The questions you're right to ask.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Usually not — high minimums normally mean you're talking to the wrong tier of factory. Part of my job is matching you to suppliers who actually want an order your size, and structuring a first run that proves the product without committing to volume you can't use yet.

We lock a signed golden sample as the reference and inspect against it — before, during, and before shipment. The final balance payment is tied to passing that inspection, so the leverage to fix problems stays on your side of the table.

You do — in writing, before a mold is ever cut. That keeps your tooling from being held hostage and keeps your next price conversation an actual negotiation.

Openly. Either open-BOM with a flat management fee, where you see every real cost, or a fixed price on a finished product I deliver. I don't take finder's fees from suppliers while I'm working for you — that would quietly put me on their side instead of yours.

More than the factory quote — often 30–50% more once you add tooling amortization, freight, duties and tariffs, and inspection. I model true landed cost up front so your margins are real, not a surprise at the port. There's a calculator in Tools to play with the numbers yourself.

Plan in months, not weeks — especially around Chinese New Year, when factories close for weeks and quality can dip on either side of the break. I'll give you a realistic schedule up front and help you plan around it.