft from your approved controls saves hours each time.
Source: Director of Information Technology posting
5 Quality trends summarized from test and inspection data
Your inspection and test equipment produce a steady record. A weekly summary of defect patterns helps the quality team act before a customer sees it.
Source: Quality page

What the hire owns, and what a fractional lead covers

Your Director of Information Technology owns

The IT roadmap, budget and vendors
The software team and the infrastructure and support team
Cybersecurity, access and disaster recovery
ERP and its integration with production systems
AI governance and the leadership dashboards

A fractional lead covers

Where AI pays off first on the floor, in quoting and in planning
The order of the roadmap and the build, buy or contract calls
Data and security choices for new tools
This 90-day plan, run alongside the hire until it’s theirs

Your first 90 days of tech leadership, planned

The plan above is yours either way.

Email Kash

We build a handful of these a month, for founders hiring now.

90 days

from the first day to a written roadmap

What to fix first, with the reason
Where AI pays off soonest
What the hire owns and what a fractional lead covers
A roadmap your team can run

Who’s building it

Kash Badami was Chief Architect of a national health information network and closed the CMS deal behind Healthcare.gov’s data infrastructure. He runs his own company on AI today.

Chief Architectof a national health information network for HHS, aligning 23 federal agencies

$27MCMS deal that became core Healthcare.gov data infrastructure

“he was singularly responsible for the company’s single largest customer by revenue - the Center for Medicare & Medicaid within the US Department of Health and Human Services.”

RLRobert Liebowitz, worked with Kash on MarkLogic’s Public Sector team; now First Ascent VenturesLinkedIn recommendation, April 2026
“Kash and I built ERT Credit together in 2021. He took my MVP and turned it into a SaaS that hit $10M ARR in twelve months.”

Jordan Anderson, CEO, PayStreetgobridgehead.ai/about

FabTech-IGM sales playbook, in brief

FabTech-IGM is a contract manufacturer founded in 1967 with 600+ employees, doing metal fabrication, PCBA and system integration in Libertyville, Illinois and Las Vegas, Nevada.fabtech-igm.com, About FabTech-IGM page

Its Director of Information Technology posting asks one leader to own the roadmap, software and infrastructure teams, ERP, cybersecurity, disaster recovery and AI governance.Director of Information Technology posting

The first 90 days: learn the floor and the systems, test recovery, set standards and controls, then write the roadmap and the AI rules.Director of Information Technology posting

AI pays off soonest in quote support, OIS work instructions, shortage alerts, security questionnaires and quality summaries.fabtech-igm.com, Lean manufacturing page, Supply chain page, Director of Information Technology posting, Quality page

Prepared by Kash Badami at Bridgehead · November 9, 2026 · Every source

Questions

Why a fractional lead instead of waiting for the full-time Director of Information Technology?

You don’t have to choose. The hire owns the product and the team; a fractional lead covers the AI and software side and runs this plan until it’s theirs, so nothing waits on the search.

What does it cost?

The first engagement is a fixed price, quoted on a call once we’ve seen what you need. After that there’s an optional monthly retainer, and you can stop at any point.

Will it get in the way of the Director of Information Technology we hire?

No. The line between what they own and what a fractional lead covers is on this page, and the plan is handed to them to run.

Where does our data live, and is it secure?

In your own accounts. Nothing runs on our side, and every tool or vendor we suggest is reviewed with you before anyone connects it.

Is this only about AI?

No. AI is one part. Most of the first 90 days is the work your posting describes, and the AI items are the ones that save your team time soonest.