Most hardware problems don't come in neat packages. A research lab needs a laser control system that's also a data acquisition platform. An industrial client needs IoT monitoring that has to pass CE certification. A deep-tech startup has a prototype that works on a bench but nobody knows how to turn it into a product. These aren't "buy a board and write firmware" problems - they need a team that can own the whole system, from the first schematic sketch through the final user manual.
That's what we do at Jupiter Electronics. This page is a walkthrough of our custom systems offer - what we build, how we work, and what makes us different from single-discipline engineering shops.
Three reasons clients work with us
Full integration under one roof
Electronics, firmware, photonics, mechatronics, software and security - all delivered by one team in one shared design conversation. No vendor handoffs, no "that's not our job" moments.
Verified supplier network
Years of sourcing components for scientific and industrial instruments. We know which suppliers are reliable, which chips actually ship, and which parts to avoid for long-lived products.
Certification & audit experience
CE marking, EMC compliance, functional safety, GDPR, EU AI Act. We design with certification in mind from day one - not as a last-minute scramble that delays your launch.
What we build
Custom systems engineering is a broad term, so here's the concrete list of what our team actually delivers. If your project fits one of these categories - or combines several - we're a natural fit.
Scientific Instruments
Custom spectrometers, cloud chambers, cuvette holders, precision measurement platforms, data acquisition systems for research labs.
Laser Control Systems
Driver electronics, beam steering, pulse timing, thermal management, safety interlocks for pulsed and CW laser systems.
Optics & Optomechanics
Optical layouts, optomechanical mounts, fiber optics, light sources and custom illumination, beam paths, alignment fixtures, kinematic stages.
Photonics Hardware
Photodetector front-ends, low-noise amplification chains, optical measurement instruments, diagnostics equipment, integration of commercial optics with custom electronics.
Industrial Automation
Custom controllers, PLC alternatives, sensor networks, process monitoring, integration with existing SCADA or MES systems.
IoT & Monitoring
Environmental sensing platforms, remote telemetry, cloud dashboards, secure OTA update infrastructure, from a single device up to fleet-scale deployments.
Mechatronics & UAV
Motor control, precision actuators, flight controllers, motion systems, custom drones and robotic subsystems.
Defense Electronics
Hardened communications, secure telemetry, counter-UAS hardware, specialized sensors, signal processing platforms for defense-adjacent projects.
Custom Scientific Software
Instrument control apps, experiment sequencing, data pipelines, replacing MatLab when it stops being enough. Read our deep dive.
Problems we solve
Most of the teams that come to us have the same few pain points. Here are the most common ones and how we address each:
What you're dealing with
- Too many vendors to coordinate for one instrument
- Off-the-shelf hardware doesn't meet your spec
- Prototype works on the bench, nobody knows how to manufacture it
- Integration gaps between hardware, firmware and software teams
- Certification risk that could delay your launch by months
- Legacy system that can't be upgraded without breaking it
- PhD students leave and take all the knowledge with them
How we solve it
- One integrated team owns the whole system end-to-end
- Custom design built exactly to your requirements
- Prototype-to-production experience, DFM from day one
- All disciplines in one design conversation, not 5 email chains
- Certification built into the architecture, not bolted on later
- Modern refactors with respect for what's still worth keeping
- Documentation that a non-author can pick up and run with
How we work - our process
Every project is different, but the workflow below is what a typical custom systems engagement looks like. Timelines vary from 6 weeks for a focused prototype up to 12+ months for a full lab-to-production cycle.
Discovery & feasibility
We start with a conversation - what are you trying to achieve, what are your constraints (time, budget, performance), what have you tried. We flag technical risks early and tell you if your idea is fundamentally hard before you commit real budget.
Specification & architecture
Written spec, block diagrams, BOM estimates, key component selection, interfaces between subsystems. This is where we make the big decisions - which MCU, which protocols, which enclosure strategy, which certification path.
Rapid prototyping
First working hardware on your desk in weeks. Often a mix of dev boards wired together, a draft PCB, and early firmware. The goal is to validate the hardest technical assumptions before we commit to the final design.
Iteration & validation
Second and third PCB revisions, firmware features, lab testing against your real-world requirements. This is where most of the engineering happens - and where a single team (instead of five vendors) pays off the most.
Pre-production & DFM
Design for manufacturing review, test fixture design, production documentation, component lifecycle check, certification preparation (CE, EMC, FCC as needed). At this stage your product is ready to actually be built by a contract manufacturer.
Production support
We stay involved during the first production runs - resolving issues that show up in quantity, refining the firmware based on real usage, tuning the test fixtures. Most single-discipline shops walk away after delivery. We don't.
Ongoing maintenance & upgrades
Firmware updates, hardware revisions for component obsolescence, new features, failure analysis. Custom systems live for years - your engineering partner should too.
Evidence - projects we've delivered
The best way to understand what we can build is to look at what we already have. These are real projects, each showing a different slice of the capabilities above.
Diffusion Cloud Chamber
Custom particle detector for cosmic ray visualization. Three-stage Peltier stack, precision thermal control, custom illumination, ESP32-based control with a PyQt operator app.
ThermoControl
Cuvette holder for thermoelectric electroporation spectroscopy. Software-controlled non-contact temperature regulation, tight integration with the client's existing spectrometer.
OrcaTron
Complete grow automation platform replacing 5+ separate controllers. CO2, temperature, humidity, soil moisture, pH/EC, automatic watering, fertilizer calculation. Cloud dashboard and local UI.
Knowledge-Vortex
AI-powered field service assistant with RAG pipeline, product-folder scoping and LLM search. Cut service call prep time from 20 minutes to under 2 minutes.
We also have photonics and laser work and other projects we can walk you through on request - some of them anonymized for client confidentiality.
Industries we serve
Our capabilities fit three broad sectors. Each has its own language, its own regulatory landscape, and its own definition of "good enough" - and we've worked across all three:
The common thread across science, industry and defense is the same: complex systems where multiple disciplines have to work together, where "good enough" isn't good enough, and where the cost of a mistake is high. That's exactly where our combined skill set earns its keep. Read more in Why Full-Stack Engineering Is Our Edge.
Who works on your project
Our team combines 20+ years of hardware engineering experience (electronics, photonics, mechatronics) with 10+ years of software and security leadership at global SaaS companies (Avast, Jamf). That mix is unusual - most engineering shops are either hardware-first or software-first, rarely both at a serious level. Meet the team to see the full picture.
Every project gets a dedicated lead engineer, backed by specialists pulled in as needed for the specific disciplines involved. You won't be handed off between departments - there are no departments to hand off between.
When to talk to us
Talk to us early. The best time to involve a custom systems partner is while you're still writing the spec, not after you've committed to a wrong architecture. A 30-minute call can save months of rework.
We take on projects ranging from focused consulting engagements (a few weeks) up to full year-long lab-to-production cycles. We're happy to quote fixed-scope work and we're also available as a fractional CTO if that's the right shape for your team.
Have a custom system to build?
Tell us what you're working on. We'll come back within a day or two with honest feedback on feasibility, rough scope, and whether we think we're a good fit. No sales pressure.
Start a conversation