Mapping 3,400+ US Job Shops
The Analog #130
Another engineers and founders dinner is coming up, this time in Seattle, WA on May 15th. Applications are open with limited seats (~30) – hardware engineers, leaders, founders, and investors are all welcome!
Onshape is offering hardware startups and entrepreneurs free access to Onshape Professional—complete with CAD, rendering, simulation, PDM, and more. Apply for the program to get started today.
Interesting Links 🏭
From a dataset of 3,400+ U.S. job shops and contract manufacturers, a really neat analysis of current domestic manufacturing capabilities:
Most shops offer ~4 services. Top services offered usually include a mix of machining, sheet metal, assembly (electro-mechanical, wire harnesses), stamping, and 3D printing.
Shop size doesn’t always map to service capabilities. Many small shops support a wide range of capabilities.
Regional trends: Midwest leans heavy industrial, West favors casting. The Northeast skews toward PCB manufacturing, South does more woodworking and sheet metal.
What happens when a production device ships with JTAG still exposed? This post walks through exactly that, showing you how to map JTAG pins on a Samsung SSD, reverse-engineer the pinout using a Raspberry Pi and JTAGenum, and ultimately halt the processor, dump RAM, and step through live firmware with OpenOCD. Originally designed for board-level factory testing and programming, JTAG (Joint Test Action Group) is a standard interface for debugging and flashing firmware. Nearly all embedded systems include the hardware, but it's typically locked down or disabled before reaching customers to prevent the kind of access shown here.
One of the best things about the internet is how it creates space for every niche, no matter how specialized. Case in point: a retired mechanical engineer from Vietnam, thang010146, who has methodically uploaded animations of over 3,200+ mechanical linkages and mechanisms. This collection here organizes them neatly by category like shaping mechanisms, work manipulation, clamping devices, and many more.
You can learn far more from watching someone build in public than most courses or textbooks. Eric Migicovsky (Pebble co-founder) is doing just that with Tick Talk, a podcast documenting the open-source reboot of the Pebble smartwatch in 2025. In a recent post, he dives into the decision-making behind the watch’s microcontroller which ends up being a deceptively hard choice. Hundreds of chips could work on paper, but most get ruled out quickly. Some lack RAM, others force a switch to Zephyr from FreeRTOS (i.e. operating systems for embedded devices), and many hide SDKs (the vendor‑supplied libraries, headers, and build tools) behind NDAs, which is a non-starter for open source projects. They eventually settled on the SiFli SF32LB52J, a chip found in millions of smartwatches, and even brought on SiFli’s CEO to explain why.
Software-defined radios replace fixed-function RF hardware with software running on a laptop or embedded system. Instead of building a new circuit for every protocol, you digitize the signal once and let software do the rest. Tools like GQRX or GNU Radio let you tune into FM, sniff Bluetooth packets, decode satellite telemetry, or prototype a custom modulation scheme all on the same device.
From CAD-Llama: Text-to-CAD is getting a lot better; with the right training structure, even small open models can outperform more advanced large language models.
Sponsored: nTop’s Computational Design Summit 2025 is happening June 24 in Los Angeles — a one-day event for engineers, designers, and product teams. Hear how teams at Lockheed Martin, Siemens Energy, and others are using computational design and AI to accelerate development. Free to attend for qualified professionals — sign up here!
Startup News 🚀
Glacier raised $16M in Series A funding to expand its AI-powered recycling robot fleet across U.S. cities like San Francisco and LA. The company’s robots sort over 30 material types at 45 items per minute, boosting recycling efficiency at materials recovery facilities while providing data insights to optimize operations and track packaging recyclability. The round was led by Ecosystem Integrity Fund and supported by Amazon Climate Pledge Fund.
Breathe Battery Technologies raised $21M in a Series B funding round, to enhance its battery performance software. Their software uses AI to optimize how lithium-ion cells are charged and predict performance - Oppo and Volvo already use it to cut charge times by up to 27%. The long-term bet is that better software can shrink the time and cost it takes to bring a new cell to market. The round was led by Kinnevik, with participation from Lowercarbon Capital and Volvo Cars Tech Fund.
DePoly, a Swiss cleantech startup, raised $23M in a funding round to advance its chemical recycling technology. Its patented process converts unsorted, dirty PET plastic and polyester textiles into virgin-grade raw materials (PTA and MEG) at room temperature, eliminating pre-sorting and fossil fuel use while reducing carbon emissions by up to 65%. The funds will support scaling its 50-tonne-per-year plant and launching a 500-tonne-per-year showcase facility. The round was co-led by BASF Venture Capital and Wingman Ventures.
Two shipbuilders, HD KSOE and HD Hyundai Robotics, have teamed up with Persona AI and Vazil Company to develop humanoid welding robots for shipyards. Persona AI will handle robot hardware and development, while Vazil will focus on welding tools and testing. Prototypes are due by late 2026, with commercial use targeted for 2027.
Big news from the synthetic aperture radar (SAR) space: IonQ acquired Capella Space for 10.7M shares to combine SAR satellite tech. and quantum computing, aiming to build a space-based quantum key distribution network (a way to share encryption keys using quantum physics, where any attempt to eavesdrop can be detected) Deal closes in 2025, pending approvals. Statement from Capella’s founder here.
Open Jobs 💼
More jobs added weekly on our job board. If you're hiring, promote your open role here.
Early Career:
Imperative Care is looking for a Lab Engineer (Contract) in Campbell, CA
Layup Parts is looking for a Manufacturing Engineer (Composites) in Huntington Beach, CA
Mid-Level:
Helion is looking for an Electrical Engineer in Everett, WA
AMD is looking for a Power Engineer in Austin, TX
Senior to Staff:
Google is looking for a Senior Lab Engineer (Project Starline) in Mountain View, CA
Oura is looking for a Director of Manufacturing in San Francisco, CA
Internships:
Quilt is looking for a Hardware Test Intern/Co-op in Redwood City, CA
Tools From Our Sponsors
Design & Simulation
Quilter – Fully automates PCB layout with physics-driven AI.
nTop – Computational design to accelerate product development.
Onshape – Cloud CAD with real-time collaboration and version control.
Dystr – AI math environment that slashes analysis time 10–100×.
Ops & Collaboration
Doss – Adaptive ERP for orders, inventory, and production.
AllSpice – Git-style revision control for hardware designs.
Manufacturing
Summit Interconnect – Quick-turn complex rigid, flex, and rigid-flex PCBs.
Cofactr – Automated component sourcing and inventory tracking.
If you're prepping for interviews, we've put together practical resources for engineers. For all resources available, check our home page.
Refer a Friend, Earn Rewards 🎁
Refer just one friend to Hardware FYI, and we’ll send you our complete database of resources—every design guide, article, white paper, and more.