Unblock
Prototype brought under control
Current bench state, known-good checks, fault list, and next-board or next-demo actions.
Send this instead of a CV
A small second engineering desk for prototypes, devices, and product-critical releases.
I help founders, agencies, and small engineering teams buy outcomes instead of vague time: boards brought up, devices talking, release risk reduced, and technical decisions made with evidence attached.
London based. 15+ years across software, embedded-adjacent systems, product delivery, diagnostics, and technical leadership. External work is kept fixed-scope, conflict-safe, and contracted through Dadalto Software & Consultancy Ltd when commercial onboarding is ready.
Board to bench
KiCad, fab handoff, manufactured prototypes, bring-up evidence.
Device communication
STM32-class firmware, USB, serial, diagnostics, logs, test harnesses.
Product software
.NET, Python, TypeScript, PostgreSQL, CI/CD, release automation.
Risk clarity
SOT Navigator, evidence packs, unknowns, decision memos.
The useful question
Can this person reduce risk fast enough to change the next decision?
That is the bar. The output should be a working path, a testable artefact, or a clear no-go reason, not a long report that avoids the hard part.
Outcome menu
Buy the next useful result, not open-ended engineering time.
Each offer is designed as a short, agency-like delivery unit: one trigger, one useful output, and one decision that becomes easier afterwards.
Measure
Device communication made repeatable
A small harness, structured logs, pass/fail evidence, and handover notes.
Decide
Next revision risk reduced
KiCad-to-fab review notes, debug readiness, test-point thinking, and bring-up plan.
Ship
Release confidence improved
Critical-flow smoke checks, release evidence, unknowns, and a bounded fix path.
Operating model
Agency discipline, solo-senior ownership.
The shape is deliberately small: one senior operator, AI-assisted execution, clear acceptance criteria, and specialist partners only when a scope genuinely needs them.
Diagnose
Find the smallest useful problem boundary and visible success condition.
Deliver
Produce a working artifact, evidence pack, checklist, or scoped fix.
Transfer
Leave notes, logs, commands, and next decisions clear enough for the team.
Proof areas
What I can credibly own.
The strongest current profile is hybrid: enough electronics to move a prototype forward, enough firmware and tooling to make it repeatable, and enough software architecture to turn the result into a product system.
From KiCad to manufactured prototype
Board-level delivery from schematic/layout through fabrication handoff, manufactured prototypes, bench bring-up, first firmware, USB/serial diagnostics, and revision evidence.
Embedded diagnostics and device comms
STM32-class firmware, ESP32-style bench tooling, UART/I2C/SPI/USB-adjacent work, command surfaces, structured logs, repeatable checks, and fault isolation.
Software that surrounds the hardware
C#/.NET, Python, TypeScript, PostgreSQL, Supabase, CI/CD, local simulators, operator tools, dashboards, smoke tests, release evidence, and integration glue.
Inherited systems and decision risk
SOT Navigator produces deterministic software-risk artifacts: evidence-linked claims, unknowns, confidence notes, and decision-ready summaries for technical owners.
View SOT proof bundleFirst scopes
Easy-to-buy starts before larger commitments.
The first engagement should be narrow enough to judge quickly and useful enough to change what the team does next.
Prototype
Next Revision Preflight
Schematic/layout sanity pass, debug-access notes, test-point suggestions, first-run checklist, and bring-up evidence plan.
Ask about preflightBench
Prototype Unblock Sprint
First or second revision bring-up, firmware/diagnostic support, fault isolation, comms checks, and demo/pilot readiness evidence.
Ask about bring-upDiagnostics
Device Diagnostics Harness
Repeatable command/test flow, structured logs, pass/fail output, CSV/JSON/HTML reporting, and handover notes.
Ask about diagnosticsInventions
Invention Feasibility Brief
Technical path, unknowns, build-vs-buy decisions, first prototype shape, risk list, and smallest useful validation plan.
Ask about feasibilitySoftware
Release Confidence Sprint
Build path review, smoke-test plan, one fixed feature or integration, acceptance criteria, and release evidence.
Ask about release riskSOT Navigator
Inherited-System Risk Snapshot
Deterministic repo-risk artifacts, unknowns, evidence index, architecture decision memo, and fixed follow-up options.
View SOT catalogueFit and boundaries
Best fit is high-agency, bounded, and honest.
Good fit
- Small hardware/product team with a board, device, or demo deadline.
- Founder needs technical clarity before a fabrication run, pilot, or investor conversation.
- Agency or studio needs senior overflow on diagnostics, tooling, or fixed delivery.
- Software team needs evidence before a release, modernization, or inherited-system decision.
Not the right shape
- Open-ended staff augmentation without a clear deliverable.
- Safety, EMC, UKCA/CE, legal, or formal compliance certification.
- Employer-overlapping domains such as vending, MDB, automated retail, or machine telemetry.
- Any work that requires confidential material from a current or past employer.
How I work
AI-assisted, human-owned, evidence-first.
I use modern AI coding and research tools aggressively, but the work stays supervised: scope, review, engineering judgement, testing, and client communication remain human-owned.
- Fixed scope: clear deliverable, constraints, and stop condition.
- Remote-first: planned London visits only when hardware access matters.
- Evidence: logs, checklists, screenshots, commands, or artifacts where useful.
- Commercial hygiene: paid work starts only after onboarding, conflict check, and scope agreement.
The SOT evidence-index pattern carries into consulting work: claims should have backing, and unknowns should stay visible.
Fit call
Share the technical problem.
A useful first conversation is short: what are you building, what is stuck, what decision is coming, and what would count as a useful outcome?
Exploratory calls are fine. Paid work, private access, and delivery dates require proper commercial onboarding first.