Ari Esters
Systems Engineering for High-Tech Hardware
I review, troubleshoot, and stabilize hardware systems for companies trying to scale from prototype to pilot.
WHAT I DO
Typical problems I see
How I solve them
❌ Hardware-software systems work in the lab but fail in production
✅ Identify problematic interfaces and build better test plans
❌ Variable or unstable performance across units
✅ Set data-driven specs for hardware manufacturing and performance
❌ Technical issues take forever to resolve, teams disagree on root cause
✅ Implement strategies for root cause analysis that actually work
❌ No clear ownership of technical issues or risks
✅ Create a risk register showing top risks, owners, and mitigation plans
ABOUT ME
Hardware is hard. Even with a dozen specialists, you can struggle with hardware development because system-level issues often arise at the interfaces between specialties.
I'm effective at maturing high-tech hardware systems because I've researched, designed, built, launched, and troubleshooted devices and instruments across many domains, including embedded systems, sensors, optoelectronics, mechatronics, firmware, software control, and manufacturing.
Alma Maters
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
M.S. Electrical and Computer Engineering
Master's Thesis: "Fabrication and Testing of Silicon Integrated Nanofluidic Channels for Neurochemical Transport"
Stanford University
B.S. Chemical Engineering
Molecular biology research in USDA
Polymer research in Stanford Dept of Chemistry
PREVIOUS PROJECTS
I've played a pivotal role in cutting-edge hardware systems across various domains.
Biotech NGS Platforms
System architect at Illumina, a market leader in biotech. Oversaw design specifications and system integration of optoelectronic and computer vision subsystems for next-gen sequencing platforms.
Neural Implants
Electronic and fluidic testing of microfabricated neural sensors developed by me and others.
Co-authored a paper for the Transducers/Eurosensors conference.
Device Firmware
Designed device drivers in C/C++ for various microcontrollers across many small electronics projects.
Examples:
Wearable with Gesture Detection
Built a low-power rechargeable wristband that uses sensor fusion to detect face touching and nail biting. Efficient and battery-powered, requires only 8kB flash and 1kB RAM to run.
Lab Experiment Automation
Repaired automation software codebase for a biotech client's high-throughput fluorescence system, enabling them automate research experiments at scale.
© 2025 By Ari Esters.