Joel Strickland, PhD, CEng

Artificial Intelligence Engineer | Problem-solving • Decision Intelligence • Practical Systems


Professional Summary

Senior AI/ML leader with 9.4 years delivering practical solutions across pharma, chemicals, materials, manufacturing, and consumer goods. Focused on problem framing, algorithm development, uncertainty-aware modelling, and end-to-end delivery.

Delivered projects to enterprise clients including Rolls-Royce, BAT, NASA, voestalpine, and FUCHS (many clients under NDA). Built AI platforms from research through production, with expertise in ML for sparse, noisy, high-dimensional industrial data and modern tooling including LLMs.

Bridge technical depth (PhD, 20+ peer-reviewed publications, chartered engineer) with commercial acumen and hands-on implementation.


Core Expertise

Problem-solving & ML

Algorithm Development • Conformal Prediction • Uncertainty Quantification • Bayesian Optimization • Active Learning • Deep Learning • Federated Learning • Adaptive Experimental Design

LLM Tooling

LangChain/LangGraph • RAG Systems • Multi-Agent Architectures • MCP Protocol

Technical Stack

Python (NumPy, Pandas, SciKit-Learn, PyTorch, TensorFlow) • Docker • MCP (Model Context Protocol) • REST APIs • FastAPI • Backend Development • Full-Stack Product Building • SQL • GCP/Vertex AI • Git • CI/CD

Domain Expertise

Materials Science • Pharmaceuticals • Chemicals • Manufacturing • Formulation Development • Process Safety • Experimental Design (DoE)

Business Impact

Technical Pre-Sales • Enterprise Delivery • Stakeholder Management • C-Suite Communication • Thought Leadership • Training & Workshops


Professional Experience

Head of Agentic AI & Technical Pre-Sales

Intellegens | Cambridge, UK | May 2024 - Present

Leading agentic AI development and enterprise adoption—combining technical innovation with strategic client partnerships across pharma, chemicals, and materials.

Key Achievements:
- Architected agentic AI platform - multi-agent architectures, LangGraph, MCP integration for autonomous R&D workflows
- Led cross-functional team of ML engineers, implementing agile sprints
- Delivered technical demonstrations across pharma, chemicals, manufacturing, food, and materials sectors
- Conducted training and workshops for enterprise clients (voestalpine webinar)
- Delivered webinar "Can Agentic AI Transform Chemicals & Materials R&D?"
- Authored blog series on agentic AI for R&D
- Presented at AIChE Spring Meeting 2024 on ML applications in process safety

Technical Highlights: LangGraph • Multi-Agent Systems • RAG • MCP Protocol • Gemini/LLM Integration • Prompt Engineering • Full-Stack Development


Principal ML Scientist

Intellegens | Cambridge, UK | May 2023 - May 2024

Led high-impact ML consultancy for Fortune 500 clients. Built and scaled solutions for sparse, noisy industrial data.

Key Achievements:
- Collaborated with DOW on adaptive experimental design (book chapter)
- Implemented Reinforcement Learning for up to 50% reduction in hyperparameter optimization time
- Established LLM-based Q&A document search framework, improving internal data retrieval

Technical Highlights: Reinforcement Learning • LLMs • Bayesian Methods • Neural Networks


ML Scientist

Intellegens | Cambridge, UK | September 2022 - May 2023

Developed production ML systems and pioneered explainable AI tools.

Key Achievements:
- Delivered Yili case study on food formulations optimization
- Conducted AM optimization webinar with Lawrence Livermore National Lab
- Developed edge computing algorithm reducing model size by 14,000x whilst maintaining 70% accuracy
- Innovated TensorFlow model that improved core temperature prediction accuracy by 40%

Technical Highlights: TensorFlow • Edge Computing • Explainable AI • Uncertainty Quantification


Data Scientist

Intellegens | Cambridge, UK | July 2021 - September 2022

Early team member post-spin-out from Cambridge's Cavendish Lab. Built foundational ML solutions for enterprise clients.

Key Achievements:
- Published OCAS case study on steel PSP modeling
- Published AMRC case study on composite manufacturing optimization
- Delivered webinar with Lucideon on materials and process development
- Devised advanced automated data clustering using Bayesian methods and Kullback-Leibler divergence

Technical Highlights: Active Learning • Gaussian Processes • Bayesian Methods • Feature Engineering


Machine Learning Researcher

University of Leicester | Leicester, UK | September 2016 - June 2021

Doctoral research sponsored by Rolls-Royce plc, applying machine learning and statistical modeling to aerospace materials challenges.

