Jon is available for hire
Hire JonJon Washington
Verified Expert in Management Consulting
Management Consulting Expert
Akron, OH, United States
Toptal member since March 19, 2026
Bio
As a founder, Jon supports organizations by building their capability to grow. He delivers strategy, leadership, and growth skill development by providing education, tools, and tech stack recommendations. He executes change management and transformation by focusing on the intersections of strategy, innovation, supply chain, and intellectual property. The sectors supported are diverse, and Jon has worked exclusively with senior leadership operating teams of over 100 global organizations.
Career Highlights
Founder | Edge AI & Hardware Platforms
The Innovation Garage
Senior Director – Mobile Architecture, Always-On Sensing, Thermal/Power Envelopes & Edge AI Research
Diebold Nixdorf
Co-founder & Project Engineer
Design Dynamics
Education Highlights
Master of Business Administration (MBA)
Malone University
Bachelor's Degree
University of Akron
Certification Highlights
Innovation Master Black Belt
Innovation Institute
Lean Supply Chain
University of Michigan
Project Management Professional (PMP)
Project Management Institute (PMI)
Case Studies
Innovation, Growth Mindset, & New Product & Services Pipeline Development
InnovationProcess InnovationDisruptive InnovationTraining & Training Content DevelopmentTraining WorkshopsGo-to-market (GTM) Strategy+ 137 more
Enterprise Financial Performance Management System Deployment
Finance TransformationProgram ManagementRisk ManagementADKAR Change ModelAgile Project ManagementBusiness Models+ 85 more
Organization Capability Building
InnovationProcess InnovationSix Sigma ProcessesProject ManagementGo-to-market (GTM) StrategyInventory Optimization+ 141 more
Supply Chain Capability Building Program
Supply ChainSupplier DevelopmentERP ImplementationProcess FlowsSourcing & ProcurementProcurement Process Optimization+ 108 more
Supply Chain Capability Building - Design to Cost (DTC) Program
Financial ModelingManufacturingManufacturing StrategySupplier/Vendor SelectionSupplier DevelopmentSupplier Quality Assurance+ 122 more
Innovation, Growth Mindset, & New Product & Services Pipeline Development
InnovationISO StandardsAgile Project ManagementMedical Device ManagementStartup ConsultingMedtech+ 35 more
AI Strategy and Governance Model Development for Innovation and Growth
AI ConsultingGenerative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI)Corporate StrategyInnovationInnovation LabsProcess Innovation+ 9 more
Expertise
- Artificial Intelligence (AI)
- Change Management
- Go-to-market (GTM) Strategy
- Innovation Strategy
- Intellectual Property
- Operations
- Project Management
- Supply Chain Optimization
Work Experience
Founder | Edge AI & Hardware Platforms
2012 - PRESENT
The Innovation Garage
- Led strategic technical research and advisory workflows on on-device AI workloads, edge computing architectures, and hardware-software system integration, authoring executive research memos and technology evaluation blueprints for senior leadership teams.
- Program-managed a client EPM deployment in the mining sector with 50+ internal and external stakeholders, integrating three global ERPs and reducing close calendar cycles from 15 business days to 2.
- Directed deep-dive technical research and IP synthesis for continuous background monitoring technologies, evaluating sensor data pipelines, local memory buffering, and power/thermal limits to secure high-value patent grants.
- Worked with a mid-market, privately held organization providing innovation, product management, supply chain education, and process development—improving speed to market by 30%, and 1st-pass yields 25%, and reducing inventory validation time by 90%.
- Worked with Department of Defense war-fighter support organizations at multiple duty stations, delivering a series of on-site introductory innovation and growth mindset workshops supporting the launch of the client's innovation operations center.
- Worked with a publicly traded biosciences firm to build out a PMO with an innovation and growth mindset capability. The multiyear engagement delivered education to 100+ team members in training waves, creating a $20 million new-product pipeline.
- Worked with a $15 billion regional hospital network on innovation and growth mindset capability and an OpEx shift, educating the executive team, senior leadership, and 30 team members to build a $10 million pipeline of new products and cost savings.
