Sigma Design
Camas, Washington product design firm of roughly 283 people spanning mechanical, industrial design, and firmware
Founded 1994 | Camas, WA, USA | 283 employees
firmware-developmenthardware-co-designbare-metal-programming
What is Sigma Design?
Sigma Design (operating as SIGMADESIGN) was established in 1994 in Portland, Oregon and is now headquartered in Camas, Washington with approximately 283 employees across five continents. Its stated scope covers mechanical design and engineering, industrial design, testing, onsite contracting, and software and firmware engineering, positioning itself as a full product design and engineering partner rather than a firmware-only vendor. For an RFP that groups industrial design, mechanical engineering, and firmware into one deliverable, Sigma Design's breadth and headcount give it more parallel-program capacity than most boutique bidders on this list.
Sigma Design works primarily with clients in Consumer electronics, Industrial, Medical devices sectors. Its primary differentiator is: 283-person product design and engineering firm spanning industrial design, mechanical engineering, and firmware across five continents.
Sigma Design tech stack and services
CC++Embedded Systems ProgrammingProduct Design Tooling
| Service area |
|---|
| Firmware Development |
| Hardware Co-Design |
| Bare-Metal Programming |
Sigma Design pricing
Short answer: Sigma Design uses a project-based product design and engineering engagements pricing approach. Minimum engagement is not publicly disclosed; a discovery call is required.
| Engagement model | Typical range | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Project-based product design and engineering | Variable; depends on team size | Large programmes or team augmentation |
Sigma Design does not publish a public rate card. Contact them directly via their website to get project-specific pricing.
Sigma Design pros and cons
| Advantages | Things to consider |
|---|---|
| +283 employees across five continents give substantially more parallel-program capacity than most boutique firms on this list | -Firmware is one discipline inside a much broader product-design practice, not the firm's primary specialty |
| +31 years of operating history under continuous product-design focus | -No published pricing or minimum engagement figure |
| +Industrial design and mechanical engineering sit alongside firmware, matching how a full product RFP is often scoped | -Public case studies specific to firmware-only engagements, versus its broader product design portfolio, are limited |
| +Onsite contracting option can place engineers directly with a client team for close-coordination programs |
Sigma Design vs alternatives
How Sigma Design compares to the other top Embedded Firmware service providers.
| Company | Best for | Key difference | Rating | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lemberg Solutions | RFPs needing hardware and firmware scoped under one... | In-house hardware lab plus NXP, STMicroelectronics, and Microchip partner status covers both the board bring-up and firmware line items in a single SOW | 4.8 | Full comparison |
| Dojo Five | FDA-ready firmware for connected medical devices and diagnostics. | Firmware delivery scoped exclusively around FDA-regulated medical device and diagnostics programs, not a general embedded practice | 4.5 | Full comparison |
| Conclusive Engineering | RFPs needing PCB development bundled with firmware under... | Listed Nordic Semiconductor and Texas Instruments partner combining in-house PCB development with firmware and FreeBSD depth | 4.5 | Full comparison |
| Voler Systems | Long-track-record vendor for ultra-low-power wearable and biomedical hardware+firmware. | 46 years of continuous operation combining analog, FPGA, and firmware disciplines specifically for ultra-low-power sensor products | 4.5 | Full comparison |
| A2e Technologies | ITAR-restricted defense and space hardware+firmware RFPs. | ITAR certification combined with anti-tamper hardware security design, a specific credential defense RFPs screen for before technical evaluation | 4.3 | Full comparison |
| ByteSnap Design | Connected-device RFPs needing broad wireless protocol coverage. | Wireless protocol breadth across ZigBee, LoRa, Wi-Fi, BLE, and GSM combined with in-house electronics design | 4.3 | Full comparison |
| Promenade Software | Medical device firmware RFPs prioritizing development speed within... | Applies web-framework development speed to FDA-relevant safety-critical medical device firmware, a combination most medical firmware vendors don't claim | 4.3 | Full comparison |
| Embien Technologies | Full-lifecycle RFPs from concept through manufacturing handoff. | One-stop scope covering ideation, hardware design, firmware, cloud integration, and manufacturing handoff under a single vendor | 4.3 | Full comparison |
| NOVO Engineering | Multi-discipline RFPs spanning mechanical, electrical, and firmware. | Systems-engineering scope built for programs that bundle mechanical, electrical, and firmware requirements into one vendor relationship | 4.3 | Full comparison |
| DE Design Works | Rugged industrial, medical, or military RFPs needing PCB... | 23 years of combined PCB, hardware, and firmware design specifically for rugged industrial, medical, and military applications | 4.3 | Full comparison |
| Promwad | Automotive and telecom RFPs needing ASIL-C plus PCB... | ASIL-C functional-safety experience in automotive ECU and infotainment work alongside full-stack electronics design capacity | 4.3 | Full comparison |
| WebbyLab | RFPs bundling hardware selection, firmware, and the connected... | Full-cycle delivery from hardware selection through firmware and the connected application layer under one team | 4.2 | Full comparison |
