Pedro Mardones obtained a MSc. in theoretical physics at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, however he has dedicated his professional life to engineering. Since June 2017 he is a retired instrumentation engineer from the European Southern Observatory at the Very Large Telescope (VLT), Paranal. His interest covers astronomical instrumentation in the optical and infrared range, especially interferometry. He also has an interest in specialized teaching to help train the new generation of astronomers and engineers in new observation techniques. During his 17 years of work in Paranal he was involved in the optimization, maintenance and repair of the instruments associated with the VLT telescopes, with emphasis on interferometric instruments, both optical and infrared, which allowed him to gain experience in detectors, optics, cryogenics, vacuum, adaptive optics, interferometry, etc.

At the beginning of his career for 7 years he was a professor at the Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile in the Faculties of Physics and Electrical Engineering. Later, for a period of 13 years, he worked in the industry, where he acquired experience in systems engineering, digital signal processing, electronics, stochastic control, external ballistics, communications systems, command and control, as well as in development project management.