The Future of Project Delivery: This is a 4-hour exploration of a pioneering Architecture workflow. Sketch → AI concept model → AI renders → Interactive web model → MCP Revit documentation → Architect review.
AEC Technology
Leadership &
AI Advisory
Guiding Architecture & Engineering Firms Through AI and Digital Transformation to Protect Margins, Mitigate Risk, and Accelerate Delivery
AI Strategy, Roadmapping, Alignment, and Enablement
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The AI Shift Demands Real Technology Leadership
Most AEC firms want an AI strategy, but their digital foundation isn't built to support it. Craig helps architecture and engineering firms navigate AI governance, modernize their digital practice, and can step in as a Fractional CTO to turn technology from an unmanaged risk into a measurable advantage.
That work requires someone who has operated at every level of the problem. Over 19 years in senior technology roles, at firms ranging from 50 to 3,800+ people, Craig has guided AEC organizations through every major technology transition the industry has faced: CAD to BIM, BIM to cloud, cloud to AI. For the past several years his focus has been AI, driving initiatives that measurably improve how firms operate.
He has earned the trust of firm leadership from the inside, navigating the competing priorities of design culture, project delivery, and long-term growth.
He's done the job, and now he uses that expertise to advise mid-sized architecture firms.
Craig founded this practice for firms at a specific moment in their growth: organizations that have outgrown informal technology management and are ready for the kind of sustained, strategic leadership that drives real results. He brings the architectural background, the business fluency, and the implementation experience to step into that role at the scale and pace each firm requires.
If your technology decisions are being made by default instead of by design, that's the conversation worth having.
Engagement Models
Three primary ways to work together — from targeted advisory to full embedded leadership. Engagements are selective and limited to a small number of concurrent partnerships to ensure depth, availability, and executive focus.
Strategic Advisory
Designed for leadership teams who require technology strategy, AI governance, and digital roadmap alignment without day-to-day operational oversight.
- AI Governance and policy advisory
- Board & C-suite technology strategy
- Technology roadmap development
- Vendor evaluation & selection
- AI readiness assessment
Ideal for firms that need strategic guidance but have internal execution capacity.
Operating Leadership
Designed for firms undergoing platform migration, AI rollout, operational restructuring, or digital modernization requiring embedded leadership.
- Implementation accountability
- Direct oversight of technology initiatives
- Platform migration leadership
- Team mentoring & development
- Cross-functional coordination
Ideal for firms in active transition needing a working technology leader.
Embedded Executive
Designed for firms that require senior-level ownership of technology strategy, budget, risk management, and execution but do not require or are not ready for a full-time CTO.
- Acting CTO role
- Full vendor and platform ownership
- Budget planning and oversight
- Team leadership & hiring
- Strategic + operational execution
Ideal for firms that need a CTO but not full-time.
Fixed-Fee Engagements
AI Readiness Assessment
- Shadow-AI Audit: tools in use, account types, and data exposure
- Data Readiness Review: where project data lives and whether it can support AI
- AI Terms-of-Service Scorecard: every tool scored across 15 risk categories
- Digital Maturity Gap Analysis
- AEC Risk Profile: liability, IP, client confidentiality, privacy
AI Governance & Policy Development
- AI Use Policy Package: with IP ownership and a staff confidentiality check
- AI Tool Register: use, cost, requester, effectiveness
- Staff AI Prompt Library
- AI Steering Committee: mandate, membership, and kickoff
- AIA Framework Translation: the 2026 AI Task Force framework turned into firm policy and guardrails
AI Strategy & Roadmapping
- 12-Month Phased AI Roadmap: milestones, owners, decision points
- Leadership Alignment: AI goals, priorities, and risk tolerance
- Prioritized Use-Case Portfolio: design, delivery, and operations
- Budget & ROI Model for every initiative
- Fee & Staffing Impact Analysis
- Pilot Plan: first initiatives with clear success measures
AI Enablement & Adoption
- AI Rollout Plan: sequenced by team and use case
- Firm-Specific Staff AI Guides
- Role-Based Training Curriculum: leadership, project teams, operations
- AI Champion Network across studios and offices
- Adoption Tracking: regular check-ins to refine the program
- Emerging-Tech Guidance: AI in Revit, ArchiCAD, and rendering
Technology & Digital Practice Assessment
- Current-State Review: stack, software, infrastructure
- Workflow Analysis: design, documentation, delivery
- Governance Review: standards, ownership, decision rights
- Risk Exposure Report: security, licensing, contracts
- Digital Maturity Benchmark
- Prioritized Roadmap: 90-day, 6-month, and 12-month milestones
Collaboration Platform Operating Model
- Platform Migration Strategy: ACC, Egnyte, or SharePoint
- Data Architecture & Folder Standards
- Permissions Model: including external project partners
- Cutover Plan: minimal disruption to active projects
- Adoption & Training Rollout
- Post-Go-Live Operating Model: ownership, support, governance
Independent third-party assessments help surface hard truths, reduce internal bias, and give executives the confidence to act with broad organizational support.
Clients access custom AI tools
AI products and tools Craig provides to clients & subscribers, and the talks and writing where he shares what he’s learned.
AI Products & Tools
Custom tools developed for Craig’s clients
TermsWatchdog: AI-powered SaaS that analyzes Terms of Service, EULAs, and privacy policies. Craig founded it and built it end to end. Its proprietary “AI Transparency Card” uses 15-category stoplight scoring in three tiers: Gating, Material, and Diligence.
Feezible: fee, sheet-count, and staffing validation app for architects, launched in September 2026 and built around the fee-model questions AI raises.
