FJInnovation · Engineering Advisory

Build high-velocity teams that deliver market-leading products and bottom-line growth.

FJInnovation is an engineering and operations advisory practice for founders, CEOs, and investors building hardware, IoT, and AI-enabled product companies. Two exits and twenty-four patents are the proof.

2 Strategic exits

24 Patents granted

30+ Years operating

The Approach

Engineering organizations that create enterprise value are built deliberately, not discovered.

FJInnovation works with companies where engineering needs to become a competitive advantage. For founders and CEOs of small and mid-sized companies, that means scaling the team, lifting quality, driving efficiency, and building a culture where great engineers do their best work.

For PE and VC firms, that means technical and operational diligence, value-creation roadmaps inside portfolio companies, and exit readiness when the time comes. The same operating playbook serves both audiences — it's the same work, applied at different points in the company's life.

What We Do

Four pillars. One operating system for engineering advantage.

High-velocity teams

Hiring, org design, leadership development, and the engineering culture that retains top talent through scale.

Market-leading products

SDLC discipline, phased-gate development, quality systems, and AI/GenAI integration across the R&D workflow.

Bottom-line growth

COGS reduction, supply chain rationalization, value engineering, and margin expansion across the product portfolio.

Exit readiness

IP defensibility, production maturity, and the acquirer narrative that turns engineering capability into premium valuation.

Who We Help

Two audiences. One conviction.

Founders & CEOs

Small and mid-sized companies scaling an engineering organization where velocity, quality, and culture all need to lift at the same time. The work spans hiring senior leaders, redesigning the SDLC, lifting product quality, and turning engineering into a margin engine — without losing the velocity that made the company succeed in the first place.

Private Equity & Venture

Sponsors evaluating a deal, accelerating a portfolio company, or preparing one for exit. The work spans technical and operational diligence, 100-day plans, value-creation roadmaps, and the engineering maturity narrative that drives acquirer interest and premium valuation at exit.

Track Record

Three chapters. Two exits. Twenty-four patents.

2024 — Present Director, Engineering
Sensor Technology

Motorola Solutions

Post-acquisition leadership of the HALO sensor platform inside Motorola's enterprise security ecosystem. Reduced manufacturing COGS by 37%, lifted AI threat-detection accuracy by 15%, and embedded Generative AI across R&D workflows for a 33% productivity gain.

Post-acquisition integration

2014 — 2023 Senior Vice President
Engineering & Operations

IPVideo Corporation

Founded and scaled IPVideo's engineering and operations organization from startup through acquisition. Launched the HALO Smart Sensor — the category-defining standard for vape and threat detection — driving 95% revenue CAGR over five years and culminating in Motorola Solutions' 2024 acquisition.

Strategic exit · Category King

Foundational Tenure General Manager
Vice President

Robotic Vision Systems (RVSI)

Led the transformation of a business unit from $3M to $50M in annual revenue and captured 70% market share among Fortune 500 inspection customers. Culminated in the acquisition by Rudolph Technologies (now Onto Innovation).

Strategic exit · Market leadership

How We Work

Engagement models that match the moment.

01 Fractional engineering leadership Senior engineering presence for companies between executive hires or in the lead-up to one.
02 Advisory retainer Ongoing strategic counsel to founders, CEOs, and engineering leaders on a recurring cadence.
03 Project-based consulting Defined-scope engagements — NPI launches, COGS programs, AI integration, organizational redesign.
04 PE/VC operating partner Diligence, 100-day plans, value-creation roadmaps, and exit-prep engagements with sponsors.
05 Board & advisory roles Standing roles on technical advisory boards, formal boards, and investor advisory boards.

The Founder

Frank Jacovino

Founder & Principal Consultant

Frank Jacovino is the founder of FJInnovation LLC. Over three decades leading engineering across hardware, IoT, SaaS, and AI-enabled platforms, he has scaled three companies through transformational growth and two strategic exits — to Rudolph Technologies (now Onto Innovation) and Motorola Solutions.

Most recently, he led the HALO sensor platform at Motorola Solutions following its acquisition of IPVideo Corporation, where he was recruited by the founder to build the engineering and operations organization from the ground up with equity in the company. Over the next decade he scaled IPVideo to category-King position with 95% revenue CAGR over five years, culminating in the Motorola Solutions acquisition. Earlier, as VP of Worldwide Engineering at Vicon Industries, he led a 40-person global organization across US and Israel R&D centers through the analog-to-IP video transformation. Before that, as General Manager at Robotic Vision Systems, he grew a business unit from $3M to $50M in annual revenue and 70% Fortune 500 market share.

He holds twenty-four U.S. and international patents spanning machine vision, sensors, and connected systems. He has sat in the founding-engineer chair, the SVP chair, and the acquired-company chair — and now, as founder of FJInnovation, brings that operating experience to clients building the next generation of engineering organizations.

MS Computer Science & BS Electrical Engineering, NYU Polytechnic School of Engineering
Industrial Advisory Board Chair, Hofstra University School of Engineering
Co-Op Advisory Board, NYIT Engineering