An exemplary system and method for providing differential adjustment of the height of a multilayer substrate in localized areas for improved Q-factor performance of RF devices is disclosed as comprising inter alia: a multilayer substrate (200); an RF component (210) embedded in the substrate (200); a surface mounted component (220); and an RF shield (260) disposed next to the surface mounted component (220), wherein the height of the shield (260) does not extend substantially beyond the height of the surface mounted component (220). Disclosed features and specifications may be variously controlled, configured, adapted or otherwise optionally modified to further improve or otherwise optimize Q, RF performance and/or material characteristics. Exemplary embodiments of the present invention representatively provide for high-performance, high-quality RF devices that may be readily incorporated with existing technologies for the improvement of frequency response, device package form factors, weights and/or other manufacturing, device or material performance metrics.