Andy Sofranko, REC Solar’s VP of Engineering, probably knew the inner workings of a solar site long before most kids learned to ride a bike.

After all, solar sites are where he spent most of his summers working alongside his father at Sofranko Solar, the family’s San Diego solar pool heating business.

“My dad was always focused on doing things the right way, both environmentally and practically,” Andy recalls. “I remember we used to say we were saving the world from dwindling fossil fuels, one system at a time. We knew that we were putting good out there.”

But those summers were about more than just tightening bolts. They planted a real sense of solar’s potential — how it reduces costs and makes systems more efficient.

And that natural curiosity extended well beyond solar: to radios, gadgets or anything with moving parts. Andy spent his childhood taking them apart, putting them back together and learning along the way.

A future in engineering seemed certain, even if Andy hadn’t yet decided which direction to take.

That path became clearer when Andy arrived at California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly SLO). He quickly found his community in the renewable energy club, where he was surrounded by students equally passionate about sustainability.

The group often met in an off-grid clubhouse, powered entirely by student-built solar systems.

But to Andy, it wasn’t just a meeting space. The clubhouse bridged the gap between his early experiences at Sofranko Solar and the growing possibilities of solar PV technology.

And during those meetings, the name of one local business kept coming up: REC Solar.

“They donated panels for the clubhouse, and some alumni were sponsors,” Andy remembers. “I’d go to meetings to learn about sustainability. But really, I think I was also trying to connect with REC Solar.”

He even brought home an REC Solar bumper sticker from one of those meetings and placed it on his door.

“It was a goal,” he said. “I didn’t know if REC Solar specifically was that goal, but I knew I wanted to be part of something like it.”

Of course, dreams rarely fall into place right away. Andy’s first application to REC Solar didn’t pan out.

“I missed my shot, and I just remember being so sad,” Andy says, with a slight chuckle. “I really fell in love with being local to SLO.”

But three months later, Andy got the call he’d been waiting on: REC Solar was expanding their engineering team. He returned to SLO, interviewed and landed the job as a commercial PV system designer.

It was 2010, a period of rapid growth for REC Solar, with major Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) projects demanding much attention from the engineering team.

“Within months, I was doing job walks at VA sites in Los Angeles and the Bay Area, and flying to Virginia,” he said. “My first years at REC Solar were all about commercial design.”

Then came a turning point: REC Solar won the contract for a 12MW AC utility-scale solar project for the Kauai Island Utility Cooperative (KIUC) in Hawaii.

“At the time, it was the biggest ground mount we’d ever put together. It was a big deal,” he says. “That’s when I really began to realize where solar was heading.”

But it wasn’t until years later that Andy’s engineering journey came full circle, through a 5.7 MW ground-mount solar installation right on the Cal Poly SLO campus – the very place that had set him on his solar engineering path.

This was more than just a nice-to-have solar project. It had true impact, which is exactly what Andy loved: It propelled the university closer to its net-zero sustainability goals, will provide more than $10 million in utility savings, and was thoughtfully designed to offer maximum academic benefit for both students and faculty.

“It’s fun to show off a project that you worked on. And it’s fun that we get to be so close to the campus that I studied at — and that led to my career here,” he says. “I love taking time to meet with the future engineers. Maybe some of them will go into solar and follow the footsteps a lot of us are walking in.”

Today, Andy’s role extends well beyond system design. He guides REC Solar’s engineering solutions, leading a team of veteran engineers who, like him, have grown with the company. His leadership mantra is to foster innovation rather than simple repetition.

“It takes more than one individual to make these projects happen,” he says. “I still ask questions every day. I want to normalize that. It’s about balancing confidence with curiosity, knowing when to make a decision and run with it.”

Reflecting on his career, Andy recognizes how the solar industry has changed. Solar is now a cornerstone of modern energy, not just a novel concept. With this shift come new demands: reliability, quality, and longevity.

“Before it was about whether or not customers could afford to go solar. But technology has gotten cheaper and it’s more efficient,” he says. “Now, it’s about making systems last and making sure these systems are around for 25+ years.”

This mindset has sparked his passion for a growing segment in the industry: repowering older systems.

“I like looking at something that was built 15 years ago – when it was built as well as it could be at the time – and then going in to reengineer it. It opens up this other part of what I like with engineering,” he says. “I’m not just working with a blank roof or blank piece of ground now – it’s really working through something to make it more efficient for the customer.”

Every so often, Andy drives past the Cal Poly solar array. Some days he’s with his kids, who can see the panels through the car windows. Other times he ‘s alone, reflecting on the path that brought him here.

Each visit is a fresh reminder of how a single project, or one committed choice, can ripple out in meaningful ways.

“The things you do create ripples that make big differences,” he says. “When the news gets heavy, I think about that. Then I go to our company meetings and see 70 ripples — or even conferences like RE+ where there are 50,000 ripples in one place. That’s how big changes happen.”

For Andy, those ripples aren’t just about solar panels or even engineering. They’re about people. Progress. And a shared future.

Because that’s what keeps him moving forward: knowing the work he does today will help power a cleaner, brighter tomorrow.