Dojo Five
Editor's pick #1Saint Paul boutique of 26 engineers building FDA-ready firmware exclusively for connected medical devices and diagnostics
What is Dojo Five?
Dojo Five was founded in 2018 and is headquartered in Saint Paul, Minnesota with a team of 26 engineers. The firm's stated scope is narrow and deliberate: production-ready embedded firmware for connected medical devices and diagnostics, delivered on time and on budget, without the broader industrial or consumer electronics work that dilutes focus at larger firms. For an RFP built around a specific medical device program, that narrowness reads as depth rather than a limitation, since every engineer on the team works inside the same regulatory and reliability constraints day to day.
Dojo Five works primarily with clients in Medical devices, Diagnostics sectors. Its primary differentiator is: Firmware delivery scoped exclusively around FDA-regulated medical device and diagnostics programs, not a general embedded practice.
Dojo Five tech stack and services
| Service area |
|---|
| Firmware Development |
| Medical Device Firmware |
| Bare-Metal Programming |
| Functional Safety |
| Firmware Consulting |
Dojo Five pricing
Short answer: Dojo Five uses a project-based firmware engagements for medical device programs pricing approach. Minimum engagement is not publicly disclosed; a discovery call is required.
| Engagement model | Typical range | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Project-based firmware development | Variable; depends on team size | Large programmes or team augmentation |
Dojo Five pros and cons
| Advantages | Things to consider |
|---|---|
| +Sole focus on connected medical devices and diagnostics means the entire team works inside FDA-relevant constraints, not a fraction of it | -26 engineers caps concurrent capacity; an RFP needing parallel workstreams across several device programs may need to confirm bench depth first |
| +Stated commitment to on-time, on-budget delivery is a specific procurement claim, not a generic marketing line | -Its medical-device-only focus is a narrower fit for an RFP spanning non-medical hardware categories |
| +7 years of operating history built entirely around this one vertical | -No published pricing or minimum engagement figure |
| +Small team size gives a procurement contact direct access to senior firmware engineers rather than account layers |
Dojo Five vs alternatives
How Dojo Five compares to the other top Embedded Firmware service providers.
| Company | Best for | Key difference | Rating | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lemberg Solutions | RFPs needing hardware and firmware scoped under one... | In-house hardware lab plus NXP, STMicroelectronics, and Microchip partner status covers both the board bring-up and firmware line items in a single SOW | 4.8 | Full comparison |
| Conclusive Engineering | RFPs needing PCB development bundled with firmware under... | Listed Nordic Semiconductor and Texas Instruments partner combining in-house PCB development with firmware and FreeBSD depth | 4.5 | Full comparison |
| Voler Systems | Long-track-record vendor for ultra-low-power wearable and biomedical hardware+firmware. | 46 years of continuous operation combining analog, FPGA, and firmware disciplines specifically for ultra-low-power sensor products | 4.5 | Full comparison |
| A2e Technologies | ITAR-restricted defense and space hardware+firmware RFPs. | ITAR certification combined with anti-tamper hardware security design, a specific credential defense RFPs screen for before technical evaluation | 4.3 | Full comparison |
| ByteSnap Design | Connected-device RFPs needing broad wireless protocol coverage. | Wireless protocol breadth across ZigBee, LoRa, Wi-Fi, BLE, and GSM combined with in-house electronics design | 4.3 | Full comparison |
| Promenade Software | Medical device firmware RFPs prioritizing development speed within... | Applies web-framework development speed to FDA-relevant safety-critical medical device firmware, a combination most medical firmware vendors don't claim | 4.3 | Full comparison |
| Embien Technologies | Full-lifecycle RFPs from concept through manufacturing handoff. | One-stop scope covering ideation, hardware design, firmware, cloud integration, and manufacturing handoff under a single vendor | 4.3 | Full comparison |
| NOVO Engineering | Multi-discipline RFPs spanning mechanical, electrical, and firmware. | Systems-engineering scope built for programs that bundle mechanical, electrical, and firmware requirements into one vendor relationship | 4.3 | Full comparison |
| DE Design Works | Rugged industrial, medical, or military RFPs needing PCB... | 23 years of combined PCB, hardware, and firmware design specifically for rugged industrial, medical, and military applications | 4.3 | Full comparison |
| Promwad | Automotive and telecom RFPs needing ASIL-C plus PCB... | ASIL-C functional-safety experience in automotive ECU and infotainment work alongside full-stack electronics design capacity | 4.3 | Full comparison |
| WebbyLab | RFPs bundling hardware selection, firmware, and the connected... | Full-cycle delivery from hardware selection through firmware and the connected application layer under one team | 4.2 | Full comparison |
