Curriculum Vitae
Francesco Modena
Data Scientist & Product Manager
About
I work on complex problems, where data needs to be turned into decisions. With a background in physics and hands-on experience across data science, product management, and customer-facing roles, I work at the intersection of technical depth and practical delivery. Outside of work, I experiment with agentic AI and self-hosted language models in my own time — the same curiosity that got me building neuroscience ML pipelines in the first place.
Skills
Product Management
Product RoadmappingPRD WritingCross-functional CollaborationStakeholder ManagementData-driven Decision Making
Data & Machine Learning
PythonRJuliaMATLABTensorFlowPyTorchSQLpandasscikit-learn
Agentic AI & AI-Assisted Development
Claude CodeCursorGitHub Copilot
Cloud & Compute
AWSGCP
Tools & Platforms
GitHubGitLab (CI/CD)Atlassian SuiteMicrosoft Office Suite
Languages
English — FluentItalian — Native
Experience
Data Scientist · MaxWell Biosystems · Zurich, Switzerland
Jan 2023 — May 2026- Managed software feature development projects from conceptualisation to release, coordinating across technical team and stakeholders to deliver user-focused tools.
- Served as Product Manager for large-scale data-handling modules within the MaxLab Live software, translating scientific and customer requirements into a shipped product roadmap.
- Field Application Scientist assignment (6 months, 50%): conducted discovery calls, delivered tailored demos to domain experts, and presented at major conferences — developing a sharp understanding of real and perceived user needs and how to translate them into product thinking.
- Designed and implemented semi-automatic analysis algorithms and customised data analysis pipelines for internal studies and external users, integrating new analytical features into company software.
- Acted as alpha tester and internal quality control for new software releases, defining requirements, detecting bugs, and collaborating closely with the software team to ensure robust performance.
- Beyond the core role: supported Claude Code's adoption across the team, mentored data-scientist interns, led agile ceremonies for the data-handling workstream, and helped manage external collaborations and grants — including a joint project integrating MaxWell's system into an external lab-automation platform.
Master Thesis Project · ETHZ — D-BSSE (BEL) · Basel, Switzerland
Apr 2022 — Dec 2022- Independently designed and deployed a fully automated ML pipeline for neuronal classification from complex neuroscientific datasets, covering data extraction, curation, wrangling, and advanced machine learning algorithms.
- Delivered a tool robust and reproducible enough to be integrated into BEL's permanent lab workflow, where it remains in active use — demonstrating real-world scientific impact beyond the internship.
Education
Master's Degree in Physics of Complex Systems
Politecnico di Torino · 110/110 Summa Cum Laude
- Mathematical Modelling, Machine Learning, Advanced Statistics.
- Thesis: "Neuronal classification on MEA1K and NeuroCMOS through extracellular electrophysiological recording" — ETHZ D-BSSE, Basel.
Bachelor of Physics
University of Trento
- Relevant coursework in Advanced Mathematics and Modelling.