Alexander Groenvynck

Finishing my bachelor in Energy Technology at Odisee Ghent in September 2026. Currently in Girona on Erasmus, writing my thesis: a heater plate control rig that precisely measures heatsink dissipation on a ceramic resistive element. The Python data pipeline behind that rig — reading serial telemetry, filtering, extracting thermal resistance curves across repeated test runs — is where most of what I have learned about structured data analysis has landed in practice.

The thing I find genuinely interesting is the diagnostic moment: when a system does something unexpected and you have to figure out exactly why. Not roughly why. The industrial controller project I did here in Girona started with a machine that arrived from storage completely non-functional, no documentation, no fault history. The only way forward was systematic elimination — power subsystem, control subsystem, sensors — cross-referencing the ladder logic against the actual machine state until the root cause was clear. I enjoy that kind of problem more than building something that works first time.

Python is the tool I reach for when I need to understand a dataset. I built the full data pipeline for my thesis from scratch rather than using a generic serial monitor, because I wanted control over filtering, visualisation, and how results looked across multiple test runs. I use AI tools including Claude Code actively as part of that workflow — not just for boilerplate but for accelerating analysis and tooling work. The EV charger project added another layer: writing automation logic that handles the edge cases (solar dropout, lost connectivity mid-session) required iterating on failure modes, not just the happy path.

Before switching to energy technology I spent a year studying Applied Computer Science at Howest in Bruges. I did not finish it, but the code background stuck. It is what makes me comfortable writing analysis scripts and data tooling from scratch rather than reaching for a spreadsheet, and it shapes how I approach firmware work too.

Strengths: root cause analysis, working independently under ambiguity, and translating technical findings into something clear and actionable. On the EV charger project the split was natural — I owned the hardware and integration, my teammate handled the documentation, and the combination worked. When that split is not available, I figure it out.

Outside of engineering: field hockey goalkeeper since 2008. Started in the first team at every youth level, got promoted to senior first team at 17. Currently playing in the second team while abroad. I like to win.

Dutch native, fluent English, basic French.