- Worked with a $3 billion global financial self-services organization to build a design-to-cost process for a new product launch that identified $10 million in annual savings, with around $7 million in savings harvested a year after product launch.
- Worked with a $1 billion privately held CPG firm to create a center-led procurement strategy for the organization and consolidate 3 ERPs into a single global platform. Coached the internal team to secure $10 million in direct and indirect savings.
- Collaborated with 100+ organizations in the nonprofit, mid-market, privately held, publicly traded, and government and DoD sectors, and personally trained 2,000+ client leaders and team members.
Focus areas: Strategy, Innovation Strategy, Team Leadership, Project Management, Manufacturing Strategy, New Product Development, Supply Chain Optimization, Engineering Analysis, Value Engineering, Change Management, ADKAR Change Model, Team Mentoring, Organizational Design, Organization Building, Agile Project Management, US Patent Process, Business Patents, Patent Applications, UX Process, Six Sigma Processes, Business Models, Artificial Intelligence (AI), ERP Implementation, EPM, Polymer Engineering, 3D CAD, Microsoft, MacOS, Innovation, Plastic Injection Molds, Brand Building, Due Diligence, Cost Control, Financial Modeling, Risk Management, Simulations & Wargames, Finite Element Analysis (FEA), Procurement Process Optimization, Global Operations, Marketing, Human Resources Management, Product Management, Scope Management, Schedule Management, Budget Management, Schedule Optimization, Risk Models, Contracts, Innovation Labs, Process Innovation, Disruptive Innovation, Financial Innovation, Software Innovation, Digital Innovation, Innovation Workshops, Innovation Management, Innovation Capability Development, Value Innovation, Industrial Innovation, Lean, Lean Canvas, Lean Startups, Kanban, Visual Management, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), Logistics & Supply Chain, Inventory Optimization, Tariff Analysis, Product Costing, Standard Costing, Agile Transformation, Agile Product Delivery, Geometric Dimensioning & Tolerancing, Design for Manufacture & Assembly (DFMA), Design of Experiments (DOE), ISO Standards, Reliability, Quality Management Systems (QMS), Supplier Development, Supplier/Vendor Selection, Learning Management Systems (LMS), Material Planning, Cost Reduction & Optimization (Cost-down), Complex Problem Solving, Expert Witness, Finance Transformation, Program Management, Supply Chain Operations, Supply Chain Management (SCM), Supply Chain, Consumer-facing Product Design, Manufacturing, Intellectual Property, Operations, Training & Training Content Development, Training Workshops, Process Flows, New Product Business Cases, Team Coaching, Supplier Quality Assurance, Documentation, Governance Frameworks, SOP Development, Continuous Improvement, Quality Assurance (QA), Logistics & Warehousing, Demand Planning, Inventory Management, Third-party Logistics, Fundraising Consultant, Fundraising Strategy, Fundraising, M&A Due Diligence (Financial), Pitch Deck Consultant, Business Modeling, Competitive Analysis, Customer Research, Strategy Consulting, Operations Management, Performance Improvement, Process Design, Software as a Service (SaaS), Startups, AI Consulting, Process Improvement, Business Transformation, Growth Strategy, Procurement, Vendor Management, COO, Marketplaces, Two-sided Marketplaces, Business Development, Early-stage Startups, Product Strategy, Business Process Re-engineering, Lean Six Sigma, Process Mapping, R&D, Consulting, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Business Design, Business Strategy, Business Process Analysis, Contract Review, Contract Negotiation, Valuation, Health, Safety, & Environment (HSE), Medical Device Management, Startup Consulting, Medtech, Biotechnology, Medical Devices, Business Planning, Business Plan Consulting, Healthcare Services, Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG), CPG, Operating Models, Operational Modeling, Business Analysis, Executive Consulting, Executive Presentations, Healthcare, Management Consulting, Market Research & Analysis, Project Management Office (PMO), Project Management Consulting, Project Timelines, Enterprise Project Management, Acumatica, Stakeholder Management, Agile Sprints, Portfolio Projects, Corporate Strategy, Ideation Workshops, Go-to-market (GTM) Strategy, Market Research, Research, Home Improvement & Hardware Retail, Pet Products (Manufacturing), Computer-Aided Design (CAD), Engineering, AI Ethics, AI Governance, Inventory, Mobile, Technical Leadership, Semi Conductors
Senior Director – Mobile Architecture, Always-On Sensing, Thermal/Power Envelopes & Edge AI Research
1996 - 2012
Diebold Nixdorf
- Handled a $4 million P&L operating budget, managing a $1+ billion spend of direct materials and product solutions for Diebold’s 3 major business units of self-service terminals, electronic security, and facility solutions, and 1,000 global suppliers.
