We're celebrating our amazing employees during our 50th anniversary year, highlighting team members who have helped make KEPHART who we are today.
This month we're introducing you to Associate and Director of Design Technology, Jake Kozlowski.
What brought you to KEPHART?
In short, it was because of our now-director of Architecture, Steve Martinez. We had worked together at another firm before KEPHART, along with our now-director of Design, Bobby Long. I had heard a little about KEPHART from Bobby during our 5+ years together. The Great Recession had just hit, and I was back at that firm after being laid off. Steve mentioned a job opening here, and I jumped at the chance because I needed a change. Because of the timing, it was a difficult decision, but the pros outweighed the cons, and I started as a Project Manager about three weeks later. It will be 13 years here, coming up in June.
What led you to your role as Director of Design Technology?
I tripped into it in a way. I never thought I would be in this role when I started in Architecture. I’ve always had a passion for the technology we use to design and document our buildings and have pushed the boundaries of what each piece of software could do. When Revit came on the scene, I was blown away at the possibilities of what it could do and learned everything I could about it. I jumped at the opportunity when the BIM Manager position opened here about seven years ago. This morphed into the Director of Design Technology role that I have today. It was just me for a while with some help from the studio, and today, I lead a team focusing solely on design technology, helping KEPHART stay ahead of the curve when it comes to new and innovative tech in the AEC space.
What is your favorite part of the job?
I get the greatest joy in helping others achieve greater efficiency in their day-to-day work using our available technologies. Since I am an architect by training, I have a unique perspective on implementing new workflows and creating new content for us to use in projects. The question is never, “Can you make this for me?” That is always answered with “Yes.” My question back to them is, “Can you buy that product in the real world and put it in your building?” In other words, I will create it if it is real.
Everything is a puzzle to be solved, and I am quite good at solving puzzles. They excite me. I love figuring out how to do mundane things more easily by using automation and clicking a button. Creating ways for everyone to do things more quickly and creating better efficiencies brings me great satisfaction.
Not everything is flashy, however. Standardization is a big part of the position. Imagine having 13 Project Managers doing things in 13 different ways. It would be chaos and negate the ability to move team members around to help on different projects.
What do you love about KEPHART?
It is by far the best company I have ever worked for. Primarily because we promote a culture of transparency, inclusion, and high EQ. We also hold high the idea of a good work-life balance, which is not always the case in our industry.
KEPHART is also forward-thinking. They recognized the need for a dedicated person to head the Design Technology side early on. Again, not all firms carve out room for non-billable employees to advance their use of technology. We would not be where we are today had we only allowed this to be a part-time position.
