diff --git a/tools/projmgr/include/ProjMgrMlops.h b/tools/projmgr/include/ProjMgrMlops.h
index 4a0595515..5c64f7529 100644
--- a/tools/projmgr/include/ProjMgrMlops.h
+++ b/tools/projmgr/include/ProjMgrMlops.h
@@ -54,6 +54,7 @@ struct MlopsVelaType {
 struct MlopsModelType {
   std::string clayer;
   std::string name;
+  std::map<std::string, std::string> additional;
 };
 
 /**
diff --git a/tools/projmgr/include/ProjMgrParser.h b/tools/projmgr/include/ProjMgrParser.h
index 799fe1242..749c148df 100644
--- a/tools/projmgr/include/ProjMgrParser.h
+++ b/tools/projmgr/include/ProjMgrParser.h
@@ -602,6 +602,7 @@ struct MlopsVelaItem {
 struct MlopsModelItem {
   std::string clayer;
   std::string name;
+  std::map<std::string, std::string> additional;
 };
 
 /**
diff --git a/tools/projmgr/schemas/common.schema.json b/tools/projmgr/schemas/common.schema.json
index 27ae63f76..80e9b5b3b 100644
--- a/tools/projmgr/schemas/common.schema.json
+++ b/tools/projmgr/schemas/common.schema.json
@@ -211,7 +211,7 @@
       "uniqueItems": true,
       "minItems": 1,
       "description": "List of variables. Can be used to define project components/layers.",
-      "items": {"type": "object", "additionalProperties": {"type": "string"}}
+      "items": {"type": "object", "additionalProperties": {"type": ["string", "number"]}}
     },
     "VersionType": {
       "type": "string",
@@ -2761,7 +2761,7 @@
           "description": "NPU configuration.",
           "properties": {
             "type": { "type": "string", "description": "NPU type (default: first NPU from DFP device features)." },
-            "macs": { "type": "number", "description": "Number of MACs (default: first NPU from DFP device features)." }
+            "macs": { "type": [ "string", "number" ], "description": "Number of MACs (default: first NPU from DFP device features)." }
           },
           "additionalProperties": false
         },
@@ -2783,7 +2783,7 @@
             "clayer": { "type": "string", "description": "Path to the AI clayer file or variable." },
             "name":   { "type": "string", "description": "Model name used as namespace (default: Algorithm)." }
           },
-          "additionalProperties": false
+          "additionalProperties": { "type": [ "string", "number" ] }
         },
         "hardware":    { "$ref": "#/definitions/MlopsTargetType" },
         "simulator":   { "$ref": "#/definitions/MlopsTargetType" }
@@ -2829,7 +2829,7 @@
             "clayer": { "type": "string", "description": "Path to the AI clayer file." },
             "name":   { "type": "string", "description": "Model name used as namespace." }
           },
-          "additionalProperties": false
+          "additionalProperties": { "type": [ "string", "number" ] }
         },
         "hardware":  { "$ref": "#/definitions/MlopsRunDescType" },
         "simulator": { "$ref": "#/definitions/MlopsRunDescType" }
diff --git a/tools/projmgr/src/ProjMgrCbuildMlops.cpp b/tools/projmgr/src/ProjMgrCbuildMlops.cpp
index d2ed54301..2545f790b 100644
--- a/tools/projmgr/src/ProjMgrCbuildMlops.cpp
+++ b/tools/projmgr/src/ProjMgrCbuildMlops.cpp
@@ -64,6 +64,9 @@ void ProjMgrCbuildMlops::SetModelNode(YAML::Node node, const MlopsModelType& mod
     SetNodeValue(node[YAML_CLAYER], FormatPath(model.clayer, m_directory));
   }
   SetNodeValue(node[YAML_NAME], model.name);
+  for (const auto& [key, value] : model.additional) {
+    SetNodeValue(node[key], value);
+  }
 }
 
 void ProjMgrCbuildMlops::SetRunNode(YAML::Node node, const MlopsRunType& run) {
diff --git a/tools/projmgr/src/ProjMgrMlops.cpp b/tools/projmgr/src/ProjMgrMlops.cpp
index 96094ec96..4555cc12e 100644
--- a/tools/projmgr/src/ProjMgrMlops.cpp
+++ b/tools/projmgr/src/ProjMgrMlops.cpp
@@ -226,6 +226,19 @@ bool ProjMgrMlops::CollectSettings(const CsolutionItem& csolution, MlopsType& ml
   // mlops description
   mlops.description = solutionMlops.description;
 