- Built teams for strategic sourcing, supply chain development, source selection, supplier performance management, supplier-managed new product introduction, indirect procurement, and annual cost reduction and supplier innovation programs.
- Shaped hardware and system software architecture decisions for continuous background workloads on portable and field-deployed systems, defining battery architectures, thermal dissipation paths, and duty-cycled scheduling for always-available field operations.
- Served as Principal Technical Lead bridging chip vendors, OS owners, and device fabrication teams; managed the allocation of on-device AI/sensing responsibilities across driver layers, power policies, and hardware acceleration units.
- Designed and led an enterprise-wide organizational savings program that scaled to capture 5,000 savings projects and directly contributed to $3.50 EPS over 5 years.
- Worked with internal teams on patent business process development—in previous engineering and development roles as a senior principal engineer—to increase patent filings and intellectual property grants by 45% compared to previous periods.
- Authored and secured ~100 U.S. and global patents covering embedded processing systems, biometric and alignment sensor integration, offline memory storage, and event-driven notification pipelines.
Focus areas: Systems Engineering, Supply Chain Operations, Logistics & Supply Chain, Supply Chain Management (SCM), Quality Management Systems (QMS), Manufacturing Strategy, US Patent Process, Business Patents, Patent Applications, Project Management, Six Sigma Processes, UX Process, ERP Implementation, Mechanical Engineering, 3D CAD, Microsoft, Strategy, Innovation, Plastic Injection Molds, Due Diligence, Cost Control, Financial Modeling, Risk Management, Finite Element Analysis (FEA), Value Engineering, Procurement Process Optimization, Global Operations, Human Resources Management, Engineering Analysis, Scope Management, Schedule Management, Budget Management, Schedule Optimization, Risk Models, Change Management, Contracts, Innovation Labs, Process Innovation, Disruptive Innovation, Financial Innovation, Software Innovation, Lean, Kanban, Visual Management, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), Inventory Optimization, Tariff Analysis, Organization Building, Product Costing, Standard Costing, Team Leadership, Team Mentoring, Organizational Design, Geometric Dimensioning & Tolerancing, Design for Manufacture & Assembly (DFMA), Design of Experiments (DOE), ISO Standards, Reliability, Supplier Development, Supplier/Vendor Selection, Material Planning, Cost Reduction & Optimization (Cost-down), Complex Problem Solving, Failure Analysis, Finance Transformation, Program Management, Supply Chain, Consumer-facing Product Design, Manufacturing, Intellectual Property, Operations, Process Flows, Team Coaching, Supplier Quality Assurance, Documentation, Governance Frameworks, SOP Development, Continuous Improvement, Quality Assurance (QA), Workflow Design, Logistics & Warehousing, Demand Planning, Inventory Management, Third-party Logistics, Business Modeling, Competitive Analysis, Customer Research, Operations Management, Performance Improvement, Process Design, Software as a Service (SaaS), Process Improvement, Business Transformation, Growth Strategy, Procurement, Vendor Management, Product Strategy, Prototyping, Business Process Re-engineering, Lean Six Sigma, Process Mapping, R&D, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Business Design, Business Strategy, Contract Review, Contract Negotiation, Valuation, Health, Safety, & Environment (HSE), Business Planning, Operating Models, Operational Modeling, Business Analysis, Executive Consulting, Executive Presentations, Management Consulting, Project Management Office (PMO), Project Management Consulting, Project Timelines, Enterprise Project Management, Stakeholder Management, Agile Sprints, Portfolio Projects, Corporate Strategy, Ideation Workshops, Research, Computer-Aided Design (CAD), Engineering, Mobile, Technical Leadership, Semi Conductors
Co-founder & Project Engineer
1997 - 1999
Design Dynamics
- Developed concepts and design-to-production products for key clients, including Toyota, Harley-Davidson, General Motors, Telxon Corporation, and various medical device manufacturers.
