Lucas Smeds

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Lucas Smeds

Lucas holds a Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Denver, with a focus in Mechatronic Systems Engineering. His path into energy storage started on the shop floor rather than the drafting table, a foundation that shapes how he designs systems today.

He spent four years as a fabricator and engineer at The Public Works, a full-service wood, metal, and machine shop in Denver, building custom work for brand activations, trade shows, and commercial clients, everything from library furniture to one-off fabrication projects. Working across laser engravers, CNC machines, and hand tools gave him a ground-level understanding of how things actually get built, not just designed. During this time he also applied his electrical engineering background to reverse-engineer and improve the electrical systems in red light therapy beds, upgrading their reliability and expanding their software protocols for greater customization.

He went on to spend just over a year at BrightVault, a Denver-based high-end luxury ESS company, as an electrical engineer bridging design and field execution. He built project quotes and design packets, coordinated directly with builders and electricians, and supported code compliance work alongside the company's lead engineer. On the installation side, he sourced equipment, prepared job sites, communicated with builders to keep homes install-ready, troubleshot systems in the field, and has installed multiple battery energy storage systems from start to finish, including one of the largest residential BESS systems in Colorado.

That combination of hands-on fabrication experience paired with formal electrical engineering training is what he brings to JLJ Energy Consulting. Having built things himself before designing them for others, he approaches system design with the installer in mind: packets that translate cleanly into the field, and a shared language with the electricians and builders who bring a project to life.