About Me

Hi there, I'm Alexis Delich, an R&D Chemical Engineer with 7+ years of experience supporting R&D teams in developing new products and optimizing technological processes, now, turned into a freelance technical consultant.

I specialized in conducting experimental trials and statistical data analysis, and for the past few years, I played a pivotal role in collaborating with various departments - including operations, maintenance, finance, HR and outsourcing services with industry suppliers - to achieve company goals. My journey has taken me to exciting projects in Argentina, Spain and the United Kingdom, where I discovered my passion for helping STEM professionals enhance their employability skills to make them advance in their careers, technical recruitment and the management of process industry suppliers.

Feel free to review my full background and working experience below, and If you would like to know more about me or explore potential collaborations, feel free to reach out.

Cheers,

Alexis

Alexis

Managing Director

Wembley, London, UK

alexis.delich@stemconnectlondon.co.uk

+44 078 7434 4499

My Core Competencies

● Lab and pilot plant operation

● Design, planning and execution of lab experiments and pilot plant trials, including material preparation, run operation, sampling and cleaning.

● Reporting and statistical data analysis with Minitab 2016.

● Technical validation of raw materials and final products.

● Shipping of Dangerous Goods by Road, Sea and Air.

● Experience running industrial plant operations, including chemical reactions (pyrolysis), atmospheric and vacuum distillation, flash separation, formulations, vacuum crystallization, mixing, filtration, drying, milling, etc.

● Experience operating multiple plant equipment, including reactors, separation columns and lab distillers, crystallizers, heat exchangers, centrifuges, mills, filters, dryers, pumps, etc.

● Creation of working procedures and systems

● Creation of PFD and P&ID with Autocad 2016

● Management of Contractors, Partners and Suppliers

● Translation: English, Spanish and Italian languages

● Technical Recruiting including writing job ads, screening CVs and interviewing candidates.

Education & Qualifications

Licences & Certifications

2022

Diploma in Open Innovation

National Technological University

Buenos Aires, Argentina

2017 - 2018

Project Management Training Course

Autonomous University of Madrid

Madrid, Spain

2011 - 2016

Bachelor’s in Chemical Engineering

Autonomous University of Madrid

Madrid, Spain

2005 - 2008

Industrial Maintenance Technician

National Technological University

Buenos Aires, Argentina

2023

Leadership for Technical Roles and Mid Managers

National Technological University

2023

Technical Recruitment 4.0

National Technological University

2023

Chat GPT, from beginner to expert user
National Technological University

2022

IChemE Associate Member

2022

Dangerous Goods by Air, Road and Sea

The Training Team, Heathrow Airport, UK

Tolsa SA

2019: Formulations and Mixture Designs using Minitab 2019

2018: Introduction to Taguchi Designs

2017: Introduction to DOE Designs: FFD & RSM

Relevant Work Experience

Itero Technologies | London, UK

Feb 2023 – Current

Technical Recruiter

Leading a hiring process for an Electrical-Mechanical Maintenance Technician involving writing a job description, management of recruiters, and screening and interviewing candidates.

June 2022 – Current

R&D Chemical Engineer

Implementing and executing pyrolysis trials in pilot plant by applying a Design of Experiments technique, allowing to correlate properties of obtained products vs feedstocks used.
Leading design and execution of lab tests to purify pyrolysis oils with activated carbon to scale it up to the demonstration plant.
Increasing engagement of potential customers by around 50%, by delivering up to 15 distilled oil samples per week by applying fractional distillation and time management techniques.
Reducing up to 70% of costs associated with the delivery of Dangerous Goods samples to customers, by identifying, tracking and mitigating shipping challenges by air, road and sea.

Zschimmer & Schwarz Spain | Valencia, Spain

Aug 2021 – May 2022

R&D Process Engineer

Assisted the R&D and Operations Team in the purification process of 2-Ethyl-Hexanol by leading lab and pilot plant trials, collecting process data and writing technical reports.
Updated working time methods and procedures for current and new products.
Reviewed and rearranged data to improve lab and pilot tests.

Tate & Lyle (ASR Group) | London, UK

Mar 2020 – Feb 2021

R&D Pilot Plant Engineer

Led the purification process of liquid sugars with activated carbon and filter media by performing experimental tests in a filtration pilot unit, allowing to increase the production rate of up to 40%.
Supported the Operations Team in transferring knowledge for process scale-up and generating PDF and P&ID through Ms Visio and AutoCAD.
Managed contractors when onsite, supervising TBRA, working procedures and following up with quotes, invoices and payments.

Aug 2019 – Feb 2020

R&D Pilot Plant Process Development Technician

Supported the Pilot Plant Manager and R&D Team to conduct experimental trials for the purification of liquid sugars through vacuum crystallization. Collection of data, data analysis and reporting.

Tolsa SA | Madrid, Spain

July 2017 – July 2019

R&D Pilot Plant Engineer

Led the purification process of clay minerals (Bentonite, Attapulgite and Hectorite) by performing experimental tests in lab and pilot plant to select the proper hydro-cyclon nozzle size.
Provided technical support to the Operations Team in the commissioning of a new hammer mill in the main plant to increase the capacity of the plant by around 30%.
Led lab tests based on experimental design (Taguchi) to improve the stability of a clay-based resin formulation by around 60%.

Dec. 2016 – June 2017

R&D Engineering Intern

Assistance to the R&T Team in the development of pilot trials to purify clay minerals (Sepiolite).
Updated PFD and P&ID through MS Visio and AutoCAD.

Career break taken to live and study in Spain

Nov. 2009 – Oct. 2016

I worked in Hospitality and Tourism for 5 years. Job not related to the position but allowed me to improve communication skills as well as English and Italian languages.

Dow Chemical Argentina, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Nov. 2007 – Oct. 2009

Maintenance Technician

Planned and executed maintenance tasks, acting as a plant operator. Technical support by monitoring and logging of data. Regular checks of plant equipment. Contact suppliers when required.

Aug. 2007 – Oct. 2007

Maintenance Apprentice