My work
Hardware, firmware, and the science underneath — I work across all three layers, from the bench to the publication.
Hands-on electrical lab technician and embedded systems developer with 3+ years of R&D across clean energy, defense, and spectroscopic materials science. First-author on a NASA/NSF-funded solar spectroscopy poster and NSF-funded co-author on two more in glass physics, X-ray absorption spectroscopy, and plasma science. Day-to-day I'm in the lab with high-spectral-resolution optical instruments, custom electronics, Python automation, and hazardous-material handling. Former researcher at the National Solar Observatory and Lockheed Martin.
- 3+ yrsR&D experience
- 3published posters
- First AuthorNASA / NSF
- Hardware · Firmware · Cloud
- U.S. Citizen · Clearance-eligible
Work Experience
Senior Electrical Lab Technician · GridFlow
Clean energy startup. Led R&D across lithium-sulfur hybrid flow batteries; now expanding into vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB) systems.
- Spearhead end-to-end R&D lab operations — prototype build, electrical assembly, structured test execution, and real-time diagnostics.
- Fabricate and test battery system prototypes including peristaltic pump systems, custom PCBs, wiring harnesses, and IoT safety monitoring devices.
- Driving 0-to-1 development of VRFB systems — coordinating cross-disciplinary teams of mechanical and chemical engineers from concept to working prototype.
- Authored production SOPs covering hardware assembly (enclosures, manifolds, cell stacks) and electrolyte preparation — establishing repeatable, audit-ready processes for a first-of-kind system.
- Integrate sensors (current, voltage, temperature, GPS) with ESP32 and Particle Photon over BLE/Wi-Fi; develop firmware in C++ and Arduino IDE.
- Operate DAQ systems; write Python for automated data logging, anomaly detection, and charge/discharge cycle analysis.
- Manage all lab safety protocols for hazardous materials (argon, nitrogen, lithium, vanadium electrolyte) — glovebox (VAC) operations, LOTO, ESD compliance.
- Built public demo units including an Earth Day Conference exhibit with laser-cut acrylic fabrication and full system integration.
Lead Software Developer · Pii Energy
GridFlow's residential plug-in home energy product line. Edge 2000 launched Pi Day 2025 — featured in PV Magazine.
- Architect and develop a full-stack energy management system tracking solar, battery, and grid power with real-time monitoring, room-based outlet control, and overcurrent detection.
- Investigated and integrated the EcoFlow BKW API for output power control; built the backend on AWS — API Gateway HTTP APIs fronting Lambda functions for business logic and data access.
- Produce a technical LinkedIn video series communicating energy system design to professional and consumer audiences.
App icon
Welcome screen
Dashboard · energy flow
Live meter — solar · battery · grid
Geofence-aware automations
Edge 2000 · balcony install
IoT & Software Developer · Telemetry Insight
- Developed and maintained Well Watcher telemetry code for real-time monitoring of industrial well controllers.
- Built AI-driven anomaly detection and predictive maintenance systems; optimized energy consumption algorithms for field hardware.
- Implemented BLE features (Tx Power monitoring, battery life analysis); led software testing for new controller features.
Image Creation Developer — DevOps · Lockheed Martin
- Participated in OS image development and troubleshooting for cloud and on-prem Windows/Linux environments in a defense contractor setting.
- Gained experience with scripting, TCP/IP networks, virtualization, and purpose-built OS configurations.
Projects
Things I've built end-to-end — hardware, firmware, and the software underneath.
Smart Plant — IoT plant care system
One of several weekly builds during the Deep Dive IoT bootcamp — sketch, breadboard, firmware, 3D-print enclosure, ship. Smart Plant is the one I keep proudest of: a plant care station that reads the room and soil, shows it live on a web dashboard, and waters the plant when it needs it.
- Rapid prototyping cycle: Fritzing diagram → breadboard wiring → firmware → CAD enclosure → 3D-printed on a Bambu Lab printer (planter embossed "PARR") — all in a single bootcamp week.
