# Westlake Systems LLC > Systems engineering for hardware that has to work. Design reviews, hands-on engineering, and fractional CTO leadership, from concept to production. Westlake Systems helps teams take electronic products from concept to production. The work spans electrical design, firmware, RF, and mechanical integration, with a focus on the decisions that are expensive to get wrong: architecture, design reviews, and the gaps between disciplines. Founders and small teams get senior-level engineering judgment without building a full engineering department. Engagements range from a single design review to hands-on development. Based in southern Indiana. Working with clients anywhere. Run by its founder, Evan Hallam, who has spent 19 years building electronic products, from first sketch to production line. Contact: info@westlakesys.com (email only). LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/evan-hallam/ ## About Evan Hallam Evan Hallam has spent 19 years building electronic products, from first sketch to production. Now an engineer, reviewer, and fractional CTO for small teams. More: https://westlakesys.com/about/ ### Kinds of work - Products taken to production: Dozens of them, from first sketch through compliance testing, production test and contract manufacturing. A recent example is a multi-product system with electrical, firmware, software and mechanical work, taken through FCC and CE testing and into manufacturing. - Imaging and precision timing: High-speed cameras for sports and precision timing, across several product generations. I designed boards and front ends, then led the design teams. - Hard environments: Electronics for underground mining and industrial sites: communications, proximity detection, lighting upgrades, and test rigs for regulatory evaluation. One job was reverse-engineering a legacy radio design with no surviving design files, to improve diagnostics and yield. - Studies and second opinions: Not every project ends in a board: feasibility studies, field range testing, and sensor and optics trade studies that answer "will this work?" before anyone commits to building. - Radio and UWB: Ultra-wideband has been a specialty for more than a decade, alongside sub-GHz and Bluetooth LE, including ranging and positioning with both. I've reviewed and helped engineer radio designs for about a dozen companies, including angle-of-arrival antenna arrays, multi-receiver systems, and amplifier chains. ## Services - [Design review: A second set of eyes](https://westlakesys.com/services/): Design reviews and architecture pressure-tests, before the expensive decisions get expensive. Covers: Schematic and board layout reviews; System and firmware architecture reviews; Wireless, RF, and antenna design reviews; Design for manufacturing and test (DFM/DFT); Compliance and regulatory readiness; A second opinion on vendor and design-firm proposals. What you get: Written findings ranked by risk, and a call to walk through them. - [Hands-on engineering: An engineer at the bench](https://westlakesys.com/services/): Schematics, board layout, firmware, prototypes, and test, done hands-on alongside your team. Covers: Schematic capture and board layout; Microcontroller and FPGA-based designs; Firmware, board bring-up, and debug; Wireless and RF: sub-GHz, Bluetooth LE, Wi-Fi, cellular, UWB; Prototype build and test, through handoff to manufacturing; Production test fixtures, automation, and internal tools. What you get: Working, documented hardware and firmware, ready for the next stage. - [Fractional CTO: Someone to run the whole effort](https://westlakesys.com/services/): Technical leadership without a full-time hire: setting direction, running the engineering team, and giving you a clear view of what is realistic. Covers: Technical direction, architecture, and technology selection; Running the engineering team and schedule; Hiring, vendors, and contract manufacturers; Tools, test equipment, and processes that fit the team; Regulatory and compliance planning from the start; Plain answers for leadership on cost, risk, and timing; Bringing AI tools into the engineering process, with the right checks. What you get: A clear technical plan, and an engineering effort run against it. - [AI-assisted engineering: The engineer in the loop](https://westlakesys.com/services/): For teams designing hardware and firmware with AI tools: the hardware experience to steer the work, check it, and carry it through to production. Covers: Setting up AI-assisted design workflows, with review gates where they matter; Reviewing AI-generated schematics, layouts, firmware, and part choices against datasheets and real limits; What AI tools tend to miss: RF and layout, compliance, manufacturing, test, and the product life cycle; Deciding what to trust, what to verify, and what needs an engineer's decision; Domain expertise for companies building AI design tools; Data handling that keeps your designs private. What you get: AI speed, with an experienced engineer in the loop. ## How engagements work - Hourly: For reviews, quick questions, and work that is hard to scope up front. You pay for the time used. - Monthly retainer: A set block of time each month, for fractional CTO work or steady part-time engineering. Easy to adjust as needs change. - Remote or on site: Most work happens remotely. Westlake travels to your team, lab, or contract manufacturer when being in the room matters. - Your tools, your process: Westlake works in your repositories, design tools, and tracker, and fit your meeting rhythm. ## Common