About Me

My name is Daniel, and ever since I was eleven I’ve had a passion for backend development. At the time, I was considered too young to enroll in formal courses, so I taught myself Java through YouTube videos and online resources.

Over time, that curiosity turned into something more serious. As a teenager, I joined a developer trainee programme within an online community, where I learned directly from experienced developers and eventually collaborated alongside them. That experience shaped the way I think about software: structured, collaborative, and always evolving.

Since then, my interests have expanded into artificial intelligence, system design, and the broader question of how technology should be built and applied responsibly. I am deeply motivated by continuous learning, not just improving technically, but understanding systems, ideas, and disciplines at a deeper level.

Contact Details

Daniel San Juan Palacios
Madrid, Spain
 dev@danichef.com danichefsanjuan@gmail.com

Education

M.Sc. Artificial Intelligence

University of St Andrews • 2025 – Present

Advanced training in artificial intelligence with focus on large language models, system design, and applied machine learning. Developing technical depth alongside competencies in project and product management.

B.Sc. Data Science & Artificial Intelligence

Leiden University • 2022 – 2025

Covered foundational and advanced topics in machine and deep learning, data analytics, and algorithm design. Bachelor’s thesis focused on fine-tuning LLMs for spatial tasks using robotic data, awarded cum laude (8.5).

Master’s Honours Course: Climate Change

Honours Academy – Leiden University • 2024 – 2025

Interdisciplinary programme focused on sustainability, societal transitions, and responsible leadership.

Minor: Technology-Based Entrepreneurship

TU Delft • 2024 – 2025

Built and iteratively refined a technology-based startup addressing an ethical challenge, integrating innovation, business modelling, and financial planning across multiple courses.

Bachelor of Theology (Part-Time)

St Patrick’s Pontifical University • 2025 – Present

Ongoing academic pursuit broadening philosophical and intellectual perspective.

Work Experience

Head of Teaching Assistants – Computer Systems

Leiden University • 2024 – 2025

Coordinated a team of nine teaching assistants, developed and maintained online course content, and delivered practical lectures to 150 students. In addition to leadership duties, fulfilled standard teaching assistant responsibilities when required. Received the highest student feedback scores among the teaching staff.

Teaching Assistant – Algorithms & Data Structures, Databases, Computing Systems, Symbolic AI

Leiden University • 2023 – 2025

Assisted students during workgroups, graded assignments and exams, conducted grading interviews, and audited evaluations to ensure fairness and consistency. Highlighted by students in course evaluations and received top feedback ratings in selected courses.

Freelance Software Developer

2020 – 2022

Developed custom software solutions for online businesses, created public plugins and add-ons, and designed user-friendly control panel interfaces. Collaborated with other developers on larger-scale technical projects.

Programming Languages

Languages used across academic, professional, and personal projects.

  • Java
  • Python
  • SQL
  • R
  • Prolog
  • Julia

Technical Skills:

Focused on artificial intelligence, system design, and applied machine learning.

  • LLM Fine-Tuning: LoRA / PEFT
  • LLM System Design: Agentic Workflows
  • Applied Machine Learning: PyTorch, TensorFlow, Scikit-Learn
  • Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG): Implementation and optimization
  • Containerization: Docker