Manufacturing Engineering Consulting
Fractional manufacturing engineer, no overhead.
I help hardware startups and small manufacturers close the gap between design intent and the production floor before the first bad run.
10 questions · instant score and feedback
Brought four consumer hardware products from CAD to market for an off-road automotive accessories manufacturer.
Developed safety-critical manufacturing documentation for a compliance-driven recreational hardware company.
Applied lean process improvement across five production facilities in precision industrial manufacturing.
Free Scorecard
The Manufacturing Readiness Scorecard takes 60 seconds and shows you exactly where your process is exposed, before your contract manufacturer does.
10 questions · instant on-screen result · email gates the final score
"We thought we had our manufacturing process figured out. The audit showed us three gaps we didn't know existed before our next production run."
$1,000 flat · 7 days
A focused DFM review of key components, process and SOP gap assessment, supplier risk flags, and a prioritized recommendation doc. The fastest way to know where your manufacturing process is exposed before you scale.
Ongoing · 15–20 hrs/month
A fractional manufacturing engineer for your team: DFM support, SOP development, supplier coordination, and process improvement. Experienced manufacturing perspective embedded in your team without the overhead.
Book a fit call →Scoped per project
Assembly manuals, inspection procedures, manufacturing SOPs, work instructions, and compliance documentation built to industry standards. Based on work across safety-critical and consumer hardware products.
Discuss your docs →Early-stage startup? If the problem is interesting and the fit is right, I'm open to working for equity, revenue share, or trading services in lieu of cash. This isn't a default offer; it's for founders who are building something real and need engineering partnership, not just a vendor.
Four products shipped · 0 tolerance errors
A small US manufacturer of Jeep and Ford Bronco accessories needed to scale a growing product catalog while maintaining tight tolerances and consistent assembly quality across new vehicle fitments.
Owned DFM from concept through production: modeled sheet metal components in Fusion 360, designed to standard manufacturing tolerances, and collaborated directly with leadership to document assembly requirements for each new SKU.
Four products brought to market across Jeep Gladiator, Wrangler, and Ford Bronco platforms. Zero tolerance escapes on critical fitment dimensions across all production runs.
ASTM/ANSI-compliant documentation · field-ready at first inspection
A zipline hardware manufacturer needed safety-critical operator documentation aligned to ASTM and ANSI standards before expanding their product to new operators.
Audited existing documentation gaps, rewrote inspection procedures, maintenance protocols, and operator guidelines to meet applicable standards with surgical precision.
Delivered a compliant, field-ready manual set covering inspection, maintenance, and operation for a safety-critical recreational hardware product.
About
I got into engineering by doing: restoring motorcycles, building sheet metal products for Jeep and Ford platforms, and eventually finding myself on production floors trying to figure out why things weren't being built the way they were designed. That gap between design intent and manufacturing reality is where I've spent most of my career.
Over the past five years I've worked across safety-critical documentation, consumer hardware development, and precision manufacturing environments. I've brought products from sketch to shelf, written SOPs that operators actually follow, and caught DFM problems before they became expensive tooling mistakes.
I work with founders and small teams who need that manufacturing perspective embedded early, not after the first production run comes back wrong. Most of my work lives in the proto-to-production gap, where design intent meets manufacturing reality.
FAQ
Industries
Jacob Watson, Manufacturing Engineering Consulting
