Built by a Test Engineer Who's Been on the Test Floor
Solrise Engineering exists because most aerospace startups hit the same wall: hardware engineers moving fast, no test program in place, and a TRR date approaching faster than the documentation.
Why Solrise Engineering Exists
Early-stage aerospace companies don't fail because they can't design hardware. They fail because they can't validate it on schedule.
The pattern is consistent — and it isn't really about hardware. The hardware engineers are usually strong. The thing eating their schedule is the test program around it: stands that don't exist yet, instrumentation plans that need writing, procedures that take three weeks each. Documentation that nobody has time to build, but every milestone is gated on.
And the senior aerospace test engineers who could solve it once and reuse it forever are inside Boeing, Lockheed, the established primes. A 40-person eVTOL startup can't hire one. So the program rebuilds everything from scratch.
That's the gap Solrise Engineering exists to close.
Consulting brings a senior test engineer onto a program for the weeks it takes to get the test infrastructure right. Templates encode the same engineering thinking into reusable documents, so the next program doesn't start from zero.
All of it serves one thing: more time on the engineering, less on the paperwork around it.
About Ken Kato (Founder)
Solrise Engineering is run by Ken Kato — an aerospace test engineer with 10+ years across Part 25 commercial aircraft and next-generation electric propulsion programs.
I've spent ten years on aerospace test floors. The last four at a next-generation electric propulsion program, building test infrastructure from a blank room — test stands, DAQ systems, operations room, all of it.
What stayed with me wasn't the test stands or the data. It was how often engineering time got spent on work that wasn't really engineering — the formatting, the rebuilding, the same things over and over.
Solrise Engineering is what I built to give that time back.
— Ken Kato
Part 25 Commercial Aircraft Programs
Ground and flight test campaigns on hydraulic, landing gear, and brake systems. Test procedures, TRR support, squawk management, real-time test operations, and formal test reporting. Bilingual coordination across US and Japanese engineering teams on joint commercial aircraft development.
Next-Generation Electric Propulsion Programs
Built a propulsion test platform from a blank room to operational hardware. Designed a 15-seat ground and flight test operations room with real-time DAQ monitoring. Specified instrumentation and Dewesoft DAQ systems for 100+ channel test campaigns. Led test operations through commissioning and into early test runs.
The pattern across both: structured test programs built from scratch, run on hardware that mattered, with the documentation and traceability to defend the data afterward.
Capability Focus
A focused skill set built around aerospace test engineering — not a generalist's portfolio.
Test Infrastructure & Lab Design
Built propulsion test platforms from blank room to operational. Designed 15-seat operations rooms with real-time DAQ monitoring.
Ground Test Campaign Leadership
Led Part 25 ground test campaigns on hydraulic, landing gear, and brake systems. Built propulsion test campaigns from TRR through final report.
Instrumentation & Dewesoft DAQ
4+ years full-stack Dewesoft expertise. 100+ channel campaigns on electric propulsion programs.
Requirements & V&V Planning
Built V&V structures from scratch for early-stage eVTOL propulsion programs. ARP4754 A/B aligned, V-model structured.
Electric Propulsion Integration Testing
Integrated motor, inverter, battery, and propeller testing. Thermal management and full-system endurance campaigns.
What Solrise Engineering Doesn't Do
Bilingual Japanese-English Engineering
For programs with US-Japan joint development structure or Japanese engineering team involvement: Ken is bilingual Japanese-English with native-level technical depth in both languages. 10+ years bridging US and Japanese aerospace engineering teams on commercial aircraft programs — translating requirements, running joint design reviews, and coordinating test operations across two engineering cultures.
Think Solrise Engineering Might Be a Fit?
A 30-minute consultation will tell us. Either Solrise Engineering is the right engineer for what you need, or we'll point you toward someone who is.
Schedule Free Consultation