Services
What you can hire us for.
Smallest job first. Every one starts with a free 30-minute call.
- Where
- Vancouver, BC
- First step
- A free 30-minute call
- Disciplines
- Science, mechanical, electrical, firmware and software
- Making partner
- Spark Laser, Richmond, BC
- Where we stop
- Pilot builds and low-volume runs. Volume goes to manufacturing partners.
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01
One piece.
One board, one mechanism or one firmware job, designed and tested, alongside your own team.
Good for a board, an enclosure, a mechanism, a firmware module.
How it starts a free 30-minute call.
Proof
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Main processing boardFrom concept to production of 20 units: component selection, schematic and PCB design.
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Precision high-voltage and mixed-signal electronicsUp to a few kilovolts with 0.1 V control accuracy.
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02
A stuck problem.
Your team is busy, or the design isn't doing what it should. We test it, find out why, and redesign what needs it, without pulling your engineers off their work.
Good for a prototype that fails in testing, a noisy board, a design that has stalled.
How it starts a free 30-minute call.
Proof
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Femto current amplifier for ion detectionExtensive testing, redesign and optimization: more sensitivity, less noise, less susceptibility to EMI.
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03
Fractional CTO.
Senior technical leadership, part-time and hands-on. The full section is below.
How it starts a free 30-minute call.
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04
Research and proof of concept.
When it works in a paper or on the bench, and nobody has built it yet. We prove the hard part first, with experiments and simulation.
Good for a method from a paper, a result that works on the bench, a device nobody has built yet.
How it starts a free 30-minute call.
Proof
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Novel molecule detection device1.5 years, hundreds of prototypes and experiments.
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Industrial food dispensing machineFeasibility study to alpha prototype validated.
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05
A product, from scratch.
Feasibility, prototypes, pilot builds and sometimes low-volume production, with mechanical, electrical and software work done by one team.
Good for a new device or instrument, a working prototype to show, the first units for a pilot.
How it starts a free 30-minute call.
Proof
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Smartwatch for snowsportsFrom inception to 20 beta units in the field.
- Breath collection deviceFrom first prototype to clinical studies.
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06
A machine or test rig, with Spark Laser.
When the hard part is the equipment: a test rig, a fixture or a machine. We engineer it. Our partner Spark Laser machines, builds and measures in Richmond, BC.
Good for a test rig, a fixture, a machine, parts that need machining and measuring.
How it starts a free 30-minute call.
Proof
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Salad and bowl making robotFrom concept to field testing in operation.
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Automated bike lock stationFrom idea to first unit in the field.
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Fractional CTO
A CTO whose decisions get tested on real hardware.
Strong technical leadership, without a full-time hire. We join your team part-time and stay hands-on.
What it covers
- 01Product vision and customer discovery
- 02Technology validation and prototyping
- 03Building core technology
- 04Solving hard technical problems
- 05Roadmap and architecture
- 06Cost of goods and financial analysis
- 07IP strategy, with our partner Twelvivo, who work alongside IP agents and lawyers
- 08Hiring, team building and unblocking engineers
- 09Access to manufacturers and partners
Who leads it
Darius Sahebjavaher
15 years of building companies and developing foundational technology. He founded two hardware-focused ventures, serving as CEO and CTO for 7 years, and holds degrees in electronics and mechanical engineering.
Your decisions, stage by stage
- IdeaWhat's worth building?
- Proof of conceptWhat must be true before we spend more?
- DesignMake it or buy it? Which architecture?
- PrototypeIs it good enough to stop?
- PilotWho makes it at volume?
How it runs
Five steps, and where you come in.
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01
The free call.
Thirty minutes. Bring the sketch, the paper, the drawing or the prototype.
You: Tell us where you are and what it has to do.
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02
Define the problem.
We help define the problem and shape the roadmap, not just build what's handed over.
You: Agree what it must do.
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03
Prove the hard part.
Fast cycles across disciplines test the technical and scientific assumptions early.
You: Decide what to build next.
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04
Design and build.
Mechanical, electrical and software work happen together, as an extension of your team.
You: Review the design.
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05
Iterate, then the first units.
Each version fixes what the last one got wrong. Then we build the first units.
You: Test the prototype.
Where we stop
We build the first units.
With our partner Spark Laser, we also build the machines that make the rest. Volume production goes to manufacturing partners, or to your own plant.
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Research
- No project ends here
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Proof of concept
- No project ends here
- Prototype
- Field testing
- Low-volume build
- Hand-off
- Manufacturing partners
Good fit
- A problem that crosses mechanical, electrical and software.
- A first-of-its-kind device, instrument or machine.
- A prototype that has to work in the field.
- One hard part of a bigger job.
Not a fit
- Volume production. We hand that to manufacturing partners.
Questions
Straight answers.
Do you take small jobs?
Yes. A single board, one mechanism or one firmware job is a normal way to start.
Do you do volume production?
No. We take work from the science to proof of concept, prototypes, pilot builds and sometimes low-volume production. Volume goes to manufacturing partners.
What does the first call cost?
Nothing. It's a free 30-minute call. Book a call.
How does Fractional CTO work?
We become part of your team part-time and help build the right product the right way: vision, technology, roadmap, IP, hiring and partners. See the list above.
Can you make parts and machines?
Yes, with our partner Spark Laser in Richmond, BC: 5-axis machining, a CNC router, lasers, welding, 3D printing and a wide-area CMM. Their shop, their published equipment. How parts get made.
Can you work with our engineers?
Yes. We work as an extension of your team, not an external black box.
Do you work under NDA?
Yes. Some of our work is under NDA, and this site shows only what clients have cleared.
Contact
Book a free advisory call today and get unstuck.
Free. 30 minutes. Bring the sketch, the paper or the prototype.