Four ways Prometheus is brought in: to advise leadership, to develop and de-risk hard engineering, to fix and strengthen the supply base, and to bring real technical rigor to purchasing. Each is built around senior, hands-on judgment — engaged directly when a program is stuck, a product is failing, or a decision can't wait. Below is what each service covers, and the moment teams typically pick up the phone.
Prometheus works directly with leadership teams to set the market and business strategy that turns strong engineering capability into sustainable growth — then streamlines the systems and processes to execute on it. When teams call: a new business unit or technology needs a go-to-market and the organization to deliver it; or leadership needs an honest outside read before committing capital.
Three decades developing electric power steering, braking, propulsion, and sensing systems from concept through full-rate production — hands-on engineering leadership across the entire lifecycle, including the structured problem-solving that gets stuck programs moving again. When teams call: a product fails and the team can't find why, or a program is stuck between prototype and production.
Prometheus helps clients build and strengthen the supply base behind their electronics and mechatronic systems — drawing on direct experience managing supplier quality and design collaboration through some of the industry's most demanding launches. When teams call: a supplier can't meet spec and launch is slipping, or engineering and the supplier each blame the other.
Deep, firsthand knowledge of motors, power electronics, and sensing hardware brought to purchasing decisions — specifying, evaluating, and sourcing components with the technical rigor of an engineering organization, not just a procurement function. When teams call: purchasing needs to specify or second-source a motor, sensor, or power-electronics component with real technical rigor.
Every service follows the same disciplined path — Discovery Call, Diagnose & Scope, Plan, Execute, and Transfer. It starts with a focused 30-minute discovery call and an honest read on fit, moves through a written scope with success criteria you approve and a milestone plan with no surprises, then hands-on execution — and ends with corrective actions verified and knowledge transferred so your team owns the outcome, not a dependency.
Four engagement models cover most work: a scoped project with defined deliverables, an interim or fractional engineering executive, advisory and due diligence, and supplier recovery. All are priced on a time-and-material basis against a written scope you approve first, so the commitment stays proportional to the problem and there are no surprise retainers or long-term lock-in.
| Model | Best for | How it’s priced |
|---|---|---|
| Scoped project | A defined problem with clear deliverables and success criteria | Time-and-material against an approved written scope |
| Interim / fractional engineering executive | A leadership gap, crisis, or scale-up needing VP/CTO judgment | Time-and-material at a defined weekly or monthly commitment |
| Advisory & due diligence | Investors or boards needing an independent technical read | Time-and-material, scoped to the deal or question |
| Supplier recovery | A failing or single-source supplier threatening production | Time-and-material against a recovery and qualification plan |
“Up to 162 million people in Europe and the United States — 20 to 30 percent of the working-age population — engage in some form of independent work.”— McKinsey Global Institute
A fractional or interim VP of Engineering is a senior leader who runs an engineering organization part-time or for a defined period, without a permanent executive hire. Companies use the model to get VP- or CTO-level judgment during a crisis, a scale-up, or a leadership gap. Demand for flexible expertise is rising: McKinsey has reported that about 36% of U.S. workers now identify as independent, and executive talent is part of that shift.
Root-cause and failure analysis is the disciplined investigation of why a product, process, or program failed — tracing a symptom back to its true origin rather than treating the surface defect. The payoff is large because late defects are expensive: NIST research on software quality has documented that defects found after release cost many times more than those caught during design. Prometheus applies structured 8D and fault-tree methods drawn from automotive and semiconductor practice.
Lab-to-volume productization is the engineering work that turns a working prototype into a product that can be manufactured reliably at scale and target cost. It covers design for manufacturing, supplier qualification, tooling, and test. This stage is where many deep-tech ventures stall, and schedule risk is real: Gartner has repeatedly reported that a large share of technology projects run over budget or miss their deadlines. Prometheus bridges the gap between a demo and a shipping line.
Supplier development and recovery is hands-on work to qualify, improve, or rescue a supplier that cannot meet quality, cost, or delivery targets. It is critical because supply disruption is now routine: the World Economic Forum has reported that the large majority of companies faced supply-chain disruptions in recent years. Reshoring is part of the response — the Reshoring Initiative has tracked well over a million U.S. jobs announced from reshoring and foreign direct investment since 2010. Prometheus stabilizes sources and builds second-source resilience.
Engagements are priced on a time-and-materials basis, scoped to the problem and the decision timeline rather than a fixed deliverable that invites corner-cutting. A short diagnostic can run days; interim leadership or a productization program runs longer. As Harvard Business Review put it, “The hardest problems are rarely where you first look for them.” Prometheus keeps a limited number of engagements active at once to stay hands-on.
Bring in an outside engineering consultant when a program is slipping, a launch is at risk, a key leader has left, or a failure keeps recurring despite internal effort. External perspective removes the optimism bias that clouds in-house reviews: Deloitte research has highlighted that operational and execution risk, not strategy on paper, drives most underperformance. Prometheus provides senior, conflict-free judgment from a former automotive and mechatronics executive.
Thirty focused minutes. Tell us what's stuck — you'll leave with an honest read on the cause and the path forward, whether or not we work together.
Book a Discovery CallPrometheus takes on a limited number of engagements at a time to stay hands-on. Serious inquiries answered within one business day.