GABE RUBIN
Title: Assistant Project Manager
Company: Helix Electric
Location: Los Angeles
Age: 26
Years on the job: 2.5
Gabe Rubin was originally drawn to the electrical industry to turn one of his passions — music — into a career designing amplifiers. Shortly after he became the third-generation student at the University of Cincinnati, he discovered a different path.
“I found my passion was in building big things and managing the business side with a technical perspective rather than being stuck in a cubicle designing circuit boards,” says Rubin, who played in a ’90s cover band during his first year at Helix Electric, where he now works as an assistant project manager.
After earning his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and his MBA, he soon replaced a senior project engineer at Helix Electric. He joined the company due to its culture of entrepreneurship and the opportunity to spend time in the field solving problems and building things.
Within his first two years on the job, Rubin had the opportunity to work on two of the company’s major projects. For example, he joined a team to close out a $20 million rental car center. Less than a year later, he led the special systems design and five subcontracts totaling $25 million for a new terminal at LAX airport. While the project is still ongoing, Rubin completed the design and was able to stay within budget.
“In every position I have held — from fast food line cook to fraternity vice president to building an airport — the overwhelming experiences grow me the most,” he says. “It was extremely helpful to have the great team that I get to work with and the excellent managers to talk through any problem that seems unsurmountable.”
In his first three months at Helix Electric, he established himself as a technology resource. By building a Microsoft Access database, he streamlined the reporting of hours and tracking production so he could automatically generate reports for the superintendents and payroll department, saving six hours a week for the team.
Within commercial construction, a significant amount of the work is custom to each project, Rubin says, and, as such, very limited technology innovations are targeted for the industry. At the same time, however, he tries to use the tools on hand to find solutions to inefficiency.
“Anytime I, or someone else, feels like a task is tedious, there is almost always a technology-based solution to it,” he says. “I find it rewarding to develop a program to help optimize our time.”
Rubin has also worked with the training team to develop the curriculum for Helix’s PE leadership training.
“In my experience, the construction industry is just starting to realize the true costs of retraining, and Helix is one of the companies paying attention,” he says. “In my new role on the steering committee for our leadership training, I am trying to focus on not only the hard skills necessary for the job but also building relationships within the company to strengthen retention.”
Rubin, who recently just got married, plans to finish the airport project and establish himself as an expert in special systems and electrical design-build.
“I want to simultaneously show that I understand the broader side of the business beyond operations so that I can start contributing on an executive level while still being able to understand how the industry works,” he says.
