Dreamers & Makers

How did you become CTE at Sener?
I became a CTE in the way one usually reaches important things: not by explicitly seeking it, but by working for many years in the same direction. My entire professional life has been linked to systems engineering. I started as a Requirements Manager in the Eurofighter programme between 2000 and 2007, a genuine school of rigour, complexity and mental discipline.

Later, I transferred all that learning from the aerospace world to the railway sector, in large-scale projects where systems engineering makes even more sense because the system is no longer an aircraft but a moving infrastructure. RAMS was added to that from my very first day at Sener. In fact, on Line 9 of Barcelona we developed from scratch the entire structure and methodology of the global safety dossier – something we now take for granted, but which was pioneering at the time.

I always say that to be a good systems engineer you need two things: abstract thinking and systems thinking. Understanding that the whole is not the sum of the parts, but something different, emergent. As Aristotle said – and centuries later, systems theory – the whole is greater than the sum of its components.

Since 2019 I have led the Infrastructure Integration discipline, first as a lead and since 2020 as discipline manager. We have grown enormously – in people, in projects and in global impact. Sener naming me CTE means an enormous recognition of that collective path, and I embrace it with great pride… and also with great responsibility.

What has been the most challenging project of your career?

Without a doubt, the Abu Dhabi LRT. It was one of those projects that truly test you. An extremely demanding client, very high standards and a highly complex technical and contractual context.

In that project I wore many hats at the same time – Requirements Manager, Safety Manager, RAM Manager and eventually also Security Manager. It was challenging not only because of the workload, but because we developed a methodology for requirements and RAMS that ended up becoming the standard the client used to assess all consortium.

And here comes the interesting part: our consortium (Sener + TYPSA, carrying out the preliminary design of the LRT) was directly compared with the group designing the metro, ADAPT, formed by AECOM, Parsons and DB – supposedly “the big ones”. Not only did we stand up remarkably well, but we earned recognition from the client… and from the client’s client. One of those moments you never forget.

What value do you think the role of CTE brings to Sener?

A CTE is, above all, a technical reference point. It provides solidity, conveys confidence and sends a very clear message: technical excellence matters here. And not only does it matter—it is nurtured.

The role encourages others to go further, to explore the state of the art, to avoid settling for “this is how it has always been done”. In that sense, it strongly aligns with what Yuval Noah Harari explains about knowledge: it’s not about accumulating information; it’s about understanding the systems behind it.

In addition, the CTE role is clearly linked to the business. The existence of CTEs says a great deal about a company: it indicates that it competes through quality, expertise and technical depth. It is a powerful signal to clients and internally within the organisation.

How do you drive innovation and talent development?

Firstly, by allowing mistakes. I always say that making mistakes is allowed – it’s even desirable – if what you propose is a new way of doing things. Innovation without error is a contradiction in terms.

Secondly, by almost always saying yes when I see passion in whoever proposes something. And by listening a lot. Truly listening. In a society suffering from a pandemic of superficiality and lack of attention, active listening is almost a revolutionary act.

I also try to “plant ideas” within the discipline: I assign individual objectives that are only the tip of the iceberg. Then people transform them, enrich them and sometimes take them to places I could never have imagined. That’s where genuinely groundbreaking methodologies, algorithms and approaches have emerged from.

My obsession is to create an environment where everyone feels they can express an opinion and where there is no prior censorship. The best ideas come from open environments that are free to think.

How do you support teams through mentoring?

We have developed a body of knowledge that captures more than 20 years of lessons learnt in integration and RAMS. It is the shared foundation of the discipline. But I always insist on the same thing: methodology is not a religion.

What matters is tailoring – adapting. Every project is different: working in an Anglo-Saxon environment like Scarborough is not the same as working in contexts where systems engineering is less systematised and more pragmatic solutions are required.

As a CTE I also participate in the initial definition of application strategies in projects and remain available to IRDs when technical questions or conflicts with the client arise. Rather than imposing answers, I try to help people think through the problem more effectively.

What skill do you consider key to convey or enhance?

Self-confidence. And that confidence is only built on a solid foundation of knowledge. You need to delve deeper, not stay on the surface – understand the fundamentals and verify sources.

Only then do you gain the intellectual flexibility to defend a methodology before any client. It’s like a saying I love: you have to know the rules very well in order to know when and how to break them.

Curiosity, effort and attitude. With that, almost anything is possible.

What advice would you give to someone who wants to grow in the technical field?
Infinite curiosity and a constant question: “What else can I do?” I really like the fable Good Luck by Álex Rovira and Fernando Trías de Bes. The central idea is simple but powerful: good luck is not something you wait for; it is something you build.

The knight in the fable leaves nothing to chance; he constantly asks himself what else he can learn, improve or prepare. The same applies in technical work. Only those who develop a healthy obsession with doing things better every day reach true mastery of their specialty.

And in the end, the toughest judge is yourself. If at night you go to bed with a smile thinking “this is well done,” you’re on the right path.

What trends will shape the future in your field?
Artificial intelligence, without any doubt. And not as a threat, but as an amplifier of talent. It will shift the focus from “doing” to “reviewing” – to making better decisions, faster and with more context.

In the discipline we are already working on ARCADE (Automatic Requirements Categorisation and Decision Engine), a virtual integration engineer that performs many of our tasks with the same level of performance. This will allow us to bring more value, reach projects earlier and be much more incisive from the outset.

We will also see a democratisation of integration engineering: it will no longer be a speciality for a few but a standard contractual requirement. We will need to differentiate ourselves there, and we are already working on the next step in our differentiation as a company: a complete vision of the V lifecycle, merging the conceptual left side with the right side, where physical assets are materialised.

Moving a technical room on a drawing costs little. Moving it once it is built… costs much more. Understanding that both – the lines on the drawing and the walls and connections in reality – are the same element is the true value we bring.

That said, there will also be intrusion. People who have brushed against systems integration and will present themselves as experts. A good systems engineer does not only think holistically: they understand traceability, assurance and the abstract models that underpin everything else. That requires years of testing mental models against the reality of projects.

What motivates you most about your work as a CTE?
Helping solve complex problems elegantly. Optimising progressive assurance and giving meaning to all lifecycle deliverables: requirements, architecture, design, testing, interfaces…

It’s like having a control centre for the entire project. But above all, what deeply motivates me is working with brilliant people who share that passion for doing things well, for standing out and for leaving a mark. Seeing the discipline grow through them is one of the greatest satisfactions a CTE can have.

How do you imagine your role will evolve in the coming years?
New CTEs will emerge and some areas will no longer have one. Some areas will be absorbed by AI; others will cease to be a business. But beyond that, the CTE must evolve towards a role of guide, beacon and internal consultant.

Less firefighting and more preventing fires. More exploration, more continuous learning, more contact with industry, science and technology. Everything evolves extremely quickly, and we must move with agility and an open mind.

As Heraclitus said: no one steps into the same river twice. In engineering, even less so.