I'm Lee Wilkerson. After years in startups, on startup budgets, I've had to
learn a whole range of disciplines to connect the dots and carry a project all
the way from a rough idea to a finished product.
I designed and built a wedge camper and a composite truck cap for the Tesla
Cybertruck — from SolidWorks surfacing through CNC-cut molds, vacuum-infused
parts, and twenty delivered units. Two design patents, utility patents pending,
and a launch press release that pulled millions of views in a week.
The full site is preserved here as part of the portfolio.
Helped build a kombucha brewery from a row of empty warehouses, with some
great friends, and had a genuinely great time doing it. The equipment side
covered the full industrial range: fermentation tanks, glycol chilling,
CO2 distribution, refrigeration build-outs, keg and tank cleaning systems,
and custom automated canning lines and depalletizers. Just as much of the
experience was on the business side: raising money, hiring, and building a
team that made the whole thing worth doing.
Designed biodigesters that took in food waste straight from a grocery
store, weighed it, ground it, and processed it on-site, continuously
monitoring pH and moisture to hold the ideal environment for breakdown,
scrubbing the exhaust air of odor, and reporting everything back to the
cloud so the store could track and reduce its own waste. I led multiple
generations of that design, including the redesign that took the V2 unit
from a $300k price tag down to $70k, the version that was actually built
and delivered in numbers.
Designed production tooling and ran knifecoater systems for precision silicone layers, troubleshooting cure defects and adhesion issues on the line.
Breedt Production & Tooling Shop Manager
Managed a 5-person machine shop team at 24, running CNC mills, waterjet, laser, and sheet metal to build tools and fixtures under master toolmaker Andries Breedt.
Downtown Concrete Concrete Finisher
Worked a concrete construction crew, pouring and hand-finishing sidewalks, retaining walls, and sophisticated stamped patios on job sites.
Universal Aerospace Machinist
General machining, quality inspection, and inventory on aerospace components, one of my first jobs, right out of high school.
Services
What can I help you with?
Everything on this list is something I've done on a real project — usually
my own, with my own money on the line, which is the best teacher there is.
If your job needs a few of these at once, that's normal. Most do.
Product Design & CAD
Product design and development — concept through production-ready
3D modeling in SolidWorks: surfacing, organic geometry, large assemblies
Design for manufacturability — designing it so it can actually be made at a price that works
Reverse engineering and 3D scanning
Photorealistic Renders & Product Animation
Photo-realistic product rendering (SolidWorks Visualize) — stills that look like finished product photography before a physical part exists
Prototype development — functional parts, not just something that looks right on a shelf
Concept-to-prototype product development
Design iteration and testing before committing to tooling
3D Printing & Additive Manufacturing
Design for 3D printing (DfAM) offered as its own service — designing a part to print cleanly and hold tolerance, not just treating a printer like a mini injection molder
In-house print farm: four QIDI Plus4 FDM printers running in parallel, plus one resin printer for finer-resolution, small-format parts
Large-format prints built as smaller sectioned components joined with interlocking dovetail joints — no size limit imposed by a single printer's bed
Mold plug fabrication using that same segmented, dovetailed approach — a low-cost way to build oversized plugs for composite tooling
Functional prototyping and low-volume production parts across a range of materials (PLA, PETG, ABS, resin)
Machining & Fabrication
CNC machining consulting: mill, lathe, waterjet, laser, sheet metal
Precision fabrication and surface grinding to tight tolerance
Sheet metal and one-off part fabrication
Tooling, Fixtures & Production Aids
Assembly jig design and fabrication — holding parts in the right position, every time, for repeatable builds
Welding fixture design for consistent, accurate weldments
Production aids: gauges, go/no-go checks, and other shop-floor tools that catch errors before they become scrap
Tooling built to take a tolerance stack-up problem off the table so it doesn't need to be solved twice
Grounded in years running a machine shop tool room, where this was daily work under a master toolmaker, not a one-off
Composites & Sandwich Panel Design
Composite part design
Mold design and fabrication — plugs, multi-section large-format molds
Vacuum infusion and hand layup consulting
Sandwich panel and core construction — foam (PVC/PET) and honeycomb cores for strength-to-weight-critical parts
Cosmetic finishing guidance — gel coat, bodywork, the stuff that makes parts sellable
Manufacturing & Process
Manufacturing process engineering: working directly with production teams to diagnose and fix issues on the floor, not just on paper
Production troubleshooting: cure defects, gel inclusions, substrate adhesion, the problems that show up after the line is already running
Equipment selection and specification
Facility design and build-out
Global sourcing and vendor management
Industrial Equipment Specing & Installation
Industrial equipment specification — matching pumps, motors, tanks, and process gear to the actual duty cycle, not just a catalog spec sheet
Installation and commissioning of production equipment: fermentation tanks, glycol chillers, compressors, conveyors, and other process machinery
Utility tie-in and layout planning — power, compressed air, water, and drainage routed to match the equipment footprint
Vendor coordination for turnkey equipment quoting, specing, and delivery scheduling
Startup and commissioning support — getting new equipment running to spec before it's handed off for daily production use
Startup & Business
Startup advisory — from someone who has been on both the winning and losing end
Pitch deck development and financial modeling
Funding strategy: SAFEs, convertible notes, what the terms actually mean for you
Brand development
Engineering education and mentorship — I currently advise through the SLO Small Business Development Center and genuinely enjoy working with students and first-time founders
R&D support and engineering project management
Patents & Trademarks (not a patent attorney, but hands-on filing experience)
Patent strategy for early-stage products — sorting out whether design, utility, or both make sense for what you've built
Guidance through the filing process, from provisional application to issued patent, working alongside patent counsel