Key Achievements:
- Published 16 peer-reviewed papers (4 as lead author) in Acta Materialia, Scientific Reports, Crystals
- Co-developed DenMap algorithm for automated microstructure recognition, adopted by international groups
- Certified AFHEA through 4 years teaching data analysis and simulation
- Led residential advisor team managing student welfare (2015-2017)

Publications highlight: "On the origin of mosaicity in directionally solidified Ni-base superalloys" (Acta Materialia, 2021)


Selected Client Engagements

Public Client Work (2021-2026) — 18 organizations

- BAT - Pharmacokinetics modeling (paper)
- Zizo - Pharmacokinetics modeling (paper)
- B-Secur - Pharmacokinetics modeling (paper)
- Equivital - Core body temperature prediction (paper)
- DOW - Adaptive experimental design (book chapter)
- Photocentric - 3D printing materials ML pilot (partnership)
- Ansys - Integration partnership (partnership)
- PlantSea - Sustainable materials pre-sales (case study)
- Avery Dennison - ML pilot (LinkedIn recommendation)
- FUCHS - Lubricant formulation development (case study)
- voestalpine - Advanced materials and AM optimization (webinar)
- Yili - Food formulation optimization (case study)
- OCAS/ArcelorMittal - Steel PSP modeling (case study)
- AMRC - Composite manufacturing optimization (case study)
- Lawrence Livermore National Lab - AM process optimization (webinar)
- Lucideon - Materials development (webinar)
- CPI - Battery industrialisation (webinar)
- Rolls-Royce - Nickel-base superalloy design (PhD thesis)

Additional enterprise clients across pharma, chemicals, and manufacturing under NDA.


Publications & Thought Leadership

Recent highlights — not exhaustive.

Recent Publications (2024-2026)

- "Talk Freely, Execute Strictly: Schema-Gated Agentic AI for Flexible and Reproducible Scientific Workflows" - arXiv Preprint, 2026
- "Building Trustworthy AI Agents for Science: Lessons from NOA, a schema-gated conversational research testbed" - Intellegens Technical Paper, 2026
- "Degrees of Uncertainty: Conformal Deep Learning for Core Body Temperature Prediction" - Communications Engineering, 2025
- "Rapid Residual Stress Simulation in Additive Manufacturing through Machine Learning" - Additive Manufacturing, 2025
- "Adaptive Experimental Design" - The Digital Transformation of Product Formulation, 2024
- "Quantifying Benefits of Imputation over QSAR Methods" - J. Chemical Information & Modeling, 2024

Conference Presentations (2024-2025)

- AIChE Global Process Safety Conference 2025 - ML in Process Safety
- AIM 2025 Conference - Federated Learning in Materials Science
- User Group Meeting 2025 - NOA Agentic AI System Demo
- AIChE Spring Meeting 2024 - ML for Chemicals & Materials R&D

Webinars & Workshops

- "Can Agentic AI Transform Chemicals & Materials R&D?" (2025)
- "Tracking LLMs in Materials Science" (2024)
- "Revolutionizing Energy Storage with AI" (2023)
- Multiple formulation development and DoE webinars (2021-2024)

Ongoing Research (2025-2026)

- Targets Up Front for More Focused Adaptive Design
- Machine Learning for Oligonucleotides
- The Benefits of Accelerators for Science
- Federated Learning for Adaptive Design
- Calibrated Uncertainty for Rehabilitation

Total Publications: 20+ peer-reviewed papers | Citations: 290+ | Active Research Profile: Ongoing collaborations


Education & Certifications

PhD in Materials Science with Machine Learning
University of Leicester | September 2016 - June 2021
- Sponsored by Rolls-Royce plc
- Thesis: "Patterns in Directionally Solidified Alloys" (algorithmic microstructure analysis)
- Developed image feature recognition tool (DenMap) for automated microstructure analysis
- 16 publications during PhD, 4 as first author
- Advanced training: Solidification Modeling (ESI Group, Switzerland)

MEng (Mechanical) with First Class Honours
University of Leicester | September 2011 - June 2016

Professional Certifications:
- Chartered Engineer (CEng)
- Professional Member, Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (MIMMM)
- Associate Fellow of Higher Education Academy (AFHEA)
- Essential Management Skills Certificate
- IBM Data Science Certificate


Professional Activities


Beyond Work

Continental Divide Trail (2017) — Hiked 3,100 miles from Mexico to Canada along the Rocky Mountains over 6 months, raising funds for MQ Mental Health and the University of Leicester's Widening Participation scheme. One of approximately 200 annual completions. [University feature | Trail journal]