questions - Can you work alongside our team or other vendors? Yes. Westlake can join your engineering team, work next to an outside design firm, or coordinate with your contract manufacturer. The goal is for the pieces to fit together, wherever they come from. - Can Westlake work with teams outside the US? Yes. Most work happens remotely, by email, shared files, and scheduled calls. Calls are arranged to suit both time zones, and travel is possible when being in the room matters. - Can you help with compliance and certification? Yes. Compliance is cheapest to plan for at the start. Westlake can review a design for compliance risk, help plan the path to certification for the markets you sell into (FCC, ISED, CE, UKCA, UL, RoHS, REACH, and more), and support the testing, with a specialist from its network when the project calls for one. - Which wireless technologies do you work with? A wide range: sub-GHz radios and LoRa, Bluetooth LE, Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi HaLow, Thread and Zigbee, cellular IoT, NFC, UWB, and mmWave. Westlake starts from what the product needs, then chooses the technology that fits it, and whether to use a pre-certified module or design the radio onto your board. - We design with AI tools. Can you help? Yes, whether AI tools started the design or are part of how your team works every day. Westlake can review what you have, whether it is schematics, board layout, firmware, or a parts list, find what is sound and what needs work, and help set up a way of working where the tools stay fast and the results get checked. You don't need to know what kind of help you need. Send what you have, and after a short call Westlake will propose a scope for the work. - Do you use AI tools on client work? Only as you agree. AI tools can speed up research, checking, and documentation, but every engineering decision is made and signed off by an engineer. Your files go only to tools you approve, under terms that keep them private and out of model training, and they are covered by the same confidentiality as the rest of the work. If you prefer, the work can be done inside your own AI tools, such as your company's enterprise account, under your rules. If you would rather AI tools are not used on your project, they are not used at all. - Do you support products after they ship? Yes. A product often needs engineering long after launch: firmware updates, replacements for parts that reach end of life, and help tracing problems seen in the field. Westlake can stay involved or step in when needed, working from the design files and release records so the work picks up where it left off. - Can we see past projects? Most client work is under NDA, and it stays that way, just as yours would. In general terms: high-speed imaging for sports and precision timing, electronics for mining and industrial sites, consumer products and test equipment, radio and wireless systems, plus feasibility studies and design reviews. On a call, Westlake is glad to talk through what is relevant to your project. ## Articles - [What I look for in a hardware design review](https://westlakesys.com/articles/design-review/): A design review is the cheapest point to catch hardware problems. What a useful one covers, from requirements and power to layout, test, and compliance. - [Before your first board spin](https://westlakesys.com/articles/first-board-spin/): A practical checklist for founders and small teams about to order their first prototype boards, so the first spin teaches you as much as possible. - [Plan for compliance from day one](https://westlakesys.com/articles/compliance-from-day-one/): Certification is cheapest to plan at the start. When each compliance step belongs in a hardware project, and the design choices that make it easier. - [Compliance by market: the approvals your product needs](https://westlakesys.com/articles/compliance-by-market/): The main approvals for electronic products sold in the US, Canada, the EU, and the UK, from EMC and radio to safety, materials, and cybersecurity. - [Replaceable batteries in the EU: what changes on 18 February 2027](https://westlakesys.com/articles/eu-replaceable-batteries/): From 18 February 2027, portable batteries in products placed on the EU market must be user-replaceable. The rule, the exemptions, and the other battery duties. - [Does your hardware company need a fractional CTO?](https://westlakesys.com/articles/fractional-cto/): What a fractional CTO does for a hardware startup, the signs you might need one, how engagements are usually set up, and when it is time to hire full time. - [From prototype to production: EVT, DVT, and PVT explained](https://westlakesys.com/articles/prototype-to-production/): What the EVT, DVT, and PVT builds are for, what each must prove before the next, and how small hardware teams can adapt the stages without skipping the point. - [What a complete manufacturing package includes](https://westlakesys.com/articles/manufacturing-package/): The files a PCB fab and contract manufacturer need to quote and build your product without guessing: Gerbers, BOM, pick-and-place, test, and common gaps. - [Designing for production test](https://westlakesys.com/articles/designing-for-production-test/): What to build into the board, the firmware, and the process so the factory can test every unit quickly and trust the result. - [Designing connected products for EU and UK cybersecurity rules](https://westlakesys.com/articles/connected-product-cybersecurity/): What the EU Radio Equipment Directive, the Cyber Resilience Act, and