+  const auto expand = [&context](string& value) {
+    value = RteUtils::ExpandAccessSequences(value, context.variables);
+    // unresolved variables are empty in MLOps settings
+    size_t start = 0;
+    while ((start = value.find('$', start)) != string::npos) {
+      const size_t end = value.find('$', start + 1);
+      if (end == string::npos) {
+        break;
+      }
+      value.erase(start, end - start + 1);
+    }
+  };
+
   // get hardware processor type ("Dcore")
   if (context.targetAttributes.find("Dcore") != context.targetAttributes.end()) {
     mlops.processor.type = context.targetAttributes.at("Dcore");
@@ -234,6 +247,8 @@ bool ProjMgrMlops::CollectSettings(const CsolutionItem& csolution, MlopsType& ml
   // npu type and macs
   mlops.npu.type = solutionMlops.npu.type;
   mlops.npu.macs = solutionMlops.npu.macs;
+  expand(mlops.npu.type);
+  expand(mlops.npu.macs);
 
   // filter npu info items
   vector<NpuInfoItem> npuInfoItems;
@@ -269,18 +284,18 @@ bool ProjMgrMlops::CollectSettings(const CsolutionItem& csolution, MlopsType& ml
   }
 
   // print warnings if the required NPU type and/or MACs do not match the DFP device information
-  if (!solutionMlops.npu.type.empty()) {
-    const auto matchesType = [&solutionMlops](const NpuInfoItem& npu) {
-      return npu.type == solutionMlops.npu.type;
+  if (!mlops.npu.type.empty()) {
+    const auto matchesType = [&mlops](const NpuInfoItem& npu) {
+      return npu.type == mlops.npu.type;
     };
     if (find_if(npuInfoItems.begin(), npuInfoItems.end(), matchesType) == npuInfoItems.end()) {
       ProjMgrLogger::Get().Warn("mlops.npu.type value does not match DFP device information", "", csolution.path);
     }
   }
-  if (!solutionMlops.npu.macs.empty()) {
-    const auto matchesMacs = [&solutionMlops](const NpuInfoItem& npu) {
-      return (solutionMlops.npu.type.empty() || npu.type == solutionMlops.npu.type) &&
-        RteUtils::StringToULL(npu.macs) == RteUtils::StringToULL(solutionMlops.npu.macs);
+  if (!mlops.npu.macs.empty()) {
+    const auto matchesMacs = [&mlops](const NpuInfoItem& npu) {
+      return (mlops.npu.type.empty() || npu.type == mlops.npu.type) &&
+        RteUtils::StringToULL(npu.macs) == RteUtils::StringToULL(mlops.npu.macs);
     };
     if (find_if(npuInfoItems.begin(), npuInfoItems.end(), matchesMacs) == npuInfoItems.end()) {
       ProjMgrLogger::Get().Warn("mlops.npu.macs value does not match DFP device information", "", csolution.path);
@@ -288,7 +303,11 @@ bool ProjMgrMlops::CollectSettings(const CsolutionItem& csolution, MlopsType& ml
   }
 
   // vela options
-  mlops.vela.options = BuildVelaOptions(mlops.npu, solutionMlops.vela);
+  MlopsVelaItem vela = solutionMlops.vela;
+  expand(vela.system);
+  expand(vela.memory);
+  expand(vela.misc);
+  mlops.vela.options = BuildVelaOptions(mlops.npu, vela);
 
   // vela ini
   if (solutionMlops.vela.ini.empty()) {
@@ -318,7 +337,9 @@ bool ProjMgrMlops::CollectSettings(const CsolutionItem& csolution, MlopsType& ml
   // model name and clayer
   if (!solutionMlops.model.clayer.empty()) {
     mlops.model.name = solutionMlops.model.name.empty() ? "Algorithm" : solutionMlops.model.name;
+    expand(mlops.model.name);
     mlops.model.clayer = solutionMlops.model.clayer;
+    expand(mlops.model.clayer);
     if (!m_worker->ProcessSequenceRelative(context, mlops.model.clayer, csolution.directory, false)) {
       return false;
     }
@@ -326,6 +347,10 @@ bool ProjMgrMlops::CollectSettings(const CsolutionItem& csolution, MlopsType& ml
       RteFsUtils::NormalizePath(mlops.model.clayer, context.directories.cprj);
     }    
   }
+  mlops.model.additional = solutionMlops.model.additional;
+  for (auto& [key, value] : mlops.model.additional) {
+    expand(value);
+  }
   
