Our development process spans design, collaboration, engineering, relaboration (we just made that up), and execution. Through it all we believe knowing the answer isn’t always as important as wanting to find the answer.
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Secondly, guiding that development process is critical. After all, we’re an engineering firm, but with enough humility to know our success is attributable to guardrails, not slot tracks.
We didn’t invent the process. We’re paying homage to generations of world-changing hardware engineering and industrial design in the Pacific Northwest and the San Francisco Bay Area. We’re a senior team of professionals with enough seasoning to recognize what works. And enough punk rock to know sometimes it needs to be broken before it becomes a masterpiece.
HOW WE'RE
STITCHED
TOGETHER.
Mechanical Engineering
Our advanced mechanical engineering team excels in delivering the diverse range of beautiful visions our design partners generate. From the earliest prototypes and models all the way through to manufacturing builds, they provide exceptional technical perspective that balances user experience, reliability, and cost.
Electrical Engineering
With a wide scope of experiences in a variety of electrical systems, this team’s work is often at the heart of today's innovative product experiences. They handle everything, from designing system architecture and proof-of-concept prototypes to cleverly-optimized solutions that end up in the hands of very happy customers.
Firmware Development
The high-touch interactions of modern devices require superiorly-designed software systems that deliver elegant interactions while maintaining reliability and saving energy. Easy, when your devs are skilled in many processor architectures and peripherals, to ensure quality support no matter your product's computing needs.
Project Management
A great project is one that runs surprisingly smoothly, and gets results. A great partner is one that communicates clearly. Igor's project management tactics aim to do both, delivering the results you need and the confidence that comes with knowing you have a partner who's collaborating with you to achieve your goals.
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WE'VE TALKED
ABOUT THE BAND.
HERE'S HOW WE
MAKE MUSIC.
New Product Introduction
Igor knows that every product launch, whether it's your first or your 500th, takes a village. That's why our program plans always include a draft manufacturing plan, so that you (and your partners) will never need to wonder what lies ahead: Our production architectures look ahead for mass production constraints to avoid nasty surprises.
Product Leadership
We can take your idea from point A to point B and guide its smooth landing. Even after marketing requirements, experience mapping, sustainability goals, and quality management, our product briefs clearly define success, so we can answer the important questions like “what's next?”
New Venture NuRturing
We can help get your startup funded and heading in the right direction with small and focused efforts to validate assumptions, prove the technology, develop initial architectures, and identify a winning development path towards mass production.
Sustainability Guidance
How our work affects our world, matters. So we take a holistic approach with each of our partners to solve for sustainability, because we know it’s not a one-size-fits-all effort. By creating a strategy that engages the entire team upfront, we set a course that’s aligned with everyone’s needs.
WHO MAKES
IGOR WORK.
Igor Institute has offices in Seattle, San Francisco, and Vancouver BC. We’re now more than 35 engineers strong, working together to help solve the industry’s most challenging technical design problems. One thing we haven’t built is a device to toot our own horn too much, but between the world-changing companies we partner with and the talent that’s joined us over the years, we’re pretty proud of our team and its production.
Aren is the CEO and co-founder of Igor Institute, a product development and hardware engineering firm located in Seattle, WA. As a strategic marketing and communications business professional, Aren has led teams of talented people committed to enhancing companies’ unique brands and helping redefine the conversation around product development, hardware engineering, device design, healthcare, and higher education. His previous work included Synapse Product Development and the University of Washington School of Nursing. Aren has his BA and MA from Seattle University.
Darin is the Chief Technical Officer for Igor Institute. Over the past two decades he has led teams focused on developing customer-centric connected experiences that transcend channels and empower brands. Beginning as a Mechanical Engineer he has been bringing products from concept through production for consumer electronics products in sports and fitness, health and wellness tracking, smart materials, entertainment, and transportation. Darin holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from California State University Chico.
Jerry Hansen was the former Founder and CEO of CIRTEC Medical Systems. He has extensive Board of Directors experience in private and public medical device and pharmaceutical companies as well as International experience in Europe and Board membership on a TSE listed $1B company. Before co-founding Circle Medical Devices which sold to private equity in 2012, Jerry’s engineering and business experience included time at Raychem Corp from 1967 to 1977, CEO at Humphrey Instruments/Allergan from 1977 to 1987, CEO and Founder of InSite Vision from 1987 to 1989, and then Board Member of Santen (Japan) from 1989 to 2002. Jerry graduated from UC Berkeley with a BS in Mechanical Engineering and currently serves as a senior executive consultant and project advisor at Igor Institute.
Steve is an Electrical and Firmware Engineer at Igor Institute. He has worked in a variety of challenging areas of hardware technology, starting with RADAR detection systems at Lockheed Martin and then as an electrical engineer and systems architect at Synapse Product Development. Steve has worked on numerous products with precision analog, low power digital, wireless communication, and signal-processing intensive systems (most notably architecting and designing the electrical systems of the Nike Fuelband). Steve holds his B.S. and M.Eng. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Cornell University.
As the Director of Strategic Partnerships for Igor Institute, Ryen helps to develop new partners and relationships within the product development ecosystem. With a marketing and entrepreneurship degree from the University of Washington, Ryen previously worked in advertising helping lead ad agencies in the Pacific Northwest. Working with the leadership team at Igor, Ryen helps identify strategic opportunities for growth and brings his knowledge of marketing to help hardware companies launch products and connect with resources needed for success.
Our devotion to education runs deep, for a number of reasons. One, we’re always learning. For us, teaching often reminds us what we don’t know yet. Two, let’s be serious, we can poach talent right out of school that way. We love working with smart people of all ages, whether it’s knocking around ideas at the world’s leading tech conferences or lending our skills and experience to aspiring engineers and designers. In classrooms or in detention or wherever we think we can make a difference.
We’re big on interaction. Let’s use some modern technology and talk about what you have brewing.
