Leadership Spotlight: Cameron McCullough | Manager, Engineering Services

Welcome to the Leadership Spotlight Series, which includes a quick Q&A with members of Compass leadership team.

Cameron manages Compass Energy Consulting’s Engineering Services team to provide feasibility analysis, engineering design, and commissioning services to clients.

Growing up, Cam’s interest in skiing and the outdoors sparked a lifelong interest in climate change and sustainability.

This naturally evolved into a career focused on renewable energy, where Cam has spent over 10 years working in everything from Feed-in Tariff solar, to Global Adjustment battery energy storage, to behind-the-meter solar. He was an obvious fit when he was hired to the Compass team in 2023.

Q&A

How long have you been with the company?

I joined Compass last year in 2023, having worked in the renewables industry for nearly a decade; from Feed-in Tariff solar, to Global Adjustment battery energy storage, to behind-the-meter solar.

What does your job entail?

Our engineering team provides feasibility analysis, engineering design, and commissioning services for clients across Canada. Currently we’re working on a few portfolios of net-metering solar projects across Ontario as well as assisting in the feasibility analysis and preliminary designs for multiple distribution connected battery storage opportunities in Canada.

As the Manager of Engineer Services, I review the designs for each project, oversee the deliverables required for permitting and construction, and verify the commissioning results of each of the systems.

Who inspired you to pursue the career you have today?

Climate change was always a large focus of mine growing up, I knew early on that I wanted to do whatever I could to help in the transition to a more sustainable future, if for no other reason than to keep winters alive for the ski season.

After graduating university, I was able to get a job for a solar installation company (Solsmart Energy Solutions) where I was entirely unfamiliar with the solar industry in Ontario (and as a whole), but the whole team was so welcoming and passionate about the work being done it was hard not to become invested. I started out designing residential and commercial roof-top solar projects getting feedback from the engineers and the construction crews and continued on that path taking those experiences with me. I attribute my enduring interest and experience in renewables to the whole Solsmart team when I first started out.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

I hope to continue to grow the engineering team and offer more services across Canada and the US, continuing to develop distributed energy resources. As energy demand continues to grow in urban centers more distributed resources and creativity will be required to meet this demand. I hope to continue to implement innovative solutions for motivated clients as the industry continues to grow and distributed energy resources become more critical for the grid.

Who are some of your biggest inspirations within the company?

Biggest inspirations in the company are Jon and Rachelle.

Jon has worked hard to grow the company and continues to raise the bar of success for the company because of his experience in the industry. There’s always something interesting to learn when talking to him.

Rachelle has been a persistent force at Compass since she joined, always impressively detail oriented and continuing to manage enormous workloads using her organization and calm demeanor. I can always look to her to break down complex bid packages.

What’s the best advice you can give to someone who just started their career?

You get out what you put into your work.

If you find something you’re interested in, then continue to work at it and learn as much as you can in order to reach even higher levels of success.

What are the toughest challenges you’ve had at work?

Working to organize and balance priorities as multiple projects or proposals pop up on short notice, ensuring to still be thorough even when things need to be expedited.

When you are at work, how do you motivate yourself?

Sometimes things can get overwhelming, so sometimes I’ll create a checklist and itemize tasks for the day, then break up each task with a walk to help keep focus.

In terms of successes, which accomplishments are you most proud of?

It always feels good to complete a particularly long project or fix a longstanding issue but I’m most proud to be participating in and contributing to an industry that I feel so strongly about.

How have you grown professionally while on our team?

I feel like I’ve grown more confident in what can be done by an individual or a small team. I’ve learned that more can be accomplished than I expect by simply having the appropriate plan and working hard to stay the course.

Tell me something about you that most people don’t know.

I love kiteboarding, on windy days I try to get out to Cherry Beach in Toronto whenever I can, well into the freezing temperatures.