Ship the product without hiring six specialists.
Your product spans disciplines: electronics, firmware, sensing, cloud, data, maybe AI. Hiring a specialist for each is a seed round you don't have — and sequencing contractors who don't talk to each other is how hardware startups burn a year.
Willowark works as your fractional systems engineer across the whole stack: one partner who designs the embedded side and the cloud side together, builds the prototype that answers the scary question first, and engineers toward production instead of demo day.
Sound familiar?
If you've said any of these, we should talk.
“We need to build this, but hiring six engineers isn't practical yet.”
One senior multi-discipline partner covers embedded, sensing, backend, and cloud — coherently, because it's designed as one system.
“The demo works; production is another story.”
Watchdogs, OTA updates, manufacturability, monitoring — the unglamorous engineering that separates a prototype from a product people pay for.
“Investors want to see it working next quarter.”
Deliberately small prototypes that answer the riskiest technical question first — momentum you can demo, built in weeks.
“Our firmware person left and nobody can touch the code.”
We take over orphaned systems regularly: assess, stabilize, document, then improve — without the rewrite your runway can't afford.
What we bring
One engineering partner across the whole problem.
R&D & Prototyping
Proofs of concept, product engineering, test systems, and experimental builds — from technical idea to working prototype.
Learn more →IoT & Smart Systems
Raspberry Pi and embedded systems, smart sensors, electrical and energy monitoring, gateways, and edge computing.
Learn more →Software Engineering
Custom software from rapid prototype to production — full stack, backend, APIs, data systems, and internal tools.
Learn more →Cloud & Infrastructure
Cloud architecture, DevOps, deployment, and edge-to-cloud infrastructure that keeps systems running.
Learn more →Vision & Advanced Sensing
Machine vision, AI inspection, laser measurement, 3D vision, radar, X-ray integration, and sensor fusion.
Learn more →AI & Intelligent Automation
AI agents, workflow automation, LLM integration, and knowledge systems that take repetitive work off your team's plate.
Learn more →Typical first project
Embedded Engineering
Founding teams that need hardware, firmware, software, or cloud disciplines they have not hired yet.
- A senior multi-discipline engineer working in your stack
- Prototype-to-production engineering: hardware, firmware, software, cloud
- Test plans and design files you own
- A productization roadmap with cost drivers
Outcome: The product gets to pilot customers without hiring six specialists first.
Fixed price against a written scope, quoted after a call. How engagements work →
Free guide · 30 min
Your First AI Automation: Pick, Build, Measure
One expensive manual process, automated and measured, in weeks — with a human still in the loop.
Owners and operations leads at small and mid-size businesses drowning in a repetitive process.
Get the guide →In your own words
Tell us what you're building and what's blocking it.
An engineer reads it — not a sales script — and replies within one business day with whether and how we would approach it.
Prefer to talk? Book a 30-minute call.
Example: e.g. Working bench prototype; we need firmware hardened and a cloud backend before the pilot customers.
Common questions
What hardware startups ask first.
Do you take equity?
Engagements are cash-based — project fees, contract rates, or retainers. That keeps incentives simple and your cap table clean.
Can you work alongside our existing engineers?
Yes — often we fill the disciplines your team lacks while your engineers own the core product. Fractional technical leadership is available where senior ownership is the missing piece.
What if the idea turns out not to be feasible?
Then a small proof of concept just saved you the cost of finding out in production. Every feasibility phase ends with a written, honest verdict — including 'don't build it.'
We're pre-revenue. Is that a problem?
Not by itself. Engagements are scoped to what the next milestone needs and priced before they start, so you can fund a proof of concept or a hardened prototype without committing to a long program.
Can you help us pick what to build first?
Yes. The first conversation is usually about which risk is biggest — technical feasibility, manufacturability, or the software the demo needs — and shaping the smallest project that retires it.
Strategy. Software. Systems.
Sound like your operation?
Describe the problem in your own words. An engineer reads it — not a sales script — and tells you plainly what it would take.