Any SE folk ever transition out of the field into a different career leverage their SE experience into it?

We're planning to outsource some CAD work, but a lot of it involves proprietary designs and customer-specific parts. Before we send anything over, I'd like to make sure we're choosing the right company.

Besides signing an NDA, what do you usually look for? Certifications? Past projects? Security policies? Curious what your checklist looks like before trusting someone with sensitive engineering data.

Any thoughts on doing MIT SDM in 1 year if anyone’s done it?
The program I’m in requires me to complete my masters in 1 year hence the compressed schedule. I understand it’s usually 1.5 years to complete.
My undergrad was in engineering.