Treasure Valley · engineering + software

I build the systems that keep real-world work moving.

I help field teams, manufacturers, and local service businesses replace paper, spreadsheets, and disconnected workflows with practical software and automation.

10k+
Hoses tested each season
20+
Departments using FireGauge
5+
Production applications shipped
Design Engineer at WascoView résumé
Nathan Burtnett
The through-line
Hardware → software → operations

Learn the real process, build the useful system, and stay through deployment.

Industrial systems

Where hardware, controls, and data meet.

At Wasco, I build production test and automation systems from concept through deployment. The work spans mechanical fixtures, instrumentation, robotics, embedded interfaces, software, and the people who rely on the result.

This is a deliberately sanitized overview. Proprietary product details, drawings, and internal data are not shown.

Wasco · Design EngineerProduction systems

Test stands and automation built for real production use

Four to five automated test stands, real-time data collection, and a UR5 collaborative-robot test cell—built across pressure, flow, electrical, and life-cycle testing.

4–5
automated test stands
UR5
robotic test cell

Fixtures & physical systems

Pressure, flow, electrical, and life-cycle test hardware built around the actual product.

Controls & embedded interfaces

PCBs, instrumentation, motion, and interfaces that connect the physical system to software.

Data & production decisions

Automated logging and analysis that make test results repeatable, visible, and useful.

Pressure, flow, electrical, and life-cycle testing
Robotics and repeatable production workflows
PCB and embedded-system integration
Cryogenic coolant manifold
Lam Research

Cryogenic coolant manifold

Designed a metal-additive manifold for semiconductor equipment and validated thermal and fluid behavior in Siemens NX.

Metal additiveFEAFluid systems
Oxidation furnace upgrade
Cal Poly SLO

Oxidation furnace upgrade

Designed clean-room fluid delivery and electrical distribution, then assembled a steam generator for the lab system.

Process engineeringElectricalSafety
More shipped work

Smaller builds. Same habit of shipping.

Client work and experiments that show range without competing with the flagship case studies.

Sage Brush Homeworks

Sage Brush Homeworks

Booking and operations platform

A customer-facing site with service packages, real-time pricing, booking, and an owner dashboard for appointments and revenue.

Visit site
Feed Formulation

Feed Formulation

Domain knowledge turned into a daily tool

A ration and ingredient-control application built after rapidly learning the customer’s formulation workflow.

Open app
MeetingCost

MeetingCost

A useful joke with a live counter

A small application that shows the real-time cost of a meeting based on participant salaries.

Try it
Nerf Turret

Nerf Turret

Motion, controls, and rapid prototyping

A motorized targeting system combining embedded controls, mechanical design, and iterative tuning.

How I help

Three kinds of operational problems I take on.

AI helps me move faster, but the work begins with engineering judgment, domain learning, and a clear understanding of the process.

Field and operations tools

Offline-capable workflows, data capture, reporting, scheduling, and the handoffs that keep field teams moving.

Field formsReportsDispatchOffline workflows
Explore field operations

Manufacturing and test automation

Fixtures, instrumentation, robotics, embedded interfaces, and software that turn testing into a repeatable system.

Test standsData loggingRoboticsEmbedded systems

Small-business systems

Customer intake, quoting, booking, internal dashboards, and practical tools built around how the company already works.

Lead flowAdmin toolsCustomer portalsBilling handoffs
01

Learn the operation

Watch the work and find the costly handoffs.

02

Build the useful core

Prototype the smallest system that changes the day.

03

Prove it in the real workflow

Test with the people who will actually use it.

04

Deploy and hand it over

Document, train, support, and leave real ownership.

About

I came to software through the shop floor.

I started with welding and machining, studied mechanical engineering and mechatronics at Cal Poly, and now work as a Design Engineer at Wasco building test systems, automation, and new products.

Software became another tool for solving the same kind of problem. I built FireGauge for a real field crew, then kept shipping applications for service businesses and operational teams. AI helps me prototype quickly; hands-on engineering keeps the result grounded.

I like the seam between the physical process, the information moving through it, and the person who needs the system to work on a busy Tuesday.

Builder’s path
Welding → machining → mechanical engineering → production systems
Based in
Treasure Valley, Idaho
Working style
Learn the domain quickly, build the useful version, and ship
Additional professional work

Municipal and nonprofit grant development

Current contracted work includes opportunity research, grant-readiness planning, narrative development, budgeting support, and application coordination for public-safety and community projects.

Presented as current work; no award outcomes are claimed.

Start with the problem

What's slowing your operation down?

You do not need a software specification. Tell me where work is repetitive, information disappears, or the current process depends too heavily on one person.

  • A field process still running on paper
  • A spreadsheet that has become a business system
  • Testing or reporting that consumes skilled time
  • Customer information getting lost between handoffs

Describe the bottleneck

A few plain sentences are enough.