Heavy Lift: Concept to production.
Most early hardware companies do not fail on the concept. They fail on the thousand decisions between the concept and a part coming off a line at rate. That gap is where we work.
Engagements rarely stay inside one lane. A supply chain problem is often a design problem wearing a disguise. The impossible to machine part has an error on design criteria. We work with you to advance all aspects of a project.
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01
Product design
Early architecture definition and napkin sketches. Concepts turned into hardware that can be manufactured, tested and qualified, with build constraints written in from the start rather than discovered at the vendor.
- Design for manufacturability reviews
- Requirements definition and technical roadmapping
- PDR and CDR process, run properly
- Separating development hardware from customer deliverables
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02
Engineering analysis
Rigorous analysis, design criteria development, and systems engineering with a SpaceX-minded approach: designing everything from the ground up and challenging every assumption.
- Design criteria development
- Trainings to build your teams analytical firepower
- Detailed review of complex mechanical, structural, and thermal analyses
- Weldment analysis
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03
Manufacturing
Process plans, tooling and review gates sized for a team that is still changing the design, not for a factory that froze it three years ago.
- Process plan creation and cross-department review guidelines
- Build documentation and traveler structure
- Production ramp planning and rate readiness
- Identifying what should be automated, and what should not
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04
Supply chain
Sourcing strategy, vendor qualification and the systems that keep the flow of parts legible to everyone who touches it.
- Supply chain system setup from zero
- MRP and shop-floor system implementation
- Part numbering and configuration management
- Vendor selection, qualification and management
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05
Facilities
Standing up the physical space and equipment a hardware team needs, sequenced against how fast the team is actually growing.
- Floor layout and workflow design
- Capital equipment planning and phasing
- Capacity analysis against the real schedule
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06
Operations
Org structure, program cadence and the single source of truth that keeps day-to-day decisions from disappearing into chat threads.
- Team organization and hiring sequence advice for the C-suite
- Program review cadence and escalation paths
- Scheduling and capacity tooling
- Customer visit and technical account support
Four phases, one handoff.
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Phase 01
Ignition
Two weeks inside the company. We map where your designs stand, what you are actually building, what is blocking it, and where the schedule is lying to you. You get a written assessment either way, whether or not the engagement continues.
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Phase 02
Ascent
Design and process work in parallel: drawings that can be built, a supply chain that can feed them, a floor that can hold them. This is the longest phase and the one that moves the schedule most.
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Phase 03
Max Q
The ramp, where every weakness shows up at once. We stay hands-on through the first real production rate rather than handing over a plan and leaving you to run it alone. We help you make sure parts fly off the line.
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Phase 04
Separation
Documentation, training, and a named owner on your team for every system we built. We leave, and nothing stalls. If it would stall, we are not done.
People we trust.
When an engagement needs specialists outside our core practices, we bring in people we already know and trust across our SpaceX connections, VCs, business operations and beyond. That includes help standing up HR, finance and legal foundations so your company runs as solidly as the hardware.
How we engage.
Most work runs as a retained engagement with a defined scope and a defined end. Shorter assessments and advisory arrangements are also possible when a full engagement is not the right shape.
Rates and structure depend on scope and duration, and we will talk through both openly on the first call. There is no proposal process that takes three weeks.