Francesco is a professional engineer who worked several years in the construction industry prior to returning to academia in 2012. He holds a BEng in Industrial Engineering, an MSc in Engineering Management and a PhD in Civil Engineering and Built Environment.

Francesco has been a Visiting Researcher in the School of Management of Cranfield University and a visiting PhD student at the Federal University of Viçosa in Brazil, Department of Architecture and Urbanism. He's worked on research funded by the EPSRC and Innovate UK, as well as the Isaac Newton Trust.