Ulteig New Employee Spotlight: Zak Grabowski

Opportunity to live out one’s values every day while solving problems attracts new engineer to Ulteig’s Renewables Team

Have you ever wondered about the role fate or coincidence plays in guiding your career?

For Zak Grabowski, P.E., who recently joined Ulteig as a Senior Civil Engineer on the firm’s solar team, it seemed like he was destined to work with his friend Chad Crabtree, who is Market Director-Renewables for Ulteig.

“We just kept bumping into each other,” says Grabowski. “First at a career fair a number of years ago when I was obtaining my masters degree at the University of Colorado at Denver, and then at RES, where we both previously worked, and now at Ulteig.” Similarly, maybe fate played a role in where Grabowski, his wife, and their three-year-old son live – in Eagle County, Colorado.

“We both grew up in Colorado and it has been our dream to live in a small town in the mountains,” said Grabowski, who works remotely from their home near Vail, Colorado. “We are so lucky. When we’re not working, we are outside – skiing, biking, and rafting.”

Living its Values

However, fate had nothing to do with why Grabowski chose to join Ulteig. The answer is clear and simple: Grabowski says Ulteig’s values reflect the kind of place he where he wants to make a career. From the start, Grabowski was attracted to the company’s focus on, and commitment to, its clients, the value the firm places on its employees, and the collaborative culture of its workplace.

“Ulteig isn’t just focused on the bottom line. We’re an employee-owned company that really cares about its employees. I see it every day in the way we collaborate with one another, how we stay connected and how we work with our clients. It really feels like a team.”

What surprised Grabowski the most in working at Ulteig is the desire to continuously find better ways of solving a client’s problems. “During a recent virtual meeting, one of our leaders said, “How can we do this project better for our client?” I really liked that – we are always looking for the best solution for our clients’ projects,” said Grabowski.

In addition, he added, “The fact that the company is open to me working remotely is another testament about the value they place on people. It’s allowing my wife and I to live our dream.”

Living his Values

“The reason I do what I do is that I believe in clean energy and trying to make things better for real people,” said Grabowski, who hopes that his work in engineering solar farms and will make the world a better place for when his son reaches his age in 2050.

In living out that passion for creating clean energy, Grabowski and his wife installed a 6 kilo-watt solar system at their home. “It wasn’t just an economic decision,” said Grabowski. “It’s about practicing what you preach. It’s about living your passion every day.”

For Grabowski, it’s a small, symbolic step toward a better future. “You can see the country shifting. You can feel the momentum toward clean energy. When you see Microsoft and Amazon moving toward clean power sources, you know that there’s no stopping it.”

“Now it’s my turn to give back,” he said. “It’s about living your values every day.”