Francisco Alvarez
About Francisco Alvarez
Francisco Alvarez is a Principal Research Scientist at Convoy Inc, where he has enhanced price prediction models through advanced data techniques since 2018. He holds a Ph.D. in Atmospheric Science from Saint Louis University and has extensive experience in data science and meteorology.
Work at Convoy
Francisco Alvarez has been serving as a Principal Research Scientist at Convoy Inc since 2018. In this role, he focuses on enhancing the accuracy of price prediction models. He employs data blending and model bias correction techniques, specifically utilizing XGBoost. His work contributes to improving the company's pricing strategies and operational efficiency within the freight industry.
Education and Expertise
Francisco Alvarez holds a Ph.D. in Atmospheric Science from Saint Louis University, where he studied from 2010 to 2014. He also earned a B.S. in Meteorology from the same institution, completing his studies from 2005 to 2008, and a Master of Science in Meteorology from 2008 to 2010. His academic background provides a strong foundation in data analysis and modeling, which he applies in his research and development work.
Background
Prior to his current position, Francisco Alvarez gained diverse experience in various roles. He worked as a Specialist at Apple Retail for 11 months in 2008-2009. He served as a Graduate Teaching Assistant at Saint Louis University from 2009 to 2014, and as a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences for three months in 2014-2015. He also held the position of Data Science Team Lead at The Climate Corporation from 2015 to 2018.
Achievements
Throughout his career, Francisco Alvarez has developed and productionized several advanced models for price prediction. He created a long-horizon price forecast model using a Bayesian structural time series approach with Tensorflow and Tensorflow Probability. Additionally, he developed deep learning models for price prediction using Tensorflow and Keras, and he established an internal geospatial library and service that supports multiple machine learning models.
Mentorship and Leadership
Francisco Alvarez has taken on mentorship roles, guiding early career data and research scientists. His leadership extends to defining and implementing internal Python package standards and best practices, which enhances the efficiency and quality of data science practices within his teams.