I help founders and CTOs make better technical decisions before they become expensive ones.

I'm Ricard Clau, a systems architect and technical advisor based in Barcelona. As CTO at Holaluz, I grew engineering from 5 to 40 people and led the move to AWS. I also created Ansistrano, an open-source deployment tool with 2,400+ GitHub stars.

After 15+ years building systems and leading teams, I now work directly with founders and CTOs through my consultancy, Rigor Alliance. I help decide what needs to change, then work with the engineers to make it happen.

Get in touch When to bring me in

Since 2018 Independent engineering and advisory
Rigor Alliance

5 → 40 Engineering team grown as CTO at Holaluz

Ansistrano Creator of an open-source deployment tool
2,400+ GitHub stars

What I do

Some engagements start with an independent review. Others involve working alongside your engineers to build or change a system.

Technical Strategy & Architecture

For an existing system, I investigate bottlenecks and work out which changes are worth making first. For a rebuild or a new platform, I design the architecture and plan how to get there.

Cloud, DevOps & FinOps

I work on AWS infrastructure: reducing cloud costs, fixing deployment pipelines, and putting security controls in place. I use Terraform and Ansible to build and maintain it.

AI Engineering

I build AI integrations for products and internal workflows, including agents and tools for modernizing existing code. When data needs to stay within your infrastructure, I also work with locally deployed models.

Technical Due Diligence & CTO Advisory

Ahead of an investment or acquisition, I review the technology and engineering practices: what the risks are and what fixing them would involve. For CTOs, I provide ongoing support with hiring, team structure, priorities, and board discussions.

Selected clients

When to bring me in

Your system is struggling with growth, and the team needs a plan to scale it.
Cloud costs are rising, and you need to understand what to change.
A customer or audit requires security and compliance controls your infrastructure doesn't yet support.
You have an AI prototype and need to make it reliable in production.
You're planning a rebuild, investment, or acquisition and need an independent technical assessment.
Your CTO or engineering lead needs experienced support with technical and team decisions.

Background

Independent consulting

I founded Rigor Alliance in 2018 and have since worked with companies across Europe and the US, combining technical advisory with engineering delivery. My clients span sectors including energy, fintech, mobility, and healthtech.

Engineering leadership

As CTO at Holaluz from 2017 to 2018, I grew the engineering team from 5 to 40 people. We migrated infrastructure to AWS, introduced CI/CD, and replaced manual processes with automation while the business reached €14M in monthly revenue. Before that, I worked on backend systems and infrastructure at companies including Hailo, SocialPoint, and Emagister in London and Barcelona.

Open source & community

I created Ansistrano in 2014, an open-source tool for deploying applications with Ansible, now with 2,400+ GitHub stars. I also founded and organize DevOps Barcelona, and have spoken at conferences including PHP UK, SymfonyCon Madrid, and Sunshine PHP, as well as local meetups. In 2026, I participated in a panel at Talent Arena.

Let's talk about what you're working on.

Tell me a little about the system, the team, and what you need help with.

[email protected]

Based in Barcelona. Working with companies across Europe and the US.