Alexandra Dehaut

As a chemical engineer specialized in soft materials in particular leather and textile product development, I lead analytical research in order to match materials with finished goods and material development projects such as specifications building and trials coordination. My experience demonstrates my ability in project management in a R&D environment and root cause analysis to ensure 100% quality compliance. My goal is to be part of a team where we care in developing the best product on the market, and where, as an individual, my technical knowledge, analytical skills and interpersonal skills contribute to the company's overall success.

Leather Product Development Leader at Forvia (2024-02 – 2026-01)

#3 Worldwide automotive manufacturer of complete seat Scope: Lead engineering initiatives focused on leather and seating material performance, supporting product development, qualification processes, and technical risk mitigation in a production-linked environment.

• Led an R&D project on material chemical characterization, from benchmarking to data-driven acceptance criteria, helping mitigate recurrence risks tied to a prior €2M quality crisis
• Presented the final technical report of the R&D research project to nearly 400 people across all Forvia regions such as the US, India and European countries
• Built a backing material library with over a 100 types of fabrics, accelerating root-cause analysis and reducing material pairing by over 95%
• Drafted and implemented 6 new lab test methods and quality procedures across all Europe, to strengthen compliance
• Developed and deployed a leather material procedure, improving consistency and traceability while reducing European project workload equivalent to ~2 full-time roles
• Provided technical analysis of material deviations such as complex pairing and natural marks, supporting corrective actions and supplier feedback on several projects
• Translated OEM specifications, ISO norms, and VDA standards into clear, actionable material requirements to ensure alignment and ease of understanding across teams
• Identified leather limits such as stiffness and finishing durability to enhance sewing capability and avoid leather damages during future production

Product Quality Assistant at Hermès (2023-03 – 2023-09)

Hermès, a luxury house, produces 1M pairs annually by the footwear division Scope: Conducted product qualification, wear testing oversight, laboratory coordination, and post-market quality feedback in a high-end luxury production environment across city and sneaker shoes business units.

• Managed 300+ different 2-month wear tests, overseeing allocation depending on the tester's style, reliability and typical shoe usage, tracking with visual defect analysis and sensory questionnaire
• Coordinated lab test campaigns, from test requests to result consolidation and quality insights
• Produced incident reports for all wear tests supporting seasonal reviews, strengthening feedback with Italian manufacturing partners
• Drafted monthly supplier performance reports, reinforcing accountability and transparency

Production Quality Assistant at Les Tanneries du Puy (2022-06 – 2022-07)

Leather manufacturer owned by and supplying the Hermès group Scope: Executed production-linked quality standardization initiatives within an industrial leather manufacturing context.

• Revised and standardized around 50 machine work instructions, to improve repeatability and conformity
• Deployed all work instructions, ensuring operator alignment, efficient training and accurate execution
• Designed and piloted an internal audit grid, enhancing compliance control and risk detection
• Collaborated with quality and production teams to integrate procedural updates into daily operations

Research & Innovation Assistant at Société de Culture Bananière (2021-06 – 2021-08)

Leading banana exporter in Ivory Coast Scope: Conducted applied research and experimental process development in a field-based laboratory environment.

• Installed and commissioned a €1M containerized laboratory, enabling on-site experimental testing
• Developed 4 experimental protocols for water ozonation and air treatment
• Trained 2 laboratory technicians on standardized testing procedures, to secure method reliability
• Designed a new green shelf-life evaluation protocol by testing new methods, optimizing preservation performance and plastic usage by 50%

Engineering Degree in Chemistry – ITECH (2020 – 2023)

Exchange Program in Polymer Physics & Advanced Materials – Universitat Polytecnica de Catalunya (2021 – 2022)

Higher National Diploma in Chemistry – IUT of Lille (2018 – 2020)