MEPSA (Multiple Excess Peak Search Algorithm) identifies peaks within a uniformly sampled time series affected by uncorrelated Gaussian noise. MEPSA scans the time series at different timescales by comparing a given peak candidate with a variable number of adjacent bins. While this has originally been conceived for the analysis of gamma-ray burst light (GRB) curves, its usage can be readily extended to other astrophysical transient phenomena whose activity is recorded through different surveys. MEPSA's high flexibility permits the mask of excess patterns it uses to be tailored and optimized without modifying the code.