Zone7 Engineering
Portland, Oregon solo-founder practice covering project planning through embedded firmware and production readiness
Founded 2010 | Portland, OR, USA | Solo / small team employees
firmware-developmenthardware-co-designpcb-designbare-metal-programming
What is Zone7 Engineering?
Zone7 Engineering is a Portland, Oregon electronics engineering practice founded and run by David Ashman, a senior electronics engineer with extensive experience designing digital and analog circuitry around various microprocessors and DSPs alongside embedded C/C++ firmware development. Its stated scope covers project planning, PCB and circuit design, embedded firmware development, prototyping, and production-readiness support. For an RFP scoped small enough for a solo or near-solo practitioner, that direct-founder-involvement model removes account-management layers entirely, though it also caps how much concurrent capacity is available.
Zone7 Engineering works primarily with clients in Consumer electronics, Industrial products sectors. Its primary differentiator is: Founder-led electronics and firmware practice covering the full path from PCB design through production readiness.
Zone7 Engineering tech stack and services
CC++PCB DesignAnalog Circuit DesignDigital Signal Processors
| Service area |
|---|
| Firmware Development |
| Hardware Co-Design |
| PCB Design |
| Bare-Metal Programming |
Zone7 Engineering pricing
Short answer: Zone7 Engineering uses a project-based electronics and firmware engagements pricing approach. Minimum engagement is not publicly disclosed; a discovery call is required.
| Engagement model | Typical range | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Project-based engineering | Variable; depends on team size | Large programmes or team augmentation |
Zone7 Engineering does not publish a public rate card. Contact them directly via their website to get project-specific pricing.
Zone7 Engineering pros and cons
| Advantages | Things to consider |
|---|---|
| +Founder-led model means direct senior electronics engineering involvement on every engagement, with no account-management layer | -Solo or near-solo team size severely limits capacity for an RFP requiring multiple concurrent workstreams |
| +Covers project planning through PCB design, firmware, prototyping, and production readiness in one continuous process | -Public case study detail and named client references are very limited |
| +Analog and digital circuit design experience alongside firmware covers mixed-signal product requirements | -No published pricing or minimum engagement figure |
| +Founding year (2010) predates many boutique competitors, giving over a decade of practice |
Zone7 Engineering vs alternatives
How Zone7 Engineering 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 |
| Sigma Design | Multi-discipline RFPs needing industrial design and firmware at... | 283-person product design and engineering firm spanning industrial design, mechanical engineering, and firmware across five continents | 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 FAQ
What is Zone7 Engineering?
Portland, Oregon solo-founder practice covering project planning through embedded firmware and production readiness
How much does Zone7 Engineering charge?
Zone7 Engineering uses project-based electronics and firmware engagements pricing. Minimum engagement is not publicly disclosed. A discovery call is required to get project-specific quotes.
What tech stack does Zone7 Engineering use?
Zone7 Engineering works with C, C++, PCB Design, Analog Circuit Design, Digital Signal Processors. Primary industries served include Consumer electronics, Industrial products.
Is Zone7 Engineering right for enterprise?
Small RFPs needing direct founder-level electronics and firmware engineering. Solo / small team team size. Key consideration: Solo or near-solo team size severely limits capacity for an RFP requiring multiple concurrent workstreams.
What are the best Zone7 Engineering alternatives?
The best alternatives to Zone7 Engineering 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 Zone7 Engineering with other Embedded Firmware service providers
Zone7 Engineering vs Lemberg Solutions Zone7 Engineering vs Dojo Five Zone7 Engineering vs Conclusive Engineering Zone7 Engineering vs Voler Systems Zone7 Engineering vs A2e Technologies Zone7 Engineering vs ByteSnap Design Zone7 Engineering vs Promenade Software Zone7 Engineering vs Embien Technologies Zone7 Engineering vs NOVO Engineering Zone7 Engineering vs DE Design Works Zone7 Engineering vs Promwad Zone7 Engineering vs WebbyLab Zone7 Engineering vs Sigma Design Zone7 Engineering vs USA Firmware Zone7 Engineering vs Integra Sources Zone7 Engineering vs RCM Technologies Zone7 Engineering vs Yalantis Zone7 Engineering vs InTechHouse Zone7 Engineering vs Klika Tech Zone7 Engineering vs Electrobit Technology Zone7 Engineering vs Softeq Zone7 Engineering vs Enginuity Inc. Zone7 Engineering vs L&T Technology Services (LTTS) Zone7 Engineering vs AIMDek Technologies Zone7 Engineering vs N-iX Zone7 Engineering vs A-listware Zone7 Engineering vs Capgemini Engineering
Verify all details directly with Zone7 Engineering before making a decision.