Fractionals are typically senior++ that work part-time for a company. "Part time" can be any seniority level so it gives less information.
Is it really the case though? i.e. aren't there fractional interns or juniors?
I've never seen one marketing themselves as that or a part-time position advertised as fractional. In my 2 year experience as a fractional CTO it's only "Head of" and C-level. Happy to stand corrected.
[founder of https://fractionaljobs.io here] You're generally correct, though people will certainly use the word fractional in a much more... how do we say... "aspirational" way, if you catch my drift.
Interesting, so no hands-on senior engineering "fractional" positions either? i.e. who actually build things.
CTOs come in all shapes or sizes. Some can (still) build things, others are very hands-off. Some fractionals are hired to actually design and build the first part of the system.
The word fractional implies a level of expertise / seniority. But yes, it's a fancy word for part-time.