Santiago graduated in 1996 with a degree in chemical engineering and began designing and starting-up metallurgical plants for clients of Hatch Ltd. In 2002, he left to complete his Ph.D.. Upon graduation, he worked as a researcher for Xerox and as a professor at McMaster University. At Xerox, Santiago lead teams to develop new materials and processes and was Manager of the Composite Materials Process Engineering Area. In 2012, Santiago left Xerox to lead Technology Development for Hatch Ltd. where he developed technologies and established the company’s innovation ecosystem. In 2017, Santiago founded Insight R&D Inc. to develop processes and products derived from what would otherwise become industrial waste. His Insight clients include Ecomaister (Korea as CTO), Anglo American (South Africa), Freeport McMoran, Vale, Nexa Resources, Global Atomic (as CTO) and many more prominent companies. In 2018, Santiago founded Ecomaterials Inc. to commercialize waste-to-wealth products. Ecomaterials now counts clients in the middle east, the Americas, and Europe who purchase its abrasive products derived from underutilized resources. Santiago volunteers in the Canadian and American Chemical Engineering Societies, and has been President of the Canadian Society. Santiago is an author of 17 articles and book chapters, and is inventor of over 60 U.S. patents and patent applications, which are owned by Ecomaister, Hatch, Xerox, Ecomaterials, and Samsung.