Trademark selection and filing guidance for brand names, logos, and product names
A clear-eyed view of enforcement — what a patent actually protects you from, and where its real limits are
Firsthand experience: design patents issued and utility patents pending on Space Campers' own products
Website & App Development
Professional website design and development — I've worked alongside designers and web developers on past projects, and now build sites like this one myself, using modern AI-assisted tools, at a fraction of the traditional cost and timeline
Custom domain setup and configuration
Custom business email setup and mail forwarding
DMARC, SPF, and DKIM configuration so your email actually lands in inboxes instead of spam
Basic web app builds — internal tools, simple customer-facing apps, and prototypes built the same AI-assisted way
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AI Onboarding & Training
Claude onboarding for your business — setting it up to actually understand your operations, files, and workflow, not just answer generic questions
Personnel training on working with AI day-to-day, so it becomes a real part of the workflow instead of a tool nobody opens
Setup as a working "personal assistant": drafting emails, summarizing documents, managing schedules, and tracking projects
Automating repetitive tasks — meeting notes, status updates, document generation, and file organization
Ongoing support as your team's use cases evolve
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Fluid System Design & Plumbing
Fluid system design for breweries, kombucheries, and other process facilities, the kind I built from scratch for Whalebird's own production line
Process and utility plumbing design and installation
Bioreactor and fermentation vessel design, including anaerobic digesters built for autonomous, unattended operation
Tank geometry as a process control variable: I found that shallow, flat tank shapes can hold kombucha under 0.5% ABV with no other intervention, just from oxygen exposure
SCOBY and yeast culture management, master seed culture methodology, and generation-drift detection
Lab QC process design: yeast counts, acid profiles, and a regular review cadence with an outside lab
Odor control system design
Electrical Advising (not a certified electrician, but extensive hands-on experience)
120V / 240V / 480V three-phase systems and motor wiring
Sanding and surface prep — bringing a raw or damaged part to paint- and wrap-ready condition
Buffing and polishing for a finished, sellable surface
Paint prep and application guidance, including color-matching and cosmetic restoration on faded or damaged parts
Vinyl wrap application and design — full wraps, accent panels, and custom graphics
Gel coat and bodywork touch-up on composite parts
Custom Merchandise & Branded Buildouts
Custom tap handles and drink service hardware — laser-cut, CNC-machined, or cast to match a brand
Branded bar and counter builds, from concept through fabrication and finish
Menu boards and branded signage as part of a full buildout package
Point-of-sale and retail displays built to hold up to daily use, not just look good on day one
Branded merchandise and one-off promotional pieces
Laser Art & Signage
Laser-cut and engraved artwork — decorative pieces, wall art, and custom designs
Business signage: indoor and outdoor, dimensional lettering, cut-to-shape designs
Custom awards, plaques, and recognition pieces
Material range: wood, acrylic, metal, and more
Full process, concept sketch through laser-ready file to the finished cut or engraved piece
Material & Vendor Sourcing
Material sourcing across raw stock, textiles, machined parts, injection-molded plastics, sheet metal, and sandwich/composite panels
Vendor selection and management — on-demand manufacturing platforms (Xometry, SendCutSend), local job shops, and overseas suppliers, matched to a part's tolerance, volume, and budget
Local vs. global sourcing strategy — knowing when speed and quality control justify paying more domestically, and when going global makes more sense
Custom-ordered component sourcing — specifying and procuring off-the-shelf industrial hardware to spec, like gas struts, springs, or actuators, rather than fabricating from scratch
Awareness of import tariffs, customs duties, and compliance requirements when sourcing overseas — factoring landed cost, not just unit price, into vendor decisions
Vendor relationship management — the kind of trust-building that keeps a supply chain reliable once volume ramps up
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Oversized & Heavy Operations
Rigging and equipment moving plans — routing, clearances, and hardware selection for getting something big from truck to final position
Facility logistics for large equipment: doorway and access planning, floor loading, and utility tie-in sequencing
Oversized build strategy — breaking a large part or assembly into sections that can actually be shipped and moved, then reassembled on site
Heavy equipment installation and commissioning coordination
Safety planning for heavy lifts and oversized loads, working alongside licensed riggers and crane operators where the job calls for it
General Construction & Facility Work
Framing and rough carpentry for interior and facility buildouts
Concrete work: pours, finishing, patios, and flatwork
Interior buildouts — walls, flooring, fixtures, and finish work for shops, offices, and production spaces
General handyman and facility maintenance — the day-to-day fixes that keep a space running
Hands-on trade experience, not a licensed general contractor — larger jobs that require a C-license get scoped accordingly and routed to the right licensed professional
Facilities Planning & Permitting
Facility layout design in CAD — space planning, equipment placement, and workflow layout for a new or growing business
Permit application support — preparing layout drawings and packages for submission to city planning and building departments
Navigating the permitting process — knowing what a plan check actually looks for and packaging drawings so they don't bounce back with questions
Coordination with architects, engineers, and code consultants when a project needs a stamped drawing or certified calculation
Change-of-use and tenant improvement planning for existing spaces
A note on scope: I'm a degreed mechanical engineer, not a licensed Professional
Engineer. Work requiring a PE stamp — structural calculations for permits,
certified analyses, code-compliance sign-off — is outside what I offer, and
I'll tell you so and point you to the right person.
Tell me what you're trying to build, where it's stuck, or what it costs too
much to make. No forms, no discovery-call funnel — just email me and we'll
talk about whether I'm the right person for it.
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