Hardware and PCB design services
Hardware and PCB design services from requirements to production files: schematics, multilayer and HDI layout, high-speed, RF, analog and power electronics design, preparation for EMC and safety testing, prototype bring-up and handover to your contract manufacturer, for consumer electronics, wearables, industrial, telecom, automotive, energy and medical products, with dedicated hardware engineers for your team or projects delivered end to end.
Hardware we design
Schematics and component selection
Circuits designed in Altium Designer, KiCad or Cadence OrCAD X from your requirements, with every part checked for lifecycle status, stock and a second source before it goes on the board, and boards redesigned when a part goes end of life.
Multilayer and HDI PCB layout
Controlled impedance, microvias and rigid-flex boards for compact products such as wearables, RF keep-outs, and a stack-up agreed with the board house before routing starts.
High-speed and signal integrity
Length-matched DDR4, DDR5 and LPDDR routing, PCIe, USB 3 and MIPI links, and signal and power integrity simulated in HyperLynx, Sigrity X or SIwave before the first board is ordered.
RF and antenna design
Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, LTE-M, NB-IoT, GNSS and sub-GHz radios on certified modules or chip-down, with antenna matching tuned on a vector network analyser inside the finished enclosure.
Analog and mixed-signal design
Sensor front ends, precision measurement, audio paths and biopotential inputs for ECG and EEG, with noise, drift and accuracy calculated up front and measured on the prototype.
Power electronics and battery design
Switching regulators, battery charging and management, motor drives, and silicon carbide or gallium nitride power stages for chargers and inverters, with a power budget for every operating mode checked against measured current.
Design for EMC and certification
Grounding, filtering, isolation and layout chosen with CE, UKCA and FCC testing in mind, including CISPR 25 for vehicles and IEC 60601-1 for medical equipment, and pre-compliance scans at a test house so problems are fixed in the design rather than on another board spin.
Design for manufacture and test
DFM and DFA review with your contract manufacturer, test points placed for a bed-of-nails fixture, and panelisation that suits their assembly line.
Production files and bring-up
Gerber or ODB++ and IPC-2581 outputs, pick-and-place and assembly drawings, a BOM with approved alternates, then bring-up of the first boards with every fix written down.
Hire hardware engineers
Dedicated hardware engineers
Hardware engineers who join your team full time, work in your tools and process, and report to your lead. You interview them; we carry the Ukrainian contract, payroll, invoicing and leave.
Hardware design projects
A defined piece of hardware design with a scope, a fixed plan and a named lead on our side who owns the result and reports progress in your channels.
Ongoing hardware design
Hardware design as a continuing service: the same people every month, a backlog you prioritise, and hours you can see in our portal and on the invoice.
The dedicated team page explains how specialists join your team, and the outsourcing page covers project delivery, take-overs and how we charge.
Who works on your hardware design
Hardware engineers
Schematics, analog, power and component selection
PCB layout engineers
Multilayer, HDI, high-speed and RF layout
RF and signal integrity engineers
Antennas, matching and high-speed simulation
Firmware engineers
Bring-up code and drivers for every part on the board
Mechanical designers
Enclosures and the fit of the board inside them
How we work on hardware
Design files live in version control like code: every release of the schematic and layout is tagged, and its production package is generated from that tag. Each design is reviewed against a written checklist before the first order, covering power, protection, thermal behaviour, test access and manufacturability, and firmware engineers work from the schematic from its first draft, so bring-up is planned before the boards arrive.
Prototypes are ordered from the board house and assembler you choose, and production stays with your contract manufacturer. Certification testing is done by an accredited laboratory of your choice; we prepare the design and the technical documentation for it and fix what pre-compliance testing finds before the formal test.
Other embedded and hardware services
Embedded software development
Embedded software development services: embedded Linux, Android and RTOS, drivers, BSPs, automotive, network, audio and video software and secure updates, with dedicated embedded software engineers or project delivery.
Firmware development
Firmware development services: microcontroller firmware in C, C++ and Rust, wireless stacks, bootloaders, automotive ECUs, motor control and low-power design, with dedicated firmware engineers or project delivery.
FPGA development
FPGA development services: RTL design in SystemVerilog and VHDL, FPGA and ASIC verification, SoC FPGA, video, networking, data acquisition and acceleration, with dedicated FPGA engineers or project delivery.
IoT development
IoT development services: connectivity, provisioning, cloud platforms on Azure or AWS, fleet updates, industrial IoT, asset tracking, EV charging, dashboards and apps, with dedicated IoT developers or project delivery.
Embedded and hardware testing
Embedded and hardware testing services: device testing, hardware-in-the-loop rigs, firmware automation, automotive ECU, connectivity and security tests, with dedicated embedded QA engineers or project delivery.
Robotics software
Robotics software development services on ROS 2: perception, navigation, motion planning, robot control, industrial cells, autonomous vehicles and fleet software, with dedicated robotics engineers or project delivery.
Questions about hardware and PCB design
Can you take our prototype to production?
Yes. A prototype built from development boards or a first-revision PCB is reviewed against your volumes and cost target, parts with lifecycle or supply risks are replaced, test access and panelisation are added for the factory, and the production package goes to your contract manufacturer with the test procedure it needs.
Altium Designer, KiCad or Cadence?
Any of them. Altium Designer, Cadence OrCAD X and Allegro X, or Siemens Xpedition when your team or your manufacturer already works in it; KiCad when you want design files that nobody needs a licence to open. In every case the files are yours and live in your repository.
Which industries do your hardware engineers work in?
Consumer electronics and wearables, from smart home devices to fitness trackers; industrial automation, in controllers, sensors and power supplies; energy, in solar inverters, battery storage, smart meters and EV chargers; telecom and networking, in routers, gateways and radio modules; automotive and e-mobility, in telematics units and battery and motor electronics; medical devices, in monitors and diagnostic equipment; and security products, in alarm panels, cameras and access control.
How quickly can hardware engineers start?
When the right hardware engineer is available, the start is gated only by your interview and the NDA and IP assignment. Otherwise we run a search, which typically produces candidate profiles within two to three weeks, and nobody starts until you have said yes.
How do we hire hardware engineers through BigTree108?
Tell us the work, the seniority and the hours you need. We propose one or two people with their profiles, you interview them the way you would interview your own hire, and you sign one agreement with BIG TREE 108 LLC and receive one invoice a month.
Who owns the work they produce?
You do. Every specialist has a signed contract with BigTree108 that assigns all work product to the company, and our agreement with you assigns it onward. Code, designs and documents are delivered into your own repositories and tools, not kept where only we can change them.
Designing a board?
Tell us what the device does, the volumes and where it will be built. You get an answer within one business day: a plan for the design, candidate profiles, or a review of your schematic.