Barrett Urness is a Senior Engineer, Licensed PE, and the Automation and Controls Team Lead out of H2E’s Liberty Lake, Washington office. A Montana State University Electrical Engineering graduate, Barrett originally sought a degree in Ministry, however, influenced by his love for gadgetry and technology as a kid, his path called him to be an impactful leader in the Electrical Consulting Field.
With seven years of experience at H2E, three as Team Lead, Barrett has experienced the job at multiple levels, rising to the responsibility at each level of growth, “Value is proportionately rewarded here, if you apply yourself and seek to learn from others while taking ownership of problems, your ability to contribute is limitless.” In his tenure as a Team Lead, Barrett has cultivated a trend towards cohesiveness and progressive mentoring, “I learned quickly from the Principal engineers to consistently challenge engineers to engage with problems outside of their comfort zone, it forces people to process the answers themselves, which is how we truly learn.” This attitude has led to a historically optimized Automation Team and a consistent positive influence on the culture of H2E.
As a consultant who commissions his work in the field regularly, Barrett spends a lot of time traveling to Client sites, “Spending time away from the family was a process to adjust to, but passion for the interesting and dynamic projects helps compensate for the time spent away.” However, Barrett’s home-life is even more full than his work. As an active participant in his Church, he is a devout Christian who volunteers to teach Sunday School to Middle Schoolers, where he is learning a whole new vocabulary of new generation slang. Outside of Church Barrett spends time hiking and running with his wonderful wife and wrestling with his dog. He loves playing with his daughters, engaging as play-time project manager for different science and electrical projects like Arduino programming robots and lights, and pressurized bottle-rocket launches. With their 3rd child on the way, the Urness family continues to grow, just like Barrett’s professional journey!
We are very blessed to have Barrett on the team!