- Developed “hands-free” vehicle entry devices for major automotive manufacturers.
- Designed and developed interior components and body-in-white (BIW) vehicle manufacturing using Toyota product development methods.
Focus areas: Consumer-facing Product Design, Project Management, Six Sigma Processes, Mechanical Engineering, 3D CAD, Microsoft, Strategy, Plastic Injection Molds, Cost Control, Financial Modeling, Risk Management, Finite Element Analysis (FEA), Value Engineering, Engineering Analysis, Scope Management, Schedule Management, Budget Management, Schedule Optimization, Risk Models, Process Innovation, Team Leadership, Team Mentoring, Organizational Design, Geometric Dimensioning & Tolerancing, Design for Manufacture & Assembly (DFMA), Design of Experiments (DOE), Reliability, Complex Problem Solving, Failure Analysis, Manufacturing, Process Flows, Supplier Quality Assurance, Documentation, SOP Development, Continuous Improvement, Quality Assurance (QA), Workflow Design, Third-party Logistics, Performance Improvement, Startups, Early-stage Startups, Product Strategy, Prototyping, Process Mapping, R&D, Business Design, Business Strategy, Medical Device Management, Startup Consulting, Biotechnology, Medical Devices, Business Planning, Healthcare Services, Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG), CPG, Operating Models, Operational Modeling, Business Analysis, Executive Consulting, Executive Presentations, Healthcare, Market Research & Analysis, Project Management Office (PMO), Project Management Consulting, Project Timelines, Enterprise Project Management, Stakeholder Management, Agile Sprints, Agile Sprints, Agile Project Management, Project Management, Project Timelines, Stakeholder Management, Enterprise Project Management, Corporate Strategy, Ideation Workshops, Go-to-market (GTM) Strategy, Market Research, Research, Home Improvement & Hardware Retail, Pet Products (Manufacturing), Computer-Aided Design (CAD), Engineering, Technical Leadership, Semi Conductors
Mechanical Engineer
1995 - 1997
Telxon Corporation
- Managed concept-to-production development for Telxon’s handheld, wearable, pen-based, consumer, and industrial product lines, including a product launch that generated $3 million in 1st-year revenue.
- Worked in a supplier collaborative co-development environment to deliver a key wireless product initiative from concept to scaled production in 6 months.
- Collaborated with design and manufacturing teams to implement product design and manufacturing optimizations to increase 1st-pass yields from 82% to near 100%.
Focus areas: 3D CAD, Consumer-facing Product Design, Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing, Plastic Injection Molds, Value Engineering, Systems Engineering, Project Management, Six Sigma Processes, Polymer Engineering, Microsoft, Strategy, Cost Control, Finite Element Analysis (FEA), Engineering Analysis, Scope Management, Schedule Management, Budget Management, Schedule Optimization, Process Innovation, Team Mentoring, Agile Transformation, Geometric Dimensioning & Tolerancing, Design for Manufacture & Assembly (DFMA), Design of Experiments (DOE), ISO Standards, Reliability, Complex Problem Solving, Failure Analysis, Intellectual Property, Process Flows, Supplier Quality Assurance, Documentation, SOP Development, Continuous Improvement, Quality Assurance (QA), Workflow Design, Performance Improvement, Process Design, Process Improvement, Product Strategy, Prototyping, Process Mapping, R&D, Project Management Office (PMO), Project Management Consulting, Project Timelines, Enterprise Project Management, Research, Computer-Aided Design (CAD), Engineering, Technical Leadership, Semi Conductors
Mechanical Engineer
1995 - 1995
Timekeeping Systems
- Reduced field performance returns by 65% with design, sourcing, and manufacturing changes for an existing product line.
