A data platform that stays trustworthy after launch.
I harden the pipelines, warehouses and metrics you already run — or build them with monitoring, tests, CI and on-call habits from day one — so your team owns production instead of guessing when something breaks.
Fixed prices. A one-week Health Check is $1,500.
From fragile jobs to owned production
We map what runs today, fix the failures that burn hours, then leave you with alerts, runbooks and a platform your team can operate.
Assess production posture
We review jobs, ownership, alerts and the last few failures — then agree on a prioritized plan.
Harden and instrument
I add tests, CI, monitoring and the missing runbooks, and fix the fragile paths that keep paging people.
Operate and hand over
You get a clear operating model, walkthroughs and a team that can extend the system without me.
Clear scope, fixed prices
Not sure where to start? The Production Health Check gives you a clear, prioritized list either way.
Production Health Check
$1,500
1 week
- Review of pipelines, warehouse and metrics ownership
- Where it's fragile, silent or costly to run
- A prioritized fix list you can act on
Platform Hardening
$6,000 fixed
3 weeks
- Monitoring and alerting that mean something
- Tests, CI and ownership for critical paths
- Runbooks for the failures that actually happen
- Docs and handover
Fractional DataOps
$5,000 / month
1 day a week · or 2 days for $9,000/month
- Senior production support on your platform, month to month
- Incidents, reviews, hardening and mentoring
- A regular check-in with your lead
Software and cloud costs are separate and paid directly by you. I'll estimate them in the plan, and I favor simple, low-cost tools where they fit.
Teams whose data platform is live but fragile
If pipelines “mostly work,” metrics drift, and only one person knows what to do at 2 a.m., production support will pay for itself in saved firefighting.
Platforms without clear ownership
Jobs and dashboards exist, but nobody owns freshness, cost or incident response.
Teams stuck in firefighting
The same failures keep coming back because there are no tests, alerts or runbooks.
Growing data teams
You need senior DataOps leadership a day or two a week while you hire or level up.
Leaders who need trustworthy numbers
Executive metrics can't wait for a heroics-based pipeline.
- Usually a business of about 10 to 200 people.
- At least one warehouse or orchestrated pipeline already in play.
- You want to own the result, not rent a black box.
Hi, I'm John Houghton.
I've built and run data pipelines at large scale, including multi-terabyte training datasets for AI researchers at Meta (contract) and the move of Apple Maps reporting from Hive to Snowflake.
I build smaller systems the same careful way: tested, documented and easy to hand over. You can see how I work in my public San Diego open data pipeline on GitHub.
- Senior data and AI engineer. Previously Meta (contract), Apple Maps, Kaiser Permanente and Intuit.
- B.A. Economics, San Diego State University.
- Based in San Diego. You work with me directly, from the first call to the handoff.
Common questions
How is this different from data engineering?
Data engineering builds the pipelines and models. DataOps keeps them trustworthy in production — monitoring, ownership, incidents and the habits that stop the same break from happening twice. Many engagements include both.
Which tools do you use?
Usually the stack you already have — often Dagster or similar orchestration, dbt, and a warehouse such as DuckDB, Postgres, Snowflake or BigQuery — plus whatever you use for alerts and tickets. I pick the simplest setup that fits.
Do we need a full data team?
No. The goal is a platform a small technical team can operate, with alerts and docs written for them. Fractional DataOps covers the senior gap while you grow.
Who owns the code and data?
You do. Everything lives in your accounts and your code repository from day one.
What does it cost to run?
It depends on your data and tools. I'll estimate running costs before we start, and I keep them low where I can.
Other ways I can help
Let's look at your production posture
Book a free 15-minute call. Tell me what breaks, who gets paged, and what “healthy” would look like. I'll tell you honestly what it would take.
Prefer email? john@houghtonlabs.com