   if (hardwareFound) {
     // set hardware run types
diff --git a/tools/projmgr/src/ProjMgrYamlParser.cpp b/tools/projmgr/src/ProjMgrYamlParser.cpp
index 294ea6e99..0c77e004f 100644
--- a/tools/projmgr/src/ProjMgrYamlParser.cpp
+++ b/tools/projmgr/src/ProjMgrYamlParser.cpp
@@ -1159,7 +1159,7 @@ void ProjMgrYamlParser::ParseMlops(const YAML::Node& parent, const string& file,
     if (mlopsNode[YAML_NPU].IsDefined()) {
       const YAML::Node& npuNode = mlopsNode[YAML_NPU];
       ParseString(npuNode, YAML_TYPE, mlops.npu.type);
-      ParseNumber(npuNode, file, YAML_MACS, mlops.npu.macs);
+      ParseString(npuNode, YAML_MACS, mlops.npu.macs);
     }
     if (mlopsNode[YAML_VELA].IsDefined()) {
       const YAML::Node& velaNode = mlopsNode[YAML_VELA];
@@ -1172,6 +1172,12 @@ void ProjMgrYamlParser::ParseMlops(const YAML::Node& parent, const string& file,
       const YAML::Node& modelNode = mlopsNode[YAML_MODEL];
       ParsePortablePath(modelNode, file, YAML_CLAYER, mlops.model.clayer);
       ParseString(modelNode, YAML_NAME, mlops.model.name);
+      for (const auto& item : modelNode) {
+        const string key = item.first.as<string>();
+        if (key != YAML_CLAYER && key != YAML_NAME) {
+          mlops.model.additional[key] = item.second.as<string>();
+        }
+      }
     }
     if (mlopsNode[YAML_HARDWARE].IsDefined()) {
       const YAML::Node& hardwareNode = mlopsNode[YAML_HARDWARE];
diff --git a/tools/projmgr/test/data/MLOps/extended.csolution.yml b/tools/projmgr/test/data/MLOps/extended.csolution.yml
index 14477d359..d8cf11eb9 100644
--- a/tools/projmgr/test/data/MLOps/extended.csolution.yml
+++ b/tools/projmgr/test/data/MLOps/extended.csolution.yml
@@ -9,16 +9,18 @@ solution:
   mlops:                          # enable *.cbuild-mlops.yml
     description: ML model with extended configuration
     npu:
-      type: Ethos-U85             # specify NPU (default: first NPU from DFP device features)
-      macs: 256                   # specify MACs (default: first NPU from DFP device features)
+      type: $NPU-Type$            # specify NPU (default: first NPU from DFP device features)
+      macs: $NPU-Macs$            # specify MACs (default: first NPU from DFP device features)
     vela:     
       ini: vela/custom.ini        # explicit INI file (default: use INI file from DFP)
-      system: System_Config       # system configuration from INI file
-      memory: Memory_Mode         # memory configuration from INI file
-      misc: --extra-options       # string with additional options for Vela
+      system: $Vela-System$       # system configuration from INI file
+      memory: $Vela-Memory$       # memory configuration from INI file
+      misc: $Vela-Misc$           # additional options for Vela
     model:    
       clayer: $AI-Layer$          # path to layer or variable
-      name: Algorithm             # optional model name (default Algorithm), serves as namespace
+      name: $Model-Name$          # optional model name (default Algorithm), serves as namespace
+      extra: $Model-Extra$        # additional model property
+      unresolved: $Undefined$     # undefined variables resolve to an empty value
     hardware:                     # hardware target for testing
       target: Hardware            # explicit <target-type>[@<set>] (default: first target-type, first set)
     simulator:                    # simulator target for testing
@@ -29,6 +31,13 @@ solution:
       device: RteTest_ARMCM0_Dual
       variables:
         - AI-Layer: $SolutionDir()$/ai_layer/ai_layer.clayer.yml
+        - NPU-Type: Ethos-U85
+        - NPU-Macs: 256
+        - Vela-System: System_Config
+        - Vela-Memory: Memory_Mode
+        - Vela-Misc: --extra-options
+        - Model-Name: ResolvedAlgorithm
+        - Model-Extra: extra-value
       target-set:
         - set:
           images:
diff --git a/tools/projmgr/test/data/MLOps/ref/extended.cbuild-mlops.yml b/tools/projmgr/test/data/MLOps/ref/extended.cbuild-mlops.yml
index 11d6e4eb4..7ae701865 100644
--- a/tools/projmgr/test/data/MLOps/ref/extended.cbuild-mlops.yml
+++ b/tools/projmgr/test/data/MLOps/ref/extended.cbuild-mlops.yml
@@ -11,7 +11,8 @@ cbuild-mlops:
     options: --accelerator-config ethos-u85-256 --system-config System_Config --memory-mode Memory_Mode --extra-options
   model:
     clayer: ai_layer/ai_layer.clayer.yml
-    name: Algorithm
+    name: ResolvedAlgorithm
+    extra: extra-value
   hardware:
     active: Hardware
     cbuild-run: out/extended+Hardware.cbuild-run.yml