Microscope X/Y Slider
A precision motorized X/Y stage for digital microscopy — mechanical design, motion control, and a custom driver board.
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Hardware engineer · Based in Shenzhen
I design hardware — and get it built.
I'm Brian Barrett— a hardware and manufacturing engineer with 13+ years in Shenzhen, taking electronics and devices from schematic to shipped product. I'm looking for the right team to build with full-time — and I take focused projects too.
PCB & product design·rapid prototyping·production in Shenzhen
- 13+ yrs
- Engineering & manufacturing in China
- 6 yrs
- Ran an LED factory for Black & Decker
- 2
- EV startups (tilting vehicles & e-motorcycles)
- Shenzhen
- Based where hardware gets built
The hard part
Getting hardware built is where it gets hard.
The gap between a working prototype and thousands of reliable units in the field is where products stall. The four places teams get stuck — and how I take them off the table.
A prototype that won't scale
I redesign for manufacturability so it can actually be built at volume — not just work once on a bench.
The wrong factory
I vet suppliers in person — capability, capacity, and track record — before a cent moves.
No real quality control
On-site inspections and pilot runs catch defects before they ship by the thousand.
Hidden costs & slipping timelines
Clear quoting, tooling oversight, and a build plan that holds — managed on the ground, in your blind-spot timezone.
What I do
One partner from schematic to shipping container.
Engineering and manufacturing under one roof — so your design, prototype, and production all speak to each other.
01
Electronics & PCB Design
Schematic to a manufacturable board — compact, sensor-driven, and built to survive the production line. DFM-ready and ready to make at volume.
- Schematic capture & PCB layout
- Sensors, power & wireless integration
- Firmware & bring-up support
- Design for manufacturability (DFM)
02
Rapid Prototyping
Turn a concept into a working device, fast. Get real hardware in hand to test and iterate — wearables, enclosures, and small-batch builds.
- Concept to functional prototype
- Mechanical & enclosure design
- Iterative testing & refinement
- Pre-production validation
03
Production in Shenzhen
Your hardware, built reliably at the source. I source and vet factories, run on-site quality control, and get hundreds or thousands of units into the field.
- Factory sourcing & vetting
- On-site quality control & inspections
- Tooling, pilot runs & scale-up
- Logistics & timeline management
How it works
A clear path from idea to production.
Every engagement de-risks the next step before you commit to it — no leaps of faith, no surprises.
- 01
Review
We start with your design, prototype, or idea. I assess what's needed to manufacture it well and flag risks early.
- 02
Source & vet
I find and personally vet the right factory partners for your product, capacity, and budget.
- 03
Pilot & QA
A pilot run plus hands-on quality control proves the process before you commit to full volume.
- 04
Scale
Production ramps with ongoing oversight on quality, cost, and timeline — your hardware, in the field.
Working together
Full-time, or a focused project.
I'm looking for the right team to build hardware with — ideally embedded full-time as the engineer who owns it end to end. I also take focused projects. Either way, you get someone who sees a product from schematic to shipped units.
Join your team
What I'm afterEmbed full-time as your hardware / manufacturing engineer — own electronics, prototyping, DFM, and production end to end, on the ground in Shenzhen where the build actually happens.
Project or fractional
Also openHave a specific device to get from prototype to reliable production? I'll take it on as a focused engagement — design, supplier vetting, pilot runs, and quality, with open books.
On the ground, not over email
Hardware doesn't get built over a video call. I'm in the factories in person — reading schematics, walking the line, and catching problems before they ship by the thousand.
Selected work
Proof, not promises.
Boards, mechanisms, and products I designed and built with my own hands — the same hands that would be on your factory floor. This is what I bring to your product.
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About
An engineer who lives where your product gets built.
I'm Brian Barrett — a hardware engineer based in Shenzhen with over 13 years in product design, prototyping, and manufacturing. I spent six years running an LED lighting factory for Black & Decker, and worked with two EV startups building tilting vehicles and electric motorcycles.
That mix matters: I understand your design andthe factory floor it has to survive. When you work with me, you get someone who can read a schematic, walk a production line, and tell the difference between a supplier's promise and their actual capability — in person, in your timezone's blind spot.
Questions
The things you're right to ask.
The honest answers to what every first-time hardware team worries about before they wire money overseas.
See all questionsAre you open to a full-time role, or just contract work?
Both — but full-time is what I'm really after. The ideal fit is joining a team as the engineer who owns hardware end to end, on the ground in Shenzhen. I also take focused projects when that's a better fit for where you are.
Can you do both the design and the manufacturing?
Yes — that's the whole point. Electronics, prototyping, and production are usually split across different people and vendors, with handoffs where things break. I cover the full path, from schematic to shipped units, so nothing gets lost in translation.
What kind of hardware do you work on?
Compact, real-world devices — PCBs and electronics, wearables, cameras and optics, LED and sensor-driven gadgets, and the enclosures around them. The badge and toys in the Work and Play sections are good examples of the form factors and bring-up involved.
We're a small or early-stage team — is that a fit?
Often the best fit. Early hardware is exactly where one engineer who can both design it and get it built saves the most time and money — instead of stitching together a designer, a sourcing agent, and a factory who don't talk to each other.
Do you work on-site or remotely?
I'm based in Shenzhen and in the factories in person — that's the advantage. I work with teams anywhere in the world; the design can happen over a call, but the build, the vetting, and the quality control happen here, in person.
My prototype works — why can't they just make 10,000 of them?
Because a prototype proves the idea, not the process. Getting a design ready to manufacture — DFM — is the buyer's job, not the factory's, and skipping it is the most common way first runs blow up. Closing that gap is a big part of what I do.
Looking for a hardware engineer?
Whether you're hiring or have a device to build, tell me what you're working on. I'm in Shenzhen, close to the build, and happy to talk.