Her Story
About Alejandra
Alejandra Tena is the Founder, CEO, and Software Engineer at Equilibria Technology, where she is developing a process simulation platform designed to make engineering calculations more transparent, understandable, and trustworthy. With a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from The University of Texas at San Antonio, Alejandra combines her chemical engineering foundation with software engineering expertise to build tools at the intersection of engineering, scientific computing, software and artificial intelligence.
At Equilibria Technology, Alejandra works across the full technology stack, including React, FastAPI, PostgreSQL, APIs, scientific libraries, and engineering simulation tools. Her work focuses on developing scalable simulation workflows, deterministic engineering calculations, and systems that help students and engineers understand the assumptions, model choices, and limitations behind computational results. A central goal of her work is to use computational tools not simply to produce answers, but to help build stronger engineering intuition.
Alongside building Equilibria, Alejandra works in AI evaluation and benchmarking, where she designs technical benchmarks, evaluates frontier AI systems, and identifies reasoning errors, failure modes, and areas where human judgment remains essential. Her interests span software engineering, artificial intelligence, scientific computing, process simulation, and the broader question of how increasingly powerful computational tools can remain interpretable and trustworthy.
Alejandra’s professional journey is guided by curiosity, persistence, intellectual honesty, and a willingness to embrace uncertainty. She considers founding Equilibria one of her most significant professional achievements and is passionate about improving transparency in computational engineering tools while expanding Equilibria’s capabilities and presence in academic and engineering environments. Outside of work, she enjoys yoga, visiting museums, and spending time with friends and pets.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Alejandra
01What do you attribute your success to?
Curiosity, persistence, and finding comfort in uncertainty. I’m a deeply curious person. When I encounter an obstacle, I don’t see it as evidence of why I can’t do something. Instead, I try to understand what I need to learn or become in order to do it. Persistence is a big part of that. I’m willing to sit in discomfort long enough to keep moving toward the goal rather than giving up before results show up.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
Stay curious, understand your gaps, and don’t be afraid to enter rooms before you feel completely ready. You don’t need to know everything, but you do need to be honest about what you know, what you don’t, and what you’re willing to learn. Some of the biggest opportunities in my career came from being willing to figure things out as I went rather than waiting until I felt perfectly prepared.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Don’t confuse not knowing something yet with not belonging. Women in technical fields can feel like they need to be completely prepared before they speak up, build something, or pursue an opportunity. Hold yourself to a high standard, but don’t wait for perfection. Learn the fundamentals, ask good questions, be a good steward of the work, understand your gaps, find people who know what you don’t, fail, fail again, learn, and keep going anyway.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
We’re putting increasingly powerful computational and AI tools into engineers’ hands. That creates enormous opportunity, but it also makes transparency more important than ever. Engineers still need to understand why a result was produced, what assumptions are underneath it, and when not to trust it. The future isn’t just more automation but more transparent, interpretable computation.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Curiosity, intellectual honesty, persistence, and finding comfort in the uncertainty. My work crosses chemical engineering, software, education, and entrepreneurship, so I'm constantly entering areas where I still have things to learn, and I'm not intimidated by not knowing - if anything, I'm motivated by it.
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