Zone7 Engineering

Portland practice where founder David Ashman does the electronics and firmware engineering personally

Founded 2010 | Portland, OR, USA | Solo / small team employees

3.9 / 5

firmware-developmenthardware-co-designbare-metal-programming

Overview Tech stack Pricing Pros & cons Alternatives FAQ

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. For a client evaluating the smallest possible version of an engineering-hire relationship, this is a firm where the person quoting the project, designing the architecture, and writing the firmware are the same single named individual.

Zone7 Engineering works primarily with clients in Consumer electronics, Industrial products sectors. Its primary differentiator is: Founder personally performs project planning, circuit design, and firmware development, with no layers between quoting and delivery.

Zone7 Engineering tech stack and services

CC++PCB DesignAnalog Circuit DesignDigital Signal Processors

Service area
Firmware Development
Hardware Co-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 the person quoting a project is the same person who designs and builds it, with no account-management layer	-Solo or near-solo team size severely limits capacity for a project 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
+15 years of practice predates many boutique competitors on this list

Zone7 Engineering vs alternatives

How Zone7 Engineering compares to the other top Embedded Firmware Development developers.

Company	Best for	Key difference	Rating	Compare
Lemberg Solutions	Teams needing dedicated engineers with direct chip-vendor backing.	200+ engineers across four countries with direct NXP, STMicroelectronics, and Microchip partner status and an in-house hardware lab	4.8	Full comparison
Dojo Five	Teams that want a remote-first firmware partner with...	Stated "modern firmware" culture with explicit values (humble confidence, 40-hour weeks) built into how the team operates day to day	4.5	Full comparison
Barr Group	Teams wanting engineers whose published technical work they...	Led by Michael Barr, a recognized embedded software author and former magazine editor-in-chief, giving prospective clients a public body of work to evaluate first	4.5	Full comparison
Voler Systems	Teams wanting long-tenured senior engineers over a fast-scaled...	46 years of continuous operation with a small, senior team rather than a fast-scaled workforce	4.5	Full comparison
Beningo Embedded Group	Teams wanting direct access to one named, verifiable...	Founder-led model with direct prior consulting and training engagements at General Motors, Intel, Infineon, and Renesas	4.4	Full comparison
RMB Consulting	Teams wanting to work directly with one named,...	30-plus years of hands-on embedded engineering experience concentrated in a single named principal with a public technical record	4.3	Full comparison
Conclusive Engineering	Teams valuing engineers with named prior experience at...	Team includes engineers with prior experience at Cadence Design Systems and iXsystems, backed by Nordic Semiconductor and Texas Instruments partner status	4.3	Full comparison
A2e Technologies	Teams needing ITAR-cleared engineers for defense and space...	ITAR-certified team with anti-tamper hardware security specialization, a specific clearance and process discipline most teams don't hold	4.3	Full comparison
ByteSnap Design	Teams wanting continuity under the same founders and...	17 years under the same two founders, with a team carrying hands-on experience across ZigBee, LoRa, Wi-Fi, BLE, and GSM	4.2	Full comparison
DE Design Works	Teams needing engineers experienced with rugged industrial, medical,...	23 years of continuous firmware and hardware work specifically for rugged industrial, medical, and military applications	4.2	Full comparison
USA Firmware	Small teams wanting senior, multi-discipline engineers without separate...	150-plus combined years of leadership experience concentrated in a 17-person team, an unusually high seniority ratio	4.0	Full comparison
NOVO Engineering	Teams wanting engineers with an unusually high average...	Engineering team averaging 16 years of experience per engineer, a specific and checkable seniority claim	4.1	Full comparison
Droid Technologies	Teams needing engineers whose primary specialty is embedded...	Grew from 4 to 80+ engineers in 9 years with embedded GUI as the team's lead hiring specialty across LVGL, TouchGFX, Qt, and Embedded Wizard	4.1	Full comparison
Ignitec	Teams building wearable products needing engineers who specialize...	Wearable technology as a stated primary specialty, not a general IoT capability applied to a wearable project after the fact	4.0	Full comparison
Oxalis Design	Very small teams wanting direct, ongoing access to...	Founder-led team where both founders remain personally involved in client engineering work, not just management	4.0	Full comparison
Lobaro GmbH	Teams needing deep LoRaWAN and low-power wide-area network...	LoRa Alliance membership and Nordic Semiconductor design partner status with a 15-person team built around LPWAN protocol depth	3.8	Full comparison
NeuronicWorks	Teams wanting the same engineers to carry a...	In-house manufacturing capability, including box build and PCB assembly, means the firmware team stays involved through physical production	3.9	Full comparison
EmLogic AS	Teams wanting Zephyr RTOS specialists led by repeat...	Founding team with prior experience each building similar embedded companies, concentrated specifically on Zephyr RTOS	3.8	Full comparison
ARCH-Embedded	Teams needing engineers with direct prior positioning-technology experience.	Team includes engineers with prior experience at TomTom and in micro-mobility products, a specific and checkable positioning-technology background	3.8	Full comparison
Ripcord Designs	Teams wanting senior technical judgment applied directly rather...	Founded by a former Engineering Director who moved from managing engineering to doing it directly, spanning MedTech, IVD, and industrial products	3.8	Full comparison
Blue Sparq	Teams building products with physical control systems and...	Control system design and manufacturing specialization, a narrower and more specific skill set than general embedded firmware alone	3.9	Full comparison
CMD MedTech	Small teams needing close, senior-level medical device engineering...	Woman-owned small business built specifically around medical device systems, software, and regulatory support	4.0	Full comparison
Promenade Software	Teams wanting a stated faster development methodology within...	Founders set out to apply web-framework development speed to FDA-relevant safety-critical medical device firmware, a stated methodology difference	4.0	Full comparison
Embien Technologies	Teams wanting continuity from concept through manufacturing without...	One-stop lifecycle scope means the same team a client hires stays engaged from ideation through manufacturing handoff	4.0	Full comparison
Klika Tech	Teams needing distributed, multi-timezone staffing from one vendor...	Delivery centers across North America, Europe, and Asia with AWS IoT and STMicroelectronics partner status backing distributed team staffing	3.8	Full comparison
WebbyLab	Teams needing full-cycle staffing from hardware selection through...	Grew from a small graduate-student founding team to 120+ engineers over 14 years, with Fortune 500 client relationships along the way	3.8	Full comparison
Waferlabs Embedded Technology	Very small engagements wanting engineers with major semiconductor-company...	Founding team with prior experience at Intel, Broadcom, and Qualcomm running a small, direct embedded design practice	3.6	Full comparison
EES	Teams deliberately avoiding a large delivery organization in...	Explicitly positions itself as senior-led, keeping the team small by design rather than as a growth-stage limitation	3.8	Full comparison

See all Zone7 Engineering alternatives

Zone7 Engineering FAQ

What is Zone7 Engineering?

Portland practice where founder David Ashman does the electronics and firmware engineering personally

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?

Teams wanting direct, single-point engineering accountability on a small project. Solo / small team team size. Key consideration: Solo or near-solo team size severely limits capacity for a project 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: 200+ engineers across four countries with direct nxp, stmicroelectronics, and microchip partner status and an in-house hardware lab
Dojo Five: stated "modern firmware" culture with explicit values (humble confidence, 40-hour weeks) built into how the team operates day to day
Barr Group: led by michael barr, a recognized embedded software author and former magazine editor-in-chief, giving prospective clients a public body of work to evaluate first

See full alternatives list

Compare Zone7 Engineering with other Embedded Firmware Development developers

Verify all details directly with Zone7 Engineering before making a decision.