Pacific Standard Environmental

CEMS Mechanical Engineer
August 2022 to August 2023 | Huntington Beach, CA
Product Development, Systems Integration & Field Installation

At Pacific Standard Environmental (PSE), I helped develop the company’s first in-house continuous emissions monitoring system (CEMS) cabinet. The project added a cabinet-development capability to a business already providing maintenance, repair, and support for emissions-monitoring equipment.

Working alongside one other engineer, I contributed from design through construction and the first customer installation. My responsibilities combined mechanical and electrical design, purchasing documentation, product cost analysis, and practical decisions about how the equipment would be installed and serviced.

Key Responsibilities
  • Dedicated approximately 80% of the role to engineering and 20% to field maintenance and repairs, including practical training on existing CEMS equipment.
  • Designed the cabinet layout in AutoCAD and developed its mechanical and electrical arrangements.
  • Prepared the bill of materials for purchasing and analyzed component costs to inform product pricing.
  • Worked with the other engineer from a shared task list to develop and build the cabinet.
  • Installed the first cabinet with a field service technician and programmed the data acquisition system to work with it.
  • Organized wiring and incorporated mounting details to simplify service access.
Selected contributions
  • In-house cabinet development and customer deployment. I helped PSE develop its first internally built CEMS cabinet and bring it into customer use.
    • As one of two engineers on the project, I was responsible for the cabinet design, internal component layout, and electrical design. We shared project tasks through development and construction.I worked with and guided a field service technician during installation at Snow Summit in Big Bear, California. Together, we connected the cables, power supplies, and sensors and programmed the data acquisition system to work with the cabinet.The project progressed from development to its first installation over approximately one year. Following installation, the cabinet was put into use by the customer at Snow Summit.
  • Product costing and purchasing preparation. I developed the bill of materials and cost analysis needed to support purchasing and inform the cabinet’s selling price.
    • Alongside the design work, I documented the components required to build the cabinet and analyzed their costs. This provided a basis for purchasing and the owner’s pricing decisions. The company owner determined the final selling price.
  • Designing for service access. I organized the cabinet wiring and incorporated mounting details that made components easier to identify, access, and remove.
    • I introduced color coding by cabinet area, labeled cables at both ends, and arranged wire terminations in an accessible area containing the fuses, junctions, and relays. This gave the wiring a clear identification structure and consolidated connection points for servicing.I incorporated thicker mounting panels with tapped holes in the completed cabinet, allowing components to be secured without separate rear nuts. This allowed component removal without requiring a technician to reach behind the panel with a wrench to hold a nut.