| Sigma Design | Multi-discipline RFPs needing industrial design and firmware at... | 283-person product design and engineering firm spanning industrial design, mechanical engineering, and firmware across five continents | 4.2 | Full comparison |
| USA Firmware | Small to mid-size RFPs wanting one accountable hardware+firmware... | Managed design services spanning electrical engineering, firmware, FPGA, and Linux under a single discovery-to-production process | 4.2 | Full comparison |
| Integra Sources | RFPs seeking a high-project-volume full-cycle hardware+firmware vendor. | More than 250 completed hardware and firmware projects for over 100 clients across four continents | 4.1 | Full comparison |
| RCM Technologies | Defense and aerospace RFPs requiring DAL-A mission-critical software... | DAL-A mission and safety-critical software verification and validation backed by over 50 years of aerospace and defense engineering history | 4.2 | Full comparison |
| Yalantis | Healthcare RFPs needing compliance-first PCB-to-cloud delivery. | Compliance-first full-cycle delivery from PCB design through firmware, cloud, and AI for medical device and healthcare programs | 4.1 | Full comparison |
| InTechHouse | RFPs requiring a publicly disclosed, EU-certified R&D partner. | Publicly listed on Warsaw's NewConnect market since 2015, giving financial transparency most private competing bidders don't offer | 4.1 | Full comparison |
| Klika Tech | RFPs needing multi-continent delivery for AWS-integrated IoT hardware... | AWS IoT and DevOps competency partner status combined with STMicroelectronics hardware partnership and multi-continent delivery centers | 4.0 | Full comparison |
| Electrobit Technology | RFPs needing firmware plus PCB fabrication and box... | Turnkey scope from PCB fabrication and firmware through SMT assembly and box build under a single vendor | 4.0 | Full comparison |
| Softeq | Full-stack RFPs bundling firmware with a consumer mobile... | 28 years of full-stack hardware, firmware, mobile, and cloud delivery under one vendor | 4.0 | Full comparison |
| Enginuity Inc. | Defence, marine, and industrial automation RFPs where firmware... | Multidisciplinary aerospace, defence, and marine engineering scope with firmware integrated alongside PLC, SCADA, and robotics work | 4.0 | Full comparison |
| L&T Technology Services (LTTS) | Enterprise RFPs prioritizing public-company scale and vendor stability. | Publicly listed engineering research and development conglomerate delivering 500-plus embedded system designs annually | 3.9 | Full comparison |
| AIMDek Technologies | MedTech and Software-as-a-Medical-Device RFPs. | Dedicated Software as a Medical Device and connected health focus with compliance and safety testing services included | 3.9 | Full comparison |
| N-iX | Enterprise RFPs needing firmware alongside cloud, data, and... | Enterprise-scale delivery capacity across 60-plus completed IoT and embedded projects inside a broader software engineering portfolio | 3.9 | Full comparison |
| A-listware | Staff augmentation RFPs needing remote embedded firmware engineering... | Remote engineering team delivery model with embedded firmware and legacy modernization as named service lines | 3.9 | Full comparison |
| Capgemini Engineering | Enterprise RFPs prioritizing global engineering-consulting scale. | Global network of silicon and embedded engineers operating under a large, publicly backed engineering-consulting parent | 3.9 | Full comparison |
| Zone7 Engineering | Small RFPs needing direct founder-level electronics and firmware... | Founder-led electronics and firmware practice covering the full path from PCB design through production readiness | 3.8 | Full comparison |
Dojo Five FAQ
What is Dojo Five?
Saint Paul boutique of 26 engineers building FDA-ready firmware exclusively for connected medical devices and diagnostics
How much does Dojo Five charge?
Dojo Five uses project-based firmware engagements for medical device programs pricing. Minimum engagement is not publicly disclosed. A discovery call is required to get project-specific quotes.
What tech stack does Dojo Five use?
Dojo Five works with C, C++, Medical Device Firmware Standards, ARM Cortex-M. Primary industries served include Medical devices, Diagnostics.
Is Dojo Five right for enterprise?
FDA-ready firmware for connected medical devices and diagnostics. 26 team size. Key consideration: 26 engineers caps concurrent capacity; an RFP needing parallel workstreams across several device programs may need to confirm bench depth first.
What are the best Dojo Five alternatives?
The best alternatives to Dojo Five depend on your use case. Top options are:
- Lemberg Solutions: in-house hardware lab plus nxp, stmicroelectronics, and microchip partner status covers both the board bring-up and firmware line items in a single sow
- Conclusive Engineering: listed nordic semiconductor and texas instruments partner combining in-house pcb development with firmware and freebsd depth
- Voler Systems: 46 years of continuous operation combining analog, fpga, and firmware disciplines specifically for ultra-low-power sensor products
Compare Dojo Five with other Embedded Firmware service providers
Verify all details directly with Dojo Five before making a decision.