the UK PSTI rules mean for hardware and firmware, and what to design in early. - [Choosing a radio: matching the wireless technology to the product](https://westlakesys.com/articles/choosing-a-radio/): How to pick a wireless technology from what the product needs: range, data rate, power, size, regulations, and ecosystem, from LoRa to BLE, Wi-Fi, and UWB. - [Measuring distance with radio: UWB, Bluetooth Channel Sounding, and the alternatives](https://westlakesys.com/articles/radio-ranging/): How UWB, Bluetooth Channel Sounding, Wi-Fi timing, LoRa ranging and signal strength measure distance, what limits each in a real product, and how to choose. - [Module or chip-down: making the radio decision](https://westlakesys.com/articles/module-or-chip-down/): How to choose between a pre-certified radio module and a chip-down design: volume, size, RF performance, control, supply risk, and certification limits. - [Designing hardware with AI: where it is strong, and where it needs an engineer](https://westlakesys.com/articles/designing-hardware-with-ai/): What AI tools do well in hardware and firmware design, how they fail (confidently incorrect, out of date, confidently incomplete), and how to set up a team so the speed is safe. - [Battery-powered design: budgeting and measuring power](https://westlakesys.com/articles/battery-power/): How to build a power budget early, find the hidden drains that shorten battery life, and measure current properly from sleep to radio bursts. - [It only fails in sunlight](https://westlakesys.com/articles/fails-in-sunlight/): Why electronics that pass every bench test can misbehave outdoors in direct sun, how to prove that light is the cause, and how to design it out. - [Built your hardware with AI? What to check next](https://westlakesys.com/articles/built-with-ai/): AI tools can take a hardware idea a long way. Where AI-assisted designs most often need work, the signs you have hit the wall, and why a rewrite is often not the answer. ## Tools - [Battery life estimator](https://westlakesys.com/tools/battery-life/): Build a power budget from your operating modes, estimate battery life, and see which mode is using up the battery. - [Radio range estimator](https://westlakesys.com/tools/radio-range/): Work through a link budget, from transmit power to receiver sensitivity, for a rough range estimate before you build. - [Crystal load capacitor calculator](https://westlakesys.com/tools/crystal-load-caps/): Pick load capacitors for a crystal from its datasheet load and your board’s stray capacitance, and check start-up margin. - [Compliance planner](https://westlakesys.com/tools/compliance-planner/): Choose your markets and what your product does, and see the approvals that usually apply and the order to work through them. - [Checklist for hiring a hardware design firm](https://westlakesys.com/tools/checklists/hiring-a-design-firm/): What to settle before you hire an outside firm or contractor for electronics design: scope, deliverables, ownership, process, cost, and production. - [Schematic and layout review checklist](https://westlakesys.com/tools/checklists/design-review/): What to check in a schematic and board layout before you order boards: power, parts, clocks, RF, layout, EMC, thermal, DFM, test access, and release. - [Antenna and RF integration checklist](https://westlakesys.com/tools/checklists/antenna-integration/): How to get a radio and antenna working in a real product: requirements, antenna choice, placement, matching, testing, coexistence, and production. - [First board bring-up checklist](https://westlakesys.com/tools/checklists/board-bring-up/): How to bring up a new board safely and learn the most from it: preparation, inspection, first power, clocks, debug, peripherals, RF, and power. - [Checklist for choosing a contract manufacturer](https://westlakesys.com/tools/checklists/choosing-a-contract-manufacturer/): What to settle before choosing an electronics contract manufacturer: fit, quotes, parts and inventory, quality and test, ownership, and the first build. - [EVT, DVT, and PVT exit checklist](https://westlakesys.com/tools/checklists/evt-dvt-pvt/): What each hardware build should prove before the next: planning, EVT, DVT, and PVT exit criteria, design freeze, and the review after every build. - [Release to manufacturing checklist](https://westlakesys.com/tools/checklists/manufacturing-release/): What to include and confirm before releasing a design to a board fab and contract manufacturer: data, BOM, programming, test, labels, and revisions. - [EMC pre-scan checklist](https://westlakesys.com/tools/checklists/emc-pre-scan/): How to run an in-house EMC pre-scan before formal testing: setup, near-field scans, radiated and conducted emissions, ESD, and fixes. - [Compliance readiness checklist](https://westlakesys.com/tools/checklists/compliance-readiness/): What to settle before you book a compliance test lab: markets and standards, radio approach, design checks, pre-scans, test modes, samples, and paperwork. - [Checklists on GitHub](https://github.com/Westlake-Systems/hardware-checklists): the same checklists as Markdown files, CC BY 4.0 ## Pages - [Home](https://westlakesys.com/) - [Services](https://westlakesys.com/services/): offerings, engagement terms, the network of independent specialists, and common questions - [Articles](https://westlakesys.com/articles/) - [Tools](https://westlakesys.com/tools/): free calculators and printable checklists - [About](https://westlakesys.com/about/): Evan Hallam, founder - [Contact](https://westlakesys.com/contact/)