| USA Firmware | Small to mid-size RFPs wanting one accountable hardware+firmware... | Managed design services spanning electrical engineering, firmware, FPGA, and Linux under a single discovery-to-production process | 4.2 | Full comparison |
| Integra Sources | RFPs seeking a high-project-volume full-cycle hardware+firmware vendor. | More than 250 completed hardware and firmware projects for over 100 clients across four continents | 4.1 | Full comparison |
| RCM Technologies | Defense and aerospace RFPs requiring DAL-A mission-critical software... | DAL-A mission and safety-critical software verification and validation backed by over 50 years of aerospace and defense engineering history | 4.2 | Full comparison |
| Yalantis | Healthcare RFPs needing compliance-first PCB-to-cloud delivery. | Compliance-first full-cycle delivery from PCB design through firmware, cloud, and AI for medical device and healthcare programs | 4.1 | Full comparison |
| InTechHouse | RFPs requiring a publicly disclosed, EU-certified R&D partner. | Publicly listed on Warsaw's NewConnect market since 2015, giving financial transparency most private competing bidders don't offer | 4.1 | Full comparison |
| Klika Tech | RFPs needing multi-continent delivery for AWS-integrated IoT hardware... | AWS IoT and DevOps competency partner status combined with STMicroelectronics hardware partnership and multi-continent delivery centers | 4.0 | Full comparison |
| Electrobit Technology | RFPs needing firmware plus PCB fabrication and box... | Turnkey scope from PCB fabrication and firmware through SMT assembly and box build under a single vendor | 4.0 | Full comparison |
| Softeq | Full-stack RFPs bundling firmware with a consumer mobile... | 28 years of full-stack hardware, firmware, mobile, and cloud delivery under one vendor | 4.0 | Full comparison |
| Enginuity Inc. | Defence, marine, and industrial automation RFPs where firmware... | Multidisciplinary aerospace, defence, and marine engineering scope with firmware integrated alongside PLC, SCADA, and robotics work | 4.0 | Full comparison |
| L&T Technology Services (LTTS) | Enterprise RFPs prioritizing public-company scale and vendor stability. | Publicly listed engineering research and development conglomerate delivering 500-plus embedded system designs annually | 3.9 | Full comparison |
| AIMDek Technologies | MedTech and Software-as-a-Medical-Device RFPs. | Dedicated Software as a Medical Device and connected health focus with compliance and safety testing services included | 3.9 | Full comparison |
| N-iX | Enterprise RFPs needing firmware alongside cloud, data, and... | Enterprise-scale delivery capacity across 60-plus completed IoT and embedded projects inside a broader software engineering portfolio | 3.9 | Full comparison |
| A-listware | Staff augmentation RFPs needing remote embedded firmware engineering... | Remote engineering team delivery model with embedded firmware and legacy modernization as named service lines | 3.9 | Full comparison |
| Capgemini Engineering | Enterprise RFPs prioritizing global engineering-consulting scale. | Global network of silicon and embedded engineers operating under a large, publicly backed engineering-consulting parent | 3.9 | Full comparison |
| Zone7 Engineering | Small RFPs needing direct founder-level electronics and firmware... | Founder-led electronics and firmware practice covering the full path from PCB design through production readiness | 3.8 | Full comparison |
Sigma Design FAQ
What is Sigma Design?
Camas, Washington product design firm of roughly 283 people spanning mechanical, industrial design, and firmware
How much does Sigma Design charge?
Sigma Design uses project-based product design and engineering engagements pricing. Minimum engagement is not publicly disclosed. A discovery call is required to get project-specific quotes.
What tech stack does Sigma Design use?
Sigma Design works with C, C++, Embedded Systems Programming, Product Design Tooling. Primary industries served include Consumer electronics, Industrial, Medical devices.
Is Sigma Design right for enterprise?
Multi-discipline RFPs needing industrial design and firmware at large scale. 283 team size. Key consideration: Firmware is one discipline inside a much broader product-design practice, not the firm's primary specialty.
What are the best Sigma Design alternatives?
The best alternatives to Sigma Design depend on your use case. Top options are:
- Lemberg Solutions: in-house hardware lab plus nxp, stmicroelectronics, and microchip partner status covers both the board bring-up and firmware line items in a single sow
- Dojo Five: firmware delivery scoped exclusively around fda-regulated medical device and diagnostics programs, not a general embedded practice
- Conclusive Engineering: listed nordic semiconductor and texas instruments partner combining in-house pcb development with firmware and freebsd depth
Compare Sigma Design with other Embedded Firmware service providers
Sigma Design vs Lemberg Solutions Sigma Design vs Dojo Five Sigma Design vs Conclusive Engineering Sigma Design vs Voler Systems Sigma Design vs A2e Technologies Sigma Design vs ByteSnap Design Sigma Design vs Promenade Software Sigma Design vs Embien Technologies Sigma Design vs NOVO Engineering Sigma Design vs DE Design Works Sigma Design vs Promwad Sigma Design vs WebbyLab Sigma Design vs USA Firmware Sigma Design vs Integra Sources Sigma Design vs RCM Technologies Sigma Design vs Yalantis Sigma Design vs InTechHouse Sigma Design vs Klika Tech Sigma Design vs Electrobit Technology Sigma Design vs Softeq Sigma Design vs Enginuity Inc. Sigma Design vs L&T Technology Services (LTTS) Sigma Design vs AIMDek Technologies Sigma Design vs N-iX Sigma Design vs A-listware Sigma Design vs Capgemini Engineering Sigma Design vs Zone7 Engineering
Verify all details directly with Sigma Design before making a decision.