Agentic AI Is Coming for Your Firmware Team (And That’s a Good Thing)
Within 18 months, agentic AI will write better embedded C than most junior firmware engineers. Here’s what that means for hardware startups — and what boards need to ask.
Available for NED & Advisory Roles
Technical leadership
for electronics
innovation
Non-Executive Director and strategic advisor with 25+ years leading the development of electronics products — from IoT wearables and battery energy systems to aviation retail and Industry 4.0 solutions.
25+
Years Experience
5
Patents Filed
8+
Sectors
3×
Award-Winning Team
// About
Neil Carter
Entrepreneurial technologist, board-level advisor, and hands-on electronics leader.
I'm an entrepreneurial Managing Director and technologist with over 25 years of experience leading digital transformation, building scalable businesses, and developing products for high-growth and start-up organisations.
As Managing Director of Ignys, a 25-person Electronic Design and Software Development Consultancy, I led the company to three awards for Electronic Design Team of the Year, doubled the engineering headcount, and significantly grew turnover and EBIT. Projects ranged from ground-breaking battery controllers for BESS to heating systems for a household-name energy company and a reimagined Sinclair computer for a record-breaking Kickstarter.
My career spans founding IoT ventures, serving as CTO for connected-worker wearable technology companies, and delivering technology across regulated industries including aviation, oil & gas, and payments. I hold an HND in Electronic Engineering and have five patents pending in wearable and hazard-sensing technology.
Energy & BESS
Battery controllers & heating systems
IoT & Industry 4.0
Connected workers, sensors & gateways
Aviation & Rail
Onboard retail POS & payment solutions
Oil & Gas
ATEX wearables & safety systems
Payments & Compliance
PCI-DSS, EMV & ISO27001
Agritech
IoT solutions for agriculture
// Services
How I can help your business
Flexible engagement models tailored to your stage of growth and specific technical challenges.
01
Non-Executive Director
Independent board-level oversight with deep technical understanding. I bring governance, challenge, and strategic guidance to boards navigating complex product development and digital transformation.
02
Advisory Board Member
Strategic counsel without the formality of a full NED role. Ideal for startups and scale-ups seeking experienced guidance on product strategy, technology choices, and market positioning.
03
Fractional / Interim CTO
Hands-on technical leadership when you need it most — whether you're between CTOs, scaling your engineering team, or tackling a pivotal product development phase.
04
Technical Due Diligence
Rigorous assessment of technology, architecture, and engineering capability for investors and acquirers. I evaluate IP, team competence, technical debt, scalability, and product-market fit.
05
Product Development Oversight
End-to-end management of electronics product development — from concept and prototyping through EMC/MNO certification to manufacturing. I've delivered products spanning IoT, wearables, and energy systems.
06
Strategic Consulting & Mentoring
Coaching CTOs, engineering leaders, and founders through growth challenges. I help build high-performing teams, define technology roadmaps, and establish operational excellence frameworks.
07
AI Strategy & Adoption
From boardroom strategy to engineering bench — I help businesses at every level harness AI effectively. For leadership teams, that means identifying where AI delivers genuine operational ROI, not technology for its own sake. For electronics and firmware teams, it means practical adoption of AI-assisted design, code generation, PCB review, and test automation — with a clear focus on productivity gains that hold up under compliance and quality scrutiny.
08
Innovate UK Grant Advisory
Strategic guidance on Innovate UK grant applications for technology-led businesses. I help founders and R&D teams craft compelling applications that articulate genuine innovation, demonstrate technical feasibility, and align with competition criteria. From Smart Grants to Collaborative R&D, I bring experience of what assessors look for — helping you avoid common pitfalls and significantly improve your chances of funding success.
09
Bespoke Test Solutions Advisory
Helping electronics companies design and specify the right test strategy for their products and production volumes. From defining test coverage and selecting fixture architectures to evaluating in-circuit, functional, and boundary scan approaches — I provide independent, vendor-neutral guidance that balances test depth, capital cost, and throughput. Whether you're scaling a prototype to production or rethinking legacy test infrastructure, I help you make decisions that stand up at volume.
// Track Record
Career highlights
Key leadership roles across electronics, IoT, and technology-driven businesses.
