Product Development for Boston Founders, From North Jersey
Design, prototyping, and manufacturing hand-off for Boston inventors and hardware founders, done by mechanical engineers in North Jersey. You keep 100% of the IP. Prototypes ship to you; reviews happen on video.
Who develops products for Boston founders?
RMA Engineering develops products for Boston founders remotely from North Jersey: mechanical engineers on staff design the product, build the prototypes in our own workshop, and hand off to manufacturing, while you review every stage on video calls and hold every prototype in your hands a few days after it is built. We have done this for more than ten years, hold a BBB A+ rating, and answer every inquiry within 12 hours.
The workshop is closed to visitors on purpose. Nobody walks past your prototype on a shop tour, because there are no shop tours, and that policy is part of how client IP stays protected. It also means working with a Boston founder is the same engagement as working with one across the river: drawings, CAD, and prototypes move to you; you do not have to move to them.
Why do Boston founders work with an engineering firm in North Jersey?
Because Boston produces more hardware ideas than it has affordable engineering bench time for, and a first product does not need a firm with a $25,000 minimum. RMA works with Boston founders remotely, in the same time zone, with prototypes arriving the next business day and fees that start around $2,000. The engagement is built for founders who need a manufacturable design and want to own it outright, not for enterprise programs with a procurement department.
What kinds of Boston products fit RMA?
Mechanical consumer products, lab and workshop tools, housings and enclosures for hardware startups that already have their electronics figured out, and products coming out of university or accelerator programs that have a working proof-of-concept and need production-intent engineering. If a product needs medical device certification, we will tell you on the first call what part of the work we do and what you will need a regulatory consultant for.
What does RMA deliver?
Every project ends with files you own: 3D CAD in STEP and native formats, 2D drawings with dimensions, tolerances, materials, and finishes, a bill of materials, manufacturing specifications, and assembly instructions, plus the physical prototypes built along the way. Fees are hourly and per deliverable; they start around $2,000, and basic products typically run $6,000–15,000 through design and prototyping to a manufacturing-ready package. No royalties, no equity, no licensing back to us.
How does remote product development from North Jersey actually work?
Four steps, none of which require a visit.
- Free 30-Minute Design Review. A video call with an engineer. Bring the sketch, the render, or the prototype you have. You leave with a scoped design stage and a fee estimate.
- Design. CAD reviews on screen-share, drawings delivered as PDFs, decisions recorded in writing. Typical design stage: 4–12 weeks.
- Prototyping. Built in our workshop, shipped to you. Ground shipping from North Jersey reaches Boston the next business day; overnight is available when a review cannot wait. Proof-of-concept builds run $100–2,000; production-intent builds $5,000–30,000+.
- Manufacturing hand-off. A production-ready package that any molder or machine shop can quote, with tooling ($5,000–50,000) and first runs (8–16 weeks) planned with you, domestic or overseas.
Not ready for a call? Run your idea through the free Reality Check first.
What do Boston founders ask us first?
Boston founders start the same way everyone does: a Free 30-Minute Design Review with an engineer, on video, this week. Bring what you have.