How i help

Pre-Pitch Product & Prototype Reviews

Before your product goes in front of a merchandiser or buyer, get an outside engineering and customer-experience review. I look at how it stacks up against what's already on the shelf, identify friction points, and flag what won't survive a buyer's scrutiny — so the features are already ironed out by the time you pitch. Available as a flat-rate single-product review or ongoing support through a product line's development.

Fractional / Interim Engineering Support 

  • …product development, design review, or manufacturing liaison work, scoped to your timeline. I stay cost-aware throughout, since money's always part of the conversation — though for deep BOM or should-cost analysis, I lean on your business, merchandising, and supply chain teams to drive those numbers.

    For teams that want this at a deeper, near-exclusive level, see the Embedded Partner retainer below.

  • Hands-on support communicating between your team and Asia-based sourcing offices/suppliers, drawing on direct experience managing that relationship…not just reviewing it from a distance.

  • Support positioning your product's features and story for a merchandiser or buyer pitch, informed by direct experience with what major retailers look for in a private brand product; including hosting live product demonstrations and shaping the story behind the product.

    Standard scope priced within the fee ranges below; live demo/event hosting quoted separately based on format, since scope varies (travel, audience size, venue).

  • End-to-end support for instruction manuals, assembly guides, and installation documentation. From building new documentation from scratch, to critiquing what you already have (for clarity, accuracy, and customer usability). This can reduce returns, complaints, and support calls tied to confusing instructions.

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Roles i step into

Think of it this way: I can serve as your full-time (or part-time) hire replacement, filling whichever seat is missing on your team. Above all, I show up as a collaborative focal point: the node between your teams, vendors, and decision-makers.

  • Project Lead — driving a product from ideation through to manufacturing, including upstream R&D

  • Product Reviewer — the customer-experience gut-check before a sample goes any further

  • Meeting Organizer & Host — scheduling and leading cross-functional meetings, then following up with clear minutes, project summaries, and next steps so nothing gets lost between sessions

  • Account Manager — a steady, single point of contact between your team, vendors, and suppliers

  • Knowledgeable Node — the bridge between teams and conversations, fluent enough on your product or company to represent it in any room, so you don't have to be everywhere at once

What this can look like in practice

  • Signing a working agreement to kick things off

  • Product reviews delivered as verbal and visual feedback

  • Market and competitive research to see how your product stacks up before it hits a shelf

  • Summary decks and deliverables you can share internally

  • Live product demos

  • Liaison meetings with vendors, suppliers, or your team

  • Driving progress — keeping a project moving instead of stalling

  • Coordinating across multiple teams so nothing falls through the cracks

How I work with clients

Every engagement starts as either a one-off flat-fee project or an ongoing retainer:

  • Flat-fee projects — best for a single prototype review, instruction guide critique, or buyer-readiness pass. No ongoing commitment required.

  • Retainers — best for teams that want continued access over time, at three levels of involvement: Light, Core, and Embedded Partner (my most hands-on option, reserved for one client at a time — see Pricing below for details).

Flat-fee projects remain available even while I'm engaged with a retainer client, so a quick one-off review is never off the table.

Pricing

Flat-fee track (project based, one-off feedback)…always available, including alongside an active retainer client

  • ex) Single prototype or instruction guide, one feedback round

    Rough Range: $750 - $1500

  • ex) Full product review + buyer-readiness pass, 1-2 revision rounds

    Rough Range: $2000 - $4000

Retainer track (ongoing relationship)

  • A few hours/month…periodic check-ins, ad hoc reviews

    Monthly Range: $1500 - $2500

  • Regular involvement…interim/fractional engineering support, ongoing liaison work

    Monthly Range: $4000 - $6500

  • Dedicated, near-exclusive involvement…functions as your fractional in-house engineer, deep familiarity with your product line and team. Reserved for one client at a time.

    Custom Scope, inquiry directly

Availability is limited — currently accepting inquiries.

Embedded Partner pricing is custom-scoped and shared on the discovery call rather than published here.

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Why not just hire someone ?

Bringing on a full-time engineer means payroll taxes, benefits, onboarding, and a long-term commitment — even when the need is temporary or project-based. Working with me is a clean, simple transaction instead: senior-level engineering and product expertise exactly when you need it, with no added headcount and none of the overhead — typically 20%+ less than the all-in cost of a comparable full-time hire, and often less than agency rates, too.