Let’s face it, the Inland Empire gets HOT! This is one of the contributing factors leading Leo Maya, Design West’s Director of Electrical Engineering, to the Pacific Northwest as the next area of growth for the company. Where else can you live near water and forest at the same time? Sure, it rains. But by all accounts, this year was mild, allowing Leo to appreciate the cooler new climate even more.
Leo has more than 20 years of design and project management experience, through a wide array of projects and markets. He joined the Design West team in 2005 and in 2009 took over the responsibility of running the electrical production. He has continued to grow in his responsibility, becoming an Associate Partner in 2018, and opening the PNW office early that same year with Founding Principal, Rob Cronk. Leo loves the challenge of facing new and unique problems every day, along with helping his team learn and seeing their growth.
So far, the move has been an exciting change of scenery. Instead of sitting in traffic on the 91 during his commute, Leo leisurely takes a ferry to the office from the peninsula. The office is situated just north of Seattle in Edmonds, and while finding talent has been a challenge with Washington’s robust economy and low unemployment rate, the location has been an attractive option for staff who want to improve their commute as well. The office is steadily growing and just finished design for the Lake Stevens Pavilion, which will be going to bid in two weeks.
Of course, there are things to miss about California, like authentic Mexican food and So Cal beaches, but finding new adventures with his family and spending time enjoying his other passions – photography, playing guitar, snowboarding and surfing – Leo has found that Washington was the perfect place to land.
If he wasn’t an engineer, Leo said that he would be a surf photographer. For the sake of Design West Engineering and our clients, we are sure glad that he chose the former!
