Robert Emerson Guia's path to Design Works Engineering ran through oil and gas design in Manila, mall engineering in Quezon Province, and event operations at one of the Philippines' largest convention centers, a career arc that gave him an unusually broad understanding of how electrical systems perform in real environments before he settled into design work. At Design Works Engineering, where he has worked as an Electrical Designer since October 2021, he applies that breadth to electrical engineering design for Canadian buildings using AutoCAD, Revit, Design Master - Electrical, and Dialux for lighting.

He is a Registered Electrical Engineer with a degree from Colegio de San Juan de Letran Calamba, and his early career included a Project Engineer role at Resonanz Technical Group and a notable stretch at Fluor Daniels Incorporated in Manila, where he worked as an Assistant Design Supervisor on oil and gas projects at international standard and earned a Spotlight Award for his contribution and professional conduct. He then moved into property and facilities management, serving as Mall Engineer and Pollution Control Officer at DoubleDragon Property Management Corp. and subsequently as Duty Engineer at SMX Convention Center Manila, where he oversaw building maintenance, event operations, and coordination with contractors and tenants.

The combination of engineering design at Fluor Daniels and hands-on operations across commercial and event facilities gives him a working knowledge of how buildings actually function, not just how they are specified. He is also a certified Pollution Control Officer and holds a Project Management Fundamentals certification earned in 2024.