Juan Francisco Pesantez Borja

Hello, I’m Juan Francisco Pesantez Borja. I grew up in Ecuador, studied my electrical and electronics engineering degree in France @ INSA Lyon, and I’m now finishing my ECE master’s in the United States @ Georgia Tech. Moving across countries and cities taught me to stay curious, move fast, and adapt—because interesting problems never arrive on a perfect schedule.

The spark came at seven, with a Casio watch that could control TVs. I wore it for three years, quietly switching TVs in shops and marveling that something so small could do so much. That mix of play and curiosity pulled me into electronics and computing. Later, I realized that adding machine learning to embedded systems unlocked more playful and, far more useful, possibilities than I could have imagined at seven. Since then, I’ve focused on ML that interacts with the world: computer vision, robotics, and language processing.

I’m a native Spanish speaker and fluent in English and French. I love customizing my environment and automating repetitive tasks, whether that’s setting up my computer (hello, r/unixporn) or my smartphone. When I’m outside, I’m usually playing or watching soccer, hiking, or playing basketball or volleyball.

One of the most memorable experiences was exhibiting at CES 2024 with Zoe Care. I built the prototype, helped set up the stand and spent 7 days explaining to journalists, industry engineers, and professors our work. Days were long and exhausting, but it was thrilling to see how our research could really be used in the real world. And let’s not forget that CES is a spectacle: the energy of the event, the new technologies, the people… it was an unforgettable experience.

I’m currently exploring PhD opportunities where real-world applications meet AI perception. If you’re building systems that must be accurate, efficient, and deployable, I’d love to connect!