Yanran Chen
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About

Architect-turned-engineer. I build simulation tools and interfaces for industrial and spatial problems.

Architect instincts. Engineering tools. Built at the edge of both.

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I'm Yanran Chen, based in Aachen. I studied architecture in Shanghai, then shifted toward robotics, simulation, and engineering software at RWTH Aachen — not because I left design behind, but because I wanted to build the systems that design decisions actually depend on.

My work now sits across factory planning interfaces, digital twins, VR, technical visualization, and engineering-facing frontend systems. The constant is bridging technical logic and visual communication so complex systems become easier to review, explain, and use.

Approach / Practice

I work best on projects that sit between engineering workflows and user-facing communication. That often means combining simulation logic, backend connectivity, and interface design inside one system.

In practice, that can involve Unreal Engine for factory planning and spatial review, Python services for optimization or data processing, and frontend layers that make technical information easier to navigate.

I am especially interested in tools that need to be both operationally useful and visually credible: systems for planning, monitoring, review, training, or technical presentation.

What Connects The Work

  • Digital twins, factory planning interfaces, and simulation systems that support engineering decision-making.
  • VR and interactive 3D environments that improve spatial understanding and technical review.
  • Technical animation and visualization work where motion is essential to explaining a process or system.
  • Engineering-facing frontend and backend tools that connect data pipelines, dashboards, and product interfaces.

Selected Experience

WZL RWTH Aachen University

3D Developer / Research Engineer

Worked on Unreal Engine-based factory planning tools, machine layout review workflows, REST/API connectivity, Python optimization integration, and VR support for industrial environments.

Saint-Gobain Research Germany

Full-Stack / Visualization Engineer

Developed monitoring and analysis tools using Node-RED, InfluxDB, SQL, Grafana, Vue.js, Python/FastAPI, and Node.js, including ML-assisted defect analysis workflows and data-driven product interfaces.