Ricardo Alegria,
Senior Water Treatment Engineer

Tell us a little bit about your career experience before joining OSSO.

I did both my Bachelors degree in Chemical Engineering and Master’s degree in Biological and Chemical Processes in Portugal. After leaving university, I stayed in Portugal, initially working for a water treatment company as a Chemical Engineer working on all sorts of equipment, from steam turbines to water cooling towers. After working there for almost five years I applied for an internship programme, which sends Portuguese people under the age of 29 on international work placements and had the opportunity to travel to Houston, Texas. While I was there, I worked for an oil and gas firm, mainly carrying out maintenance and yard work which I really enjoyed. After completing the internship, I returned to Portugal to work as a Process Engineer, before I made the move to a new role in the UK, working as a Production Engineer. After my relocation, I was contacted by Tristan Hughes, the construction business unit leader at OSSO, with the opportunity to join the OSSO team.

What made you want to join OSSO?

There were two main things that really stood out to me. Firstly, the potential for personal development. Joining the construction business line at an early stage in its growth was an exciting opportunity and has given me the chance to really test and grow my skills in new areas like electronics and 3D modelling, while driving the expansion of the unit as we secure new customers and projects. On my first day we were actually carrying out an on-site trial for the WTS20, so I’ve been able to see the technology going from the early stages to being a first-class technology deployed for customers, which is really rewarding.

I was also interested in the potential to be involved with a lot more client-facing and on-site work, getting stuck in with our equipment, working on maintenance and troubleshooting, but also interacting and consulting with our customers day-to-day. That was something I had really enjoyed in previous roles and wanted the opportunity to do again.

Tell us a bit about what your role entails

My responsibilities span a range of activities, from troubleshooting and repairing our equipment, prepping gear ahead of deployment, carrying out site surveys and training our customers on how to best deploy equipment. I also work closely with the team to make any steps needed to optimise our equipment and support with our lab testing to validate the efficacy of our solutions. Of course, in addition to site and yard work, I am also always talking to customers over the phone to provide additional support where required!

What do you enjoy most about your role?

I really enjoy the diversity of the job. I have the opportunity to engage with clients and assist them in deploying our equipment in the most effective way possible and the hands-on work adds a fulfilling dimension to my responsibilities. Of course, with all of this on-site work in the UK winter, it is definitely colder than I am used to, but I really enjoy working closely with our customers!

It is also important that we do our bit to preserve the UK’s lakes and rivers and prevent unnecessary pollution from construction projects, so being able to train and support customers in the industry in how to do this is also rewarding.

Finally, I enjoy being part of the growing construction unit within the OSSO team. We have a collaborative and welcoming culture which is great to work within.

Click here to learn more about our construction offering.