- Granted 1st design patent for a unique, industry-leading time management hardware and software system.
- Supported quality improvement efforts to improve 1st-pass yields from 65% to 99%.
Focus areas: 3D CAD, Manufacturing, Design for Manufacture & Assembly (DFMA), US Patent Process, Business Patents, Patent Applications, Project Management, Six Sigma Processes, Mechanical Engineering, Polymer Engineering, Microsoft, Strategy, Plastic Injection Molds, Engineering Analysis, Scope Management, Schedule Management, Budget Management, Schedule Optimization, Process Innovation, Design of Experiments (DOE), ISO Standards, Reliability, Complex Problem Solving, Failure Analysis, Consumer-facing Product Design, Intellectual Property, Process Flows, Supplier Quality Assurance, Documentation, SOP Development, Continuous Improvement, Quality Assurance (QA), Workflow Design, Performance Improvement, Process Design, Process Improvement, Vendor Management, Product Strategy, Prototyping, Process Mapping, R&D, Medtech, Project Management Office (PMO), Project Management Consulting, Project Timelines, Enterprise Project Management, Agile Project Management, Project Management, Project Timelines, Research, Computer-Aided Design (CAD), Engineering, Technical Leadership, Semi Conductors
Mechanical Engineer
1994 - 1995
Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company
- Developed a tire tread pattern design, improving tread life by 20%.
- Created manufacturing process improvements that enhanced 1st-pass yields by 10%.
- Built standard work design review tools that compressed review timelines from 3 weeks to 1 week.
Focus areas: 3D CAD, Manufacturing, Project Management, Six Sigma Processes, Mechanical Engineering, Polymer Engineering, Microsoft, Strategy, Plastic Injection Molds, Engineering Analysis, Scope Management, Schedule Management, Budget Management, Schedule Optimization, Process Innovation, Design of Experiments (DOE), Complex Problem Solving, Failure Analysis, Process Flows, Documentation, SOP Development, Continuous Improvement, Quality Assurance (QA), Workflow Design, Performance Improvement, Process Design, Process Improvement, Product Strategy, Prototyping, R&D, Project Management Office (PMO), Project Timelines, Enterprise Project Management, Project Management, Project Timelines, Research, Computer-Aided Design (CAD), Engineering, Technical Leadership
Mechanical Engineer
1992 - 1994
ITW - Akron Standard
- Consolidated component designs to reduce inventory stocking levels by 10%.
- Optimized engineering designs that reduced fabrication time by 30%.
- Implemented cellular manufacturing techniques that reduced assembly time by 35%.
Focus areas: 3D CAD, Systems Engineering, Manufacturing, Project Management, Six Sigma Processes, Mechanical Engineering, Microsoft, Engineering Analysis, Scope Management, Schedule Management, Budget Management, Schedule Optimization, Process Innovation, Design for Manufacture & Assembly (DFMA), Design of Experiments (DOE), Complex Problem Solving, Failure Analysis, Consumer-facing Product Design, Process Flows, Supplier Quality Assurance, Documentation, SOP Development, Continuous Improvement, Quality Assurance (QA), Workflow Design, Performance Improvement, Process Design, Process Improvement, Product Strategy, Prototyping, Business Process Re-engineering, Process Mapping, R&D, Business Design, Project Management Office (PMO), Project Management Consulting, Project Timelines, Enterprise Project Management, Agile Project Management, Project Management, Project Timelines, Research, Computer-Aided Design (CAD), Engineering
Education
2008 - 2010
Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Operations Management
Malone University - Canton, OH, USA
1989 - 1994
Bachelor's Degree in Mechanical Engineering
University of Akron - Akron, OH, USA
Certifications
JANUARY 2013 - PRESENT
Innovation Master Black Belt
Innovation Institute
JULY 2008 - PRESENT
Lean Supply Chain
University of Michigan
JUNE 2007 - PRESENT
Lean Six Sigma Green Belt
SAI Global
MAY 2003 - MAY 2028
Project Management Professional (PMP)
Project Management Institute (PMI)
Skills
Finance
Due Diligence, Financial Modeling, Risk Models, Cost Reduction & Optimization (Cost-down), Valuation, Market Research, Fundraising
