What Don Does
Two Disciplines. One Engineer.
Most problems don't fit neatly into one box. Mechanical issues have electrical roots. Electrical failures have mechanical causes. Don works across both — which means nothing falls through the cracks.
Mechanical Engineering
Built to Work. Built to Last.
From first principles to finished prototype, Don approaches mechanical problems with the rigor of a trained engineer and the intuition of someone who's been building things since he was a teenager. Whether it's a system that won't behave, a design that needs to survive real-world conditions, or a failure that nobody can explain — this is the work.
Mechanical System Design
Clean-sheet design or redesign of mechanical systems. Don works from requirements through concept, analysis, and detailed design — with an eye toward manufacturability and long-term reliability.
Prototype Development & Testing
Turning a design into a working prototype, then testing it until it either passes or reveals what needs to change. Rapid iteration, honest results.
Failure Analysis & Root Cause Investigation
When something breaks and nobody knows why, Don finds out. Systematic investigation, physical evidence, and engineering judgment — not guesswork.
Automotive & Powertrain Systems
Deep experience with automotive engineering: engines, drivetrains, suspension, and the complex interactions between them. Street, track, and everything in between.
Robotics & Automation Mechanics
Mechanical design for robotic systems — linkages, actuators, frames, and the structural elements that make automation actually work in the real world.
Manufacturing Process Optimization
Finding the inefficiencies in how things are made and fixing them. Tolerance analysis, process review, tooling evaluation — practical improvements with measurable results.
Electrical Engineering
From Schematic to Silicon.
Don's electrical work spans decades and disciplines — from discrete analog circuits to modern embedded systems. He's designed boards, written firmware, debugged production failures, and reverse-engineered hardware that came with no documentation. If it runs on electrons, he's probably worked on something like it.
Circuit Design & PCB Layout
Schematic capture through board layout, with attention to signal integrity, power distribution, and the practical realities of getting a board manufactured and assembled.
Embedded Systems & Microcontrollers
Firmware development and hardware bring-up for microcontroller-based systems. From bare-metal C to RTOS environments — whatever the project calls for.
Power Electronics & Motor Control
Design and analysis of power conversion circuits, motor drivers, and control systems. DC-DC converters, inverters, brushless motor control, and more.
Sensor Integration & Signal Processing
Getting useful data out of the physical world — sensor selection, conditioning circuits, ADC design, and the signal processing needed to make measurements meaningful.
Robotics & Automation Electronics
The electrical side of robotic systems: motor controllers, sensor networks, communication buses, and the control electronics that tie it all together.
Troubleshooting & Reverse Engineering
When a system is misbehaving and the documentation is missing, incomplete, or wrong — Don can figure out what it's actually doing and why.
How Don Works
No hand-offs. No committees. Just answers.
You talk to the engineer
Every conversation is with Don directly. Not a project manager, not a junior engineer, not a sales rep. The person you hire is the person who does the work.
Honest scope, honest timeline
Don will tell you what he can do, how long it will take, and what it will cost — before the work starts. No surprises.
On-site or remote
Based in Los Angeles, available to travel for on-site work when the problem requires it. Remote engagements welcome for the right scope.
Ready to dig in?
Describe your problem and Don will tell you whether he can help — and how.