dmc163Trusted Advisor

Consulting Services

Engineering services from concept to production

Flexible, outcome-focused engagements tailored to your product, team, and manufacturing realities. Every engagement is defined by clear outcomes and concrete deliverables.

Product Development Project Engineering Project Management Manufacturing Readiness Concept-to-Production Leadership
1 Product Development

Product Development & New Product Introduction

For: Founders, inventors, and product leaders launching new hardware or mechanical products.

Challenges I solve

  • Unclear requirements and misalignment between marketing, engineering, and manufacturing.
  • Great ideas that stall before becoming a buildable design.
  • Difficulty translating customer needs into measurable engineering specifications.

Outcomes

  • Clear, measurable product requirements and design specifications.
  • Feasible concepts evaluated for cost, function, and operating limits.
  • A smoother, lower-risk path from prototype to production.

Deliverables

  • Product requirements document & engineering specs.
  • Concept evaluation matrix & design reviews.
  • Development roadmap through validation and launch.
2 Project Engineering

Project Engineering & Technical Execution

For: Teams that have a concept and need senior engineering ownership to make it real and buildable.

Challenges I solve

  • Designs that aren't fully detailed, analyzed, or documented for build.
  • Tolerance, fit, and reliability issues discovered too late.
  • No single technical owner connecting design, test, and suppliers.

Outcomes

  • A complete, analyzed, manufacturable design package.
  • Verified function through tolerance analysis and bench testing.
  • One accountable engineer owning the technical details.

Deliverables

  • Detailed CAD, drawings, GD&T, and tolerance stack-ups.
  • Engineering analysis, DFM/DFA reviews, and test plans.
  • Prototype builds and design-verification reports.
3 Project Management

Project Management for Hardware Programs

For: Companies running multi-vendor, multi-discipline development programs that need to stay on schedule and budget.

Challenges I solve

  • Slipping timelines, budget overruns, and surprise dependencies.
  • Cross-functional work that stalls between teams and suppliers.
  • Risk that's only discovered when it becomes a fire.

Outcomes

  • A realistic, stage-gated schedule everyone can execute against.
  • Clear ownership, status, and decisions across the program.
  • Risks surfaced and mitigated before they cost time and money.

Deliverables

  • Program schedule, milestones, and gate criteria.
  • Budget tracking, risk register, and action logs.
  • Status reporting for leadership and stakeholders.
4 Manufacturing Readiness

Manufacturing Readiness & Design for Manufacturing

For: Companies preparing to scale production or transfer designs to global manufacturing partners.

Challenges I solve

  • Designs that are difficult or expensive to manufacture at volume.
  • Late discovery of tooling, process, or supplier limitations.
  • Misalignment between design teams and overseas manufacturing sites.

Outcomes

  • Designs optimized for injection molding and complex assemblies.
  • A tooling and supplier strategy that fits your volume and cost target.
  • Reduced risk of delays, scrap, and quality issues at launch.

Deliverables

  • DFM/DFA reviews and design optimization.
  • Tooling & fixture strategy; supplier and quality plans.
  • IQ/OQ/PQ validation protocols and pilot-build support.
5 Leadership

Concept-to-Production Leadership (Fractional)

For: Growing companies that need senior engineering leadership across the whole journey, but aren't ready for a full-time hire.

Challenges I solve

  • Engineering teams lacking direction, prioritization, or mentorship.
  • No senior owner connecting strategy, roadmap, and execution.
  • Projects slipping across the gap from concept to production.

Outcomes

  • Clear priorities, roadmaps, and execution plans.
  • Stronger collaboration across marketing, quality, and operations.
  • A team that's coached, supported, and shipping.

Deliverables

  • Part-time or project-based engineering leadership.
  • Team structure, process, and roadmap improvements.
  • Mentoring and coaching for early-career engineers.

How we work together

Engagement models

Every engagement is right-sized to your product, stage, and budget. Most clients start small and scale up as we build momentum.

Best for: a specific deliverable

Project-based

A defined scope, timeline, and fixed or capped fee — for a DFM review, design package, test plan, or production-readiness assessment.

Best for: ongoing leadership

Fractional retainer

A set number of days per week or month of senior engineering leadership — roadmap, execution, and team support without a full-time hire.

Best for: steering decisions

Advisory

Lightweight, on-call guidance — design reviews, supplier decisions, and technical second opinions when you need an experienced sounding board.

Best for: getting started

Discovery call

A short, no-obligation call to understand your product, challenges, and goals — then a recommendation for the right-sized engagement.

What to expect

How an engagement runs

Discovery

A focused call to understand your product, constraints, timeline, and what success looks like.

Scope & plan

A clear proposal: outcomes, deliverables, timeline, and fee — sized to your stage and budget.

Execution

Hands-on engineering work with regular check-ins, so you always know status and next steps.

Handoff

Documented results your team can build on — plus optional ongoing support as you scale.

Not sure which engagement you need?

Try the free Readiness Checker or Scope Builder, or start with a short discovery call to define a right-sized engagement.

Schedule a discovery call