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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.

Request fit call View diagnostics sprint Open SOT services

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.

Unblock

Prototype brought under control

Current bench state, known-good checks, fault list, and next-board or next-demo actions.

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 bundle

First 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.

Featured first scope

Diagnostics & Test Evidence Sprint

Take one awkward firmware, device, protocol, or bench-test path and turn it into a repeatable check the owning team can run again.

The first step is a fit check. Any paid work, private access, site visit, or delivery date starts only after commercial onboarding, conflict screening, and written scope.

Request a diagnostics fit check

Illustrative output format

This is the delivery shape, not a claim about a client engagement or formal certification.

1. Boundary

One device path, known-good setup, constraints, and stop condition.

2. Repeatable check

A small harness, script, simulator, command flow, or test procedure where feasible.

3. Evidence

Structured logs and pass, fail, or unknown results tied to the agreed check.

4. Handover

Run notes, limitations, and the next engineering decision—without certification claims.

Prototype

Next Revision Preflight

Schematic/layout sanity pass, debug-access notes, test-point suggestions, first-run checklist, and bring-up evidence plan.

Ask about preflight

Bench

Prototype Unblock Sprint

First or second revision bring-up, firmware/diagnostic support, fault isolation, comms checks, and demo/pilot readiness evidence.

Ask about bring-up

Diagnostics

Device Diagnostics Harness

Repeatable command/test flow, structured logs, pass/fail output, CSV/JSON/HTML reporting, and handover notes.

Ask about diagnostics

Inventions

Invention Feasibility Brief

Technical path, unknowns, build-vs-buy decisions, first prototype shape, risk list, and smallest useful validation plan.

Ask about feasibility

Software

Release Confidence Sprint

Build path review, smoke-test plan, one fixed feature or integration, acceptance criteria, and release evidence.

Ask about release risk

SOT Navigator

Inherited-System Risk Snapshot

Deterministic repo-risk artifacts, unknowns, evidence index, architecture decision memo, and fixed follow-up options.

View SOT catalogue

Fit 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.