Full-Service Electronics Design for Connected Products
Most electronics delays happen because circuit design, mechanical integration, and component sourcing are handled sequentially vs. simultaneously. Our North American in-house, senior electronics team works inside your full product build, eliminating the re-spins and supply surprises that burn through your timeline and budget.
Video: Meet our electroncis design team (1:45min)
Trusted to develop manufacture-ready connected products for Companies, Start-Ups, and Entrepreneurs
We Design Custom Electronics That Survive Manufacturing Reality
We design every circuit with backup component options and leverage off-the-shelf parts strategically, so supply chain disruptions don’t force costly redesigns six months into your build.
Design 1st electronics team working in our labs.
Electronics Engineering That Delivers Market-Ready Products
We engineer electronics that pass certification the first time and survive manufacturing at scale. No re-spins, no surprise component obsolescence, no thermal failures discovered in production. Our cross-functional team identifies and removes risk, helping with:
- Circuit design and simulation for first-pass success
- Concurrent engineering to avoid PCB–enclosure conflicts
- Weekly cross-functional reviews to catch integration issues early
- Early component selection with procurement input
- Early thermal and EMC tests to avoid certification failures
- Manufacturing input during PCB layout to accelerate readiness
Electronics Design Services and Specializations
Our fully integrated software and hardware design teams create innovative user experiences, custom apps, and we integrate advanced sensors, enabling real-time data analysis and control at the edge.
Embedded System Design
Meeting all your embedded systems design needs, we can:
- Architect I/O,MCU,DSP,FPGA system elements
- Source components for cost/size/power constraints
- Analog interface circuitry
- ADC/DAC mixed-signal design
- Battery power management systems
- JTAG, UART debug/test interfaces
- Memory SDRAM, Flash, EEPROM elements
- Electrical Circuit protection and EMC elements
PC Board & Wireless Design
Providing you with a full range of PC board design services, we can:
- Analog, digital, optical, and RF design
- Wireless interfaces, including Wi-Fi/WLAN (802.11), Bluetooth®, GPS, Cellular, RFID, LoRa, ZigBee®
- Electronic system architecture, detailed circuit design and schematic capture
- PCB layout, including mixed signal/high speed/ flex circuit (Allegro®, Altium®, PADS®)
- Design for manufacturability/testability (DFM/DFT)
- Design for standards compliance (Safety, EMC/EMI)
Electronic Component - Code Design
Fulfilling all your software design requirements, we can:
- Design robust real-time architecture for microcontrollers (STM32, ESP32, NRF52/53, NXP, ARM Cortex) and Linux/RTOS platforms
- Develop low-level drivers, firmware, and middleware for wired/wireless protocols: Bluetooth 5.x, Wi-Fi 6, Matter, LoRa, Zigbee, Ethernet, USB 3.x, CAN, Modbus
- Optimize resource-constrained environments using C/C++, Python, and bare-metal RTOS implementations
- Build secure IoT ecosystems with seamless cloud integration (AWS IoT, Azure, MQTT, CoAP)
- Enable edge-to-cloud intelligence with embedded AI/ML (TensorFlow Lite, OpenCV, sensor MLC)
- Machine learning core optimization for low-power anomaly detection and predictive analytics
- Sensor Fusion & Edge Intelligence with integration sensor types (IMU, LiDAR, biometrics, UWB, environmental)
Battery and Power Mangement
We help you maximize efficiency in battery-powered connected devices, including:
- Advanced battery charging and management systems with intelligent protection
- Custom AC/DC and DC/DC BUCK/BOOST power supplies for optimal efficiency
- Low power microcontroller solutions
- Energy-efficient ultra-low power IoT sensor networks
- Smart power management for extended battery life
- Power over Ethernet (PoE) implementation for cable-consolidated installations
- Sustainable energy harvesting solutions (solar, vibrational, thermal)
- Wireless power transfer systems
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What Clients Say About Working With Design 1st
Richard Mineo
CEO, Swabbot Solutions LLC
Design 1st Exceeds Expectations in Responsiveness
Design 1st took our Cobot from initial concept through final product testing, handling electrical, mechanical, software, and manufacturing needs all in one team. They efficiently developed our tank access system, finalized our swabbing robot, and created a benchtop version, keeping us updated and responding quickly to every change request.
George Tsintzouras
Director of Product, Christie Digital
Immediately understood what was needed
When we wanted to transition our older generation projector models to a more modern look and feel, Design 1st was a valuable asset. Given the depth of their design and engineering experience, Design 1st immediately understood what was needed. They worked with our internal engineering team through the process to provide us with compatible solutions to meet our needs.
Stephen Rayment
VP Engineering, Ericsson
Our trusted engineering partner for six years
Design 1st has been our trusted industrial design and mechanical engineering partner for over six years and they have proven themselves to be valuable, competent and committed to our success. They add value because they understand the tradeoffs between user value and cost, the need to balance both the business and product objectives, along with excellent knowledge of materials and manufacturing / tooling options.
Mike Tettenborn
VP Engineering, Caframo
Right balance of art and engineering
We selected Design 1st because their designers and engineers demonstrated the right creativity and technical understanding. With their CAD and modelling tools they were able to address the numerous design challenges encountered with this type of product. The end result was an easy-to-install, powerful marine hatch fan – unlike any on the market.
Kurt Francis
Co-Founder, CTO, Molecule
Deepest bench of technical talent
I did a lot of due diligence on product development companies and Design 1st had the deepest bench for technical capability. They worked on such a broad range of products with successful commercialization. Design 1st’s early efforts in prototype development helped us move from a powder substrate into a commercial product for testing.
John Lupton
Director of Engineering, GeoSight
Got up and running fast
The whole design was my idea and I had patents on them. The team’s main work was to solve the functionality issue of a piece of my design. On top of that, they helped identify one of our manufacturers.
Didi Horn
CTO, SkyX
Exceeded Our Expectations
The Design 1st team exceeded our expectations and helped us deliver an exceptional product to the market. As a startup, we were working within a budget but expected the highest quality product. Design 1st identified the risks up front, had the vast network of partners to find the right components, and customized it to meet our unique needs.
The Only Team You Need to Build and Launch Your Connected Device
Design 1st’s in-house team of experts works as a single unit across design, engineering, software, and manufacturing to reduce risk, streamline development, and launch your connected device faster.
Embedded Systems
Seamless integration of electronics into physical devices.
Embedded Design Team
Mechanical Engineering
Find creative mechanical solutions to technical challenges.
Mechanical Design Team
Industrial Design
Transform your product concept into a refined manufacture-ready design.
Industrial Design Team
Electronics Engineering
Add power, secure connectivity, and interaction control to your products.
Electronic Design Team
Transfer to Manufacturing
Move your product into volume manufacturing.
Manufacture Transfer Team
Design Strategy
Set your new product up for success with a well-laid plan.
Design Strategy Team
Portfolio of Projects
Across every industry, our team excels at developing technically complex projects.
Fully Certified and Award-Winning
Our company and staff are professional engineers with multiple industry certifications.
Learn how we tackle the toughest technical challenges in electronics design
Design 1st integrates our knowledge and expertise with yours to bring your product idea to life.