The Brazilian Engineer-Turned-Consultant Helping U.S. Construction and Manufacturing Get Back on Track

In industries that rely on deadlines, technical precision, and operational coordination, even minor inefficiencies can have significant consequences. That reality is felt daily across the U.S. construction and mechanical engineering sectors, where rising labor shortages, cost overruns, and misaligned workflows continue to disrupt progress. Many companies face a familiar cycle — budget projections that prove inaccurate, timelines that slip, and projects that stall — not due to a lack of technical knowledge, but because of a breakdown in how execution is structured.

For Rafael Carvalho de Francisco, a Brazilian engineer and executive with two decades of international experience, those patterns have long been familiar. His career has taken him from engineering roles in industrial machinery to strategic leadership positions in civil construction, where he managed multimillion-dollar contracts and introduced system-wide operational reforms. Having worked in both Brazil and the United States, Francisco saw an opportunity not only to apply what he’s learned but to build something new. That effort will soon take form through Virtue Consulting and Services LLC, a management consulting firm he founded to support companies in precisely these industries.

Set to launch operations in Florida the firm is designed to support construction firms and mechanical industry companies struggling with execution and administrative coordination. While these challenges may sound routine, their consequences are substantial. Research from Dodge Construction Network shows that only about one-third of U.S. construction projects are completed on time and within budget. In manufacturing, project backlogs and poor contract oversight are increasingly common, especially as mid-sized firms stretch limited internal resources across complex deliverables.

Francisco believes many of these issues can be addressed through better systems, clearer project planning, and improved communication across teams. That belief is grounded not in theory, but in nearly 25 years of practice. “My background is technical, but my focus has always been operational,” he said. “What I’ve learned is that when companies can connect engineering, finance, and project teams under one clear structure, performance improves. You don’t need to overcomplicate things — you need to get them aligned.”

The human side of his story is as compelling as the strategic one. Francisco is the son of a small-town family from Aracatuba, Brazil. His early fascination with machines and processes led him to mechanical engineering, but it was his transition into business leadership that shaped his broader vision. He earned his MBA from Villanova Business School in the U.S., where he also worked for a global industrial pump manufacturer, managing technical proposals in the American energy market. He later returned to Brazil and assumed senior executive roles in the construction and infrastructure sectors, overseeing complex real estate developments and public-private projects.

Now, he’s coming back to the U.S. not as an employee, but as a founder, bringing with him a blend of technical expertise and business acumen that positions him well in the U.S. consulting landscape. Virtue Consulting and Services LLC will specialize in helping firms optimize project cost control, contract compliance, and administrative efficiency — areas Francisco knows from experience are often neglected until problems become unmanageable.

His consulting model emphasizes data-backed planning, knowledge transfer, and real-world solutions tailored to the operational realities of construction sites and manufacturing floors. The firm will also provide training programs and process audits designed to help client teams become more self-reliant, rather than dependent on ongoing external support.

“At the end of the day, my goal isn’t just to fix what’s broken,” Francisco said. “It’s to give companies the tools to keep things running better long after I leave. That’s where the real value is.”

What sets Francisco apart is not only his technical skill and fluency in international business, but also the empathy that comes from having worked on both sides of the table — first as an engineer, then as an executive responsible for results. He understands that behind every project is a team trying to manage competing priorities, and that meaningful change starts not just with systems, but with people who are empowered to use them well.

As he prepares to open Virtue Consulting and Services LLC, Francisco sees more than just a market opportunity. He sees a way to contribute to the growth of industries foundational to the American economy. With decades of experience, a cross-continental career, and a mission-driven outlook, he is setting out to help companies navigate complexity with clarity, structure, and purpose.