Industry Expertise
Early-stage Startups, Lean Six Sigma, Healthcare
Other
MacOS, Strategy, Innovation, Supply Chain Optimization, Project Management, Six Sigma Processes, Business Models, US Patent Process, Business Patents, Patent Applications, UX Process, Artificial Intelligence (AI), ERP Implementation, Mechanical Engineering, Polymer Engineering, 3D CAD, Microsoft, Plastic Injection Molds, Brand Building, Cost Control, Risk Management, Simulations & Wargames, New Product Development, Value Engineering, Procurement Process Optimization, Sourcing & Procurement, Global Operations, Human Resources Management, Product Management, Go-to-market (GTM) Strategy, Engineering Analysis, Scope Management, Schedule Management, Budget Management, Schedule Optimization, Change Management, Contracts, Innovation Labs, Process Innovation, Disruptive Innovation, Innovation Strategy, Digital Innovation, Innovation Workshops, Innovation Management, Innovation Capability Development, Value Innovation, Industrial Innovation, Lean Startups, Visual Management, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), Logistics & Supply Chain, Inventory Optimization, Manufacturing Strategy, Organization Building, Product Costing, Standard Costing, Team Leadership, Team Mentoring, Organizational Design, Agile Product Delivery, Geometric Dimensioning & Tolerancing, Design for Manufacture & Assembly (DFMA), Design of Experiments (DOE), ISO Standards, Reliability, Quality Management Systems (QMS), Supplier Development, Supplier/Vendor Selection, Learning Management Systems (LMS), Complex Problem Solving, Failure Analysis, Expert Witness, Finance Transformation, Program Management, Agile Project Management, Systems Engineering, Supply Chain Operations, Supply Chain Management (SCM), Supply Chain, Consumer-facing Product Design, Manufacturing, Intellectual Property, Operations, Training & Training Content Development, Training Workshops, Process Flows, New Product Business Cases, Team Coaching, Supplier Quality Assurance, Documentation, Governance Frameworks, SOP Development, Continuous Improvement, Quality Assurance (QA), Workflow Design, Logistics & Warehousing, Inventory Management, Third-party Logistics, Fundraising Consultant, Fundraising Strategy, Pitch Deck Consultant, Business Modeling, Competitive Analysis, Customer Research, Strategy Consulting, Operations Management, Performance Improvement, Process Design, Software as a Service (SaaS), Startups, Process Improvement, Business Transformation, Growth Strategy, Procurement, Vendor Management, COO, Marketplaces, Two-sided Marketplaces, Business Development, Product Strategy, Prototyping, Business Process Re-engineering, Process Mapping, R&D, Consulting, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Business Design, Business Strategy, Business Process Analysis, Contract Review, Contract Negotiation, Health, Safety, & Environment (HSE), Medtech, Startup Consulting, Medical Devices, Business Planning, Business Plan Consulting, Healthcare Services, Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG), CPG, Operating Models, Operational Modeling, Business Analysis, Executive Consulting, Executive Presentations, Management Consulting, Market Research & Analysis, Project Management Office (PMO), Project Management Consulting, Project Timelines, Enterprise Project Management, Stakeholder Management, Agile Sprints, Portfolio Projects, ERP Implementation, Agile Sprints, Agile Project Management, Project Management, Project Timelines, Stakeholder Management, Enterprise Project Management, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Corporate Strategy, Ideation Workshops, Research, Computer-Aided Design (CAD), Engineering, Technical Leadership, EPM, Finite Element Analysis (FEA), Marketing, Financial Innovation, Software Innovation, Lean, Lean Canvas, Kanban, Tariff Analysis, ADKAR Change Model, Agile Transformation, Material Planning, Demand Planning, M&A Due Diligence (Financial), AI Consulting, Biotechnology, Medical Device Management, Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI), Home Improvement & Hardware Retail, Pet Products (Manufacturing), AI Ethics, AI Governance, Inventory, Mobile, Semi Conductors, Acumatica, Acumatica
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