- Sensors: capacitive soil moisture, temperature, humidity, air quality, dust, barometric pressure.
- Actuator: 12V peristaltic pump driven by relay; waters automatically when soil moisture drops below threshold.
- Hardware: Particle Photon 2, OLED status display, custom 3D-printed planter and matching electronics enclosure.
- Dashboard: Adafruit IO web dashboard with live gauges and a manual "Water Plant" override button — usable from any browser.
- Firmware: C++ on the Photon 2; published sensor telemetry over Wi-Fi; subscribed to dashboard commands for the manual override.
Finished unit
Breadboard prototype
Smart Bar — automated cocktail dispenser
An at-home alternative to clunky commercial bar machines. End-to-end build: enclosure, electronics, firmware, UX.
Built on a Particle Photon 2 with an OLED display, rotary encoder, four 12V pumps, a load cell, and a stepper-driven Archimedes screw. Pick a cocktail on the encoder — Margarita, Tequila Sunrise, your call — and the load cell tares the glass, then the pumps dispense each ingredient by weight for accuracy. A condiment slot drops in your olive or lime to finish the drink. Custom laser-cut chassis. Color-coded LED feedback through the encoder (purple ready, blue dispensing, green done).
Research Experience
Solar Physics Researcher — First Author · National Solar Observatory / CU Boulder
Funded by NASA contract NAS5-97045 (SORCE), NSF, NSO, and AURA. Mentor: Serena Criscuoli, NSO.
- Led sole-first-author research investigating temporal variability of the Hα 656.3nm spectral line in sun-as-a-star observations using the Integrated Sunlight Spectrometer (ISS).
- Analyzed disk-integrated Hα core-to-wing ratio data from SOLIS instruments (NISP/NSO/AURA/NSF) over the 27-day solar rotational timescale, alongside faculae, sunspot, and filament datasets.
- Found that sunspot area is the dominant modulator of Hα line shape; faculae and filaments showed negligible effect — contributing new understanding of chromospheric variability in solar-like stars relevant to exoplanet habitability research.
- Presented findings as sole first author at a poster session; research published under NASA/NSF/AURA sponsorship.
Final internship talk — sun-as-a-star Hα variability, the 27-day rotational signal, and what sunspots vs. faculae vs. filaments contribute to chromospheric line shape. Presented remotely to the NSO / CU Boulder / SORCE team at the close of the 2020 summer program.
Glass Physics Researcher & Team Leader · Coe College — Dr. Steve Feller Lab
NSF-funded REU (Grant #1950330) & RUI (Grant #2203142). Multi-institution: Coe College, Georgia Tech, NM Tech, Seton Hall.
- Led a team across four complex NSF-funded projects investigating glass composition, atomic structure, and dielectric properties.
- Synthesized sodium borate and sodium silicate glasses at 1100°C–1300°C; performed stoichiometric weighing, controlled heating, roller quenching, and annealing.
- Operated EasyXAFS 300+ for XANES/EXAFS, Raman spectrometers, DSC (STA449), and high-temperature electric furnaces.
- Applied Hanning window and Fourier transform processing to convert energy-based XAS plots to wavenumber-based analysis; performed XRD interpretation.
- Investigated glass as a dielectric component in Dielectric Barrier Discharge (DBD) plasma generation — directly relevant to high-voltage and photonic applications.
- Co-authored two published conference posters; presented at the Iowa Glass Conference; implemented new lab procedures improving stoichiometric accuracy across departments.
Glass sample pre-furnace
At the electric furnace · PPE
Glass sample in platinum crucible
Glass sample in platinum crucible
Glass sample in platinum crucible
Glass sample in graphite mold
Roller quencher
Glass sample after roller quenching
Bad glass sample
Perfected dielectric barrier
Good dielectric barrier sample
DSC · STA 449 Jupiter
Raman · LabRAM HR
Raman · Jasco NRS-3100
At my poster · presentation day
With my lab techs at our other poster
Lab tech group · conference
Publications & Posters
Tap any paper to read the abstract and view the poster.
