Accessing the global talent pool: Ulteig’s story in Costa Rica

Ulteig is a purpose-driven North American consulting engineering leader committed to creating and solving for a sustainable future. Recently, Ulteig partnered with Maxima Consulting to establish a new office in Costa Rica focused on supporting renewable energy services.

Learn how expanding to Costa Rica allows Ulteig to access global talent, address labour market challenges in the U.S. and Canada and support its long-term strategic objectives.

Key takeaways

• The top factors in selecting Costa Rica include its strong talent pool, its stable business environment and the cultural fit between the company and the country.
• Establishing an office in Costa Rica allows Ulteig to grow their team, building a global talent pipeline that will support the increasing demand for renewable energy development in North America. 
• Ulteig works within four major engineering sectors that represent the infrastructure vital to everyday life, referring to them as Lifeline Sectors®. Now, local experts have the opportunity to support Ulteig’s mission to transform the world’s critical infrastructure within the Lifeline Sectors® of Renewables and Power.

Costa Rica’s economic outlook

When it comes to workforce trends, many employers point out that the gap between the skills employees have and the ones companies need steadily widens. Data shows that 75% of organizations across the globe struggle to fill job vacancies in 2024, almost twice as many as in 2015.

In this context, even though the Central Bank of Costa Rica has revised the country’s economic growth projection for 2024 to 4% (0.3% lower than the previous estimation from October 2023), Costa Rica remains an economic success story that has demonstrated steady growth for decades.

Beyond talent: Reasons for expanding to Costa Rica

Well-known for its business-friendly policies and openness to foreign investors, Costa Rica is also a signatory to the Washington Accord (an international agreement to standardize engineering qualifications) and a global leader in environmental policies.

The local education system produces 4,000+ engineering graduates each year, which presents a fantastic opportunity to address the engineering talent shortage in the U.S. and Canada. Further, the geographical proximity encourages effective collaboration between the new San Jose office and its U.S. and Canadian teams.

Finally, the local culture closely aligns with Ulteig’s values. Costa Rica has a global reputation as environmentally responsible and entrepreneurial, and Ulteig’s company culture is built around a loyalty to putting team members and clients first, innovating for the future and a commitment to sustainability.

Global opportunities for local engineering professionals

Ulteig’s new San Jose office represents a great opportunity for local engineering talent to impact the development of renewables beyond Costa Rica. The company seeks candidates with a focus on the renewable energy sector, particularly in wind turbines, substation systems, transmission lines and battery storage units. Ulteig has started to build a team with deep expertise, excited to remotely support projects in the U.S. and Canada. 

Ulteig’s partner in this endeavour, Maxima Consulting, is a company with global experience in delivering workforce solutions to companies. Successful candidates will work not only with Ulteig’s employees in the United States and Canada but also with Maxima people from around the world, including the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Poland, and India.

Both companies are committed to providing team members in the San Jose office with excellent career development opportunities and a flexible work environment that will allow employees in Costa Rica to gain global experience.

Ulteig looks forward to supporting the local community through talent development events and professional growth opportunities for university students and recent graduates.

Ulteig’s ideal candidate profile

Ulteig | Maxima Consulting has already begun recruiting candidates for leading roles at the new office, such as a Substation Graduate Electrical Engineer, PLANT SCADA System Integrator, Renewables Lead Collection Electrical Engineer and Substation Designer.

Recruiters are looking for reliable and flexible individuals willing to drive client success and remain agile in a fast-paced and exciting industry. Candidates must also be proactive problem solvers who can generate ideas that address client needs.

Apart from the technical capabilities, the ideal candidate possesses a client-focused mindset, flexible working attitude, team orientation and strong communication skills - all essential attributes for working on complex projects across different functions and borders. 

Maxima Consulting Partnership

Leveraging its respective expertise, Ulteig has partnered with Maxima Consulting, an organization with global experience in recruiting and managing talent. Maxima’s role is to identify and secure the talent needed to support Ulteig’s success and establish business operations in San Jose for the first 18 months.

Maxima Consulting is experienced in recruiting and hiring experts who can do the job and fit a company’s culture. A specialized interview process allows each candidate to hear about the job from someone who knows the industry and cares about their success.

Maxima is also recognized as a great place to work. The company’s long-term objective is to establish a working environment that brings high job satisfaction, builds a culture of achievement, facilitates career growth, and reinforces inclusion and comradery.

Ulteig and Maxima Consulting look forward to building a strong presence of engineering professionals in Costa Rica. Reach out to Joanna Grabowska for more information and to learn how you can put your skills to work in creating and solving for a sustainable future.