2022 — 2025
Managing Director
Ignys, Nottingham
Led a 25-person electronic design and software consultancy to three "Electronic Design Team of the Year" awards. Doubled engineering headcount and significantly grew turnover and EBIT. Delivered projects including BESS battery controllers, energy heating systems, Agritech IoT, and a record-breaking Kickstarter product.
2021 — 2022
Founder
IoT Foundry, Leicester
Architected end-to-end IoT solutions for Industry 4.0, mining, logistics, construction, and oil & gas. Designed communication stacks across GPRS, Cat-M1, NB-IoT, LoRa, and BLE for global deployments.
2019 — 2021
CTO / Board Member
Wearable Technology, Leicester
Led connected-worker IoT platform development on AWS and FreeRTOS, interfacing with FTSE100 enterprises including BP and Volvo. Managed ATEX-certified hardware, cellular connectivity, and ML-driven predictive analytics.
2015 — 2017
Divisional Director — Onboard Retail
Touchstar Onboard Solutions
Delivered SaaS POS, logistics, and payment solutions for British Airways, Jet2, Thomas Cook, Great Western Railways, and others. Managed PCI-DSS and EMV compliance.
2010 — 2015
Head of Implementation
Green 4 Solutions
Delivered scalable e-commerce and ticketing platforms for premiership football clubs, Hollywood Bowl Group, Eden Project, and international sports venues including Turkish football leagues.
5 Patents Pending
Innovations in wearable light-emitting device looms, hazardous-condition clothing, control unit communication, and proximity warning systems.
// Insights
Thoughts & perspectives
Observations from the intersection of electronics, leadership, and product development.
AI / Firmware
Startups / Board Strategy
Most Early-Stage Startups Don’t Need a Full-Time CTO
They need someone who’s been in the trenches — who can spot the difference between a technical decision that saves you six months and one that quietly buries you.
IIoT / Scale-Up
The IIoT Pilot Graveyard: Why Most ‘Successful’ Pilots Never Make It to Production
Industrial IoT has a dirty secret: most “successful pilots” never make it to production. The problem is structural, not commercial.
Compliance / Cybersecurity
The EU Cyber Resilience Act Is Coming — And Most Electronics Boards Aren’t Ready
The CRA mandates cybersecurity throughout the product lifecycle. Non-compliance carries penalties of up to €15 million. Is your board prepared?
AI / Engineering Culture
Vibe Coding Is Making Us Worse Engineers. Here’s What We Should Be Doing Instead.
AI-generated code that “seems to work” is a survivable risk in web development. In embedded systems and firmware, the consequences are fundamentally different.
Startups / Governance
Stop Giving Away Equity for Skills You Can Buy: Tech NED vs Technical Cofounder
You’re giving away 10–30% of your equity to someone whose primary skill is writing code. There’s a more cost-effective, lower-risk way to get technical leadership.
Edge AI / Embedded Systems
We’re Reaching an Inflection Point in Embedded Design
MCUs with dedicated NPUs are shipping at price points that make edge AI viable in volume products. The real bottleneck? Firmware teams.
Energy / Product Strategy
Why Battery Energy Storage Is the Next Frontier for Electronics Design Consultancies
As BESS demand accelerates, the opportunity for electronics design firms goes far beyond battery management — it’s about rethinking energy architecture from first principles.
IoT / Connectivity
Choosing the Right LPWAN: LoRa vs NB-IoT vs Cat-M1 for Industrial Deployments
After deploying connected-worker solutions across oil rigs, construction sites, and logistics hubs in four continents, here’s what I’ve learned about picking the right connectivity.
Governance / Leadership
What Boards Get Wrong About Technical Due Diligence (And How to Fix It)
Most due diligence processes assess code quality and architecture but miss the signals that really matter — team capability, technical culture, and product-market alignment.
Wearables / Product Development
The Rise of Wearable Electronics: From Consumer Gadgets to Industrial Safety
Industrial wearables demand ATEX certification, multi-sensor integration, and hostile-environment resilience. Here’s what building them for oil rigs and construction sites really takes.
Compliance / Global Markets
Navigating Global Electronic Product Compliance: What Every Board Should Know
From CE and UKCA marking to FCC, ATEX, and MNO certification — why compliance must be a design input, not an afterthought, and the questions boards should be asking.
// Get in Touch
Let's discuss how I can
Let's discuss how I can
add value to your board
Whether you're seeking a NED, advisory support, or interim CTO leadership, I'd welcome a conversation about your challenges.