Variability of H-alpha Line Observed at High Spectral Resolution in the Solar Atmosphere
National Solar Observatory / University of Colorado Boulder · 2020 · Instruments: ISS, SOLIS · Funding: NASA NAS5-97045 (SORCE), NSF, NSO, AURA
Probing the Local Atomic Structure of Lead Borate Glasses with X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy
Coe College · Georgia Tech · NM Tech · Iowa Glass Conference 2023 · Funding: NSF REU #1950330 & RUI #2203142
Using Sodium Borate Glass for a Dielectric Barrier Discharge (DBD)
Coe College · Seton Hall · CNM · NM Tech · Iowa Glass Conference 2023 · Funding: NSF REU #1950330 & RUI #2203142
Technical Skills
Lab Instrumentation
Electrical Assembly
Embedded & Firmware
Automation & Scripting
Spectroscopy & Optics
Safety, Fabrication & Other
Education & Certifications
A.A.S. — Computer Information Systems, Network Administration
Central New Mexico Community College
Coursework: IT Essentials, IoT, Linux, Python, C++, AutoCAD, Semiconductor Apprentice, Network Security, Calculus I.
Deep Dive IoT Bootcamp
400+ hours: smart device coding (C++), electronic circuits, soldering, clean room operations, lab and factory automation.
Capstone: Smart Bar ↗
Cisco Certifications
CCNAv7 Introduction to Networks (Apr 2022) · CCNA Switching, Routing & Wireless Essentials (Aug 2022)
Leadership & Community
Board Member · New Mexico Tech Talks
Strategic planning, partnerships, and community engagement for New Mexico's premier tech organization. Help organize NMTT's flagship initiatives — NM Tech Week (statewide programming, Oct 26–30, 2026), TechFest (two days of industry tracks), and Desert Dev Lab, our annual hackathon.
See the Desert Dev Lab 2026 impact
Desert Dev Lab 2026 · April 18–19 · WESST Enterprise Center
- 70 hackers across two days — up from 32 in 2025 (100 RSVPs).
- ~200 demo-day attendees — up from 30 last year.
- 20 mentors and 10 volunteers supporting teams (12 mentors in 2025).
- Operating budget grew ~2.7× year-over-year, exceeding the fundraising goal by ~95%.
- 1 internship hire made on-site by a judge for a 2nd-place winner.
- 2 teams continued building post-event — Team Koko (now collaborating with the NM Economic Development Department's Food & Agriculture office) and BAEs 2 (pursuing post-hackathon mentorship for a D2G product).
- Team OHM EI's project continued development under a Stanford summer program.
- Sponsor & judge partnerships: WESST, Mayor Tim Keller, Talin Market, Rolling Still Distillery, High and Dry Brewing, Ardham, Trilyon, Data With Style.
- Press: KOB News 4 · KRQE News 13 · RealmIQ · ABQ OneMedia · KKOB 96.3 The Weekend with Terry Travis.
“Desert Dev Lab Hackathon brought out the best NM has to offer. From up-and-coming students in the southern part of our state to established professionals right here in ABQ, this hackathon showed that the solutions to ongoing issues in our local food and agriculture sectors are right here in our own community… The ideas that emerged this weekend will surely become real working solutions because of this.” — Carly Heidenfeld · Talin Market (sponsor & judge)
Chapter Director
Leading chapter strategy, events, and partnerships for Latinx professionals in tech across New Mexico.
Active Organizer
Q-STEM (LGBTQ+ STEM Community) · STEM Core Program · ALRISE Program — advancing equity and inclusion in STEM across New Mexico.
Letters of Recommendation
In Memoriam
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