2022 Engineering Leader Under 40: Alfonso Ducreux, 39

Alfonso Ducreux, 39
Lead Engineer, Southern California
Tesco Controls
Temecula, CA, United States
BS Electrical Engineering, California State University of Los Angeles

Why Alfonso is an Engineering Leader

As a young control engineer, Alfonso Ducreux is injecting new energy into the I&C industry with his talent, leadership and enthusiasm. He is a gifted engineer and the Southern California Engineering Lead for two system integration companies focused on the water, wastewater and energy industries. Alfonso leads by example and builds strong, motivated and highly functioning teams who excel at delivering critical infrastructure projects. Well regarded among peers and clients alike, he fosters a culture of teamwork, innovation and out-of-the box thinking. Alfonso is integral to the company’s strategic growth initiatives, especially the development of productivity tools and process improvements.

Achievements, Advancement & Career-related Industry Contributions

Alfonso embraced the profession with passion immediately after graduating. As a new engineer at San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS), he rapidly advanced from a junior position to designing and implementing regulatory requirements for SONGS security system and cybersecurity. At Luminant, a Texas-based electric utility, he was quickly promoted to Senior Electrical Engineer and engineered designs/technical specifications for DCS, NERC CIP and DFR systems. Alfonso also developed engineering procedures which improved processes for future projects. At Tesco Controls, Alfonso was promoted to Lead Engineer, supervising multi-functional teams and contractors on projects for water/wastewater treatment and critical infrastructure. He now manages 15 engineers at two sister companies.

Known for providing effective hands-on project management, Alfonso’s leadership skills include taking ownership of multiple concurrent projects involving strategic planning, scope development, cost control, risk management, constructability, scheduling and resource allocation. Alfonso has been involved in several high-profile projects (design-build automation, greenfield water/wastewater plants and remote stations, system upgrades/legacy migration projects), including a large urban water treatment plant system upgrade to address increasing cybersecurity threats and end-of-life equipment, a massive rural wastewater reclamation project and functional life safety systems in the Century Freeway Tunnels, a highly traveled corridor to LAX.

Non-work-related Activities & Hobbies

Alfonso shares his passion for engineering at local middle schools to inspire future generations, and to expose students to engineering careers in the real world. Alfonso has found that the more students learn about the growing field of automation, the more likely they are to find a fulfilling career in the industry.

Interesting Details

Alfonso loves soccer! He played soccer for the Panama National Team when he was young. Now, he is a high school soccer assistant coach and coaches his kids’ recreational soccer teams. Alfonso enjoys backpacking, surfing and snowboarding with friends and family.

Why Alfonso chose this career

“I was greatly inspired by my father, an engineer,” said Alfonso. “On weekends when I was young, he would take me to jobsites to watch and learn as he and other engineers manually drafted floor plans for new housing construction. This was before AutoCAD existed. I became fascinated with the idea of innovating and finding ways to automate drawings and eliminate manual work. After working in power generation, I was recruited by Tesco Controls to work on the industrial instrumentation and controls for the water/wastewater industry. I especially appreciate the ability to help customers by keeping critical water infrastructure safe and operational.”

Original content can be found at Control Engineering.

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