AEC AI News Brief: automated daily brief for architecture firm leaders (one top story, five quick hits, and four tools), personally approved by Craig before every issue and delivered by email and on barbieri.biz.
IntentIQ: prompt strategy engine that sharpens prompts for more rigorous, accurate, and non-sycophantic LLM results.
Thought Leadership & Speaking
Presentations, webinars & writing
- “The AIA Has Spoken: What the New AI Framework Means for Your Firm,” a presentation for leaders of medium-to-large architecture firms (Barbieri Technology Group, sponsored by Feezible)
- “Top Five Uses of AI for Firm Leaders,” a webinar for leaders of firms with 50+ staff
- Autodesk University 2026 session proposal on AI risk management for AEC firms, using TermsWatchdog as the demonstration vehicle
- AI governance talk in planning for an audience of 500 US AEC leaders
- Guide to AI transformation for midsize AEC firms (in progress)
- Daily AEC AI News Brief (see AI Products & Tools)
Proven at Scale
Selected initiatives from Craig’s 19 years of AEC technology leadership.
Large US AE firm · $60M+ annual
AI Visualization Pipeline
Introduced generative AI tools that replaced outsourced architectural rendering while keeping creative authorship intact. Established the firm’s first AI visualization workflow — a model for how AI augments rather than replaces design professionals.
Large US Architecture firm · $57M+ annual
Enabling Firm Scaling through Digital Practice
Engaged by a $57M+ annual design firm to evaluate and realign its Digital Practice. Delivered a confidential executive assessment and phased roadmap addressing BIM governance, template strategy, staffing structure, and contractual risk to support scalable modernization.
Mid-size architecture firm · Camden, NJ
AI Governance Program: Urban Practice Architects
Built the firm’s AI governance from nothing into a working program. Drafted the complete AI use policy, including IP ownership and a staff confidentiality check. Stood up an AI Tool Register and a shared Prompt Library. Designed and facilitated the AI Steering Committee, which now reviews staff tool requests through an automated intake workflow with a three-day go/no-go turnaround. Ongoing role as AI strategy advisor to the committee.
Architecture firm · Proposals & business development
AI-Powered RFP Research and Proposal Workflow
Designed an AI workflow that cuts research and first-draft time on RFP responses. Built on Google Gemini Enterprise, NotebookLM, and Agent Designer, it runs inside the firm’s existing Workspace environment with no new vendor. Delivered as a two-phase roadmap: first, a research agent that assembles RFP intelligence and past-performance material; then, fuller automation of the proposal drafting process once the team is comfortable with the first phase.
Large US AE firm · 400+ employees
ECO Sustainability Tracking App
Designed and built a custom Azure-based sustainability tracking application for AIA 2030, SE 2050, and MEP 2040 compliance. Integrated with project management workflows to automate environmental performance reporting.
Multiple large US AE firms · 100–500+ employees
LIDAR Scanning Service Launch
Built internal LIDAR scanning capabilities from scratch, eliminating outsourcing dependency and creating a new revenue-generating service line for firms.
Large US AE firm · 400+ employees
Enterprise AI Tool Finder
Designed and built a custom AI chatbot that helps staff find the right internal tool for the task in front of them. The firm had built 130 custom tools over the years, and most staff knew only a handful. The chatbot matches a plain-language description of the task to the correct tool and explains how to use it. Rolled out successfully to more than 400 staff across the firm.
Paste an engagement. Get an honest answer.
Paste a job description, RFP, or engagement brief. Get an honest assessment of whether Craig is the right fit — including when he’s not.
“The right tool for the right job.”
~Benjamin Franklin
Why Firms Engage
Firms engage Craig when technology decisions like AI carry material business impact and internal capacity is stretched or misaligned.
Craig operates at the intersection of executive strategy and operational execution. He understands how technology affects delivery risk, profitability, culture, and competitive positioning.
- AI and governance expertise that balances innovation with risk management
- Operational credibility from having led migrations, built teams, and owned outcomes
- Vendor and platform discipline that aligns investments to measurable ROI
- Clarity in moments of transition, including cloud migration, AI rollout, restructuring, or growth
Craig aligns leadership, structures initiatives, and remains accountable to results.
Engagements are focused, outcome-driven, and designed to leave the organization stronger, more capable, and structurally sound.
“After three years of working with Craig, I can attest to his professionalism, responsiveness, intelligence, and unique skill set within the AEC marketplace. Craig understands how architecture and engineering firms work and how technology underpins every step of the process in contemporary practice.”
“Craig is one of those rare people who ‘gets it’. He sees around corners. He combines deep technical knowledge with the strategic thinking of a CTO, and he brings a kind of creative energy that elevates every room he’s in.”
“Craig is a true thought leader — blending deep design and technology expertise with a clear vision for where our industry is headed. He translates complex innovations into purposeful, real-world solutions and connects people in ways that spark meaningful progress.”
Two ways to read the industry.
Long-form analysis when a topic deserves the whole argument — and a short read every weekday morning for everything moving in between.
Articles
Long-form analysis · published as topics warrant
In-depth pieces on AI governance, technology strategy, and digital practice for architecture, engineering, and construction firms — written for the people who have to sign the policy, not just read it.
The Barbieri AI Brief
Newsletter · AI, translated for architecture practice
One short email each weekday morning, plus a Friday synthesis of the week. Free, one-click unsubscribe.
Start a Conversation
Craig is based in the Northeast United States and works with AEC firms around the world. Whether you have a specific technology challenge or want to explore fit, the first conversation is always free.
Or DM Craig directly through LinkedIn