CCE’s Top 10 Under 40: Jean-François Veilleux

Photo courtesy CIMA+.

This year, for the third time, Canadian Consulting Engineer launched an initiative to recognize up-and-coming consulting engineers across the country. We are now showcasing them on our website, in alphabetical order by surname.

Jean-François Veilleux, 38, is a partner and project director with CIMA+ in the energy and resources sector. In his 15 years with the firm, he has been instrumental in designing and commissioning renewable and electrification projects, including solar, wind, hydrokinetic, battery, microgrid and electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure.

In high school, Veilleux’s passion for math set him on what he calls a “straight path” to engineering, first at Cégep de Sherbrooke and then at Université de Sherbrooke, where he studied electrical engineering. Following internships with Bell, Lockheed Martin and Enerchem, he joined CIMA+ as an electrical engineer immediately after graduation. Recognized as a leader, he was promoted to associate partner in 2017 and partner in 2020.

Veilleux completed his first energy projects in Quebec before taking on further challenges across the country.

“When Jean-François heard about opportunities for solar projects in Ontario, he volunteered to move to Toronto with his wife and daughters, to build local expertise,” recalls Steeve L’Heureux, CIMA+’s executive vice-president (EVP) for energy and resources. “His leadership grew our Ontario group into an independent team. I had no hesitation in entrusting him with one of our most important projects: managing the commissioning of electrical equipment worth more than $10 million for a 100-MW solar plant.”

Veilleux contributed significantly to Nunavut’s Qulliq Energy Corporation (QEC), visiting 18 communities to conduct arc-flash studies across 19 power plants under challenging site conditions.

“I realized I could combine renewable energy with my knowledge of these communities to start creating a business case for remote microgrids,” he explains.

This led to further work in the territories and a notable microgrid in Lac-Mégantic, Que. Designed to operate independently of the main grid, this project has served as a ‘test bed to increase the resiliency of power grids in Quebec’s northern communities.

Now, Veilleux is leveraging his experience in a new field: transportation.

“After several microgrid projects and mentoring younger colleagues I’ve been able to focus more on transportation electrification projects over the past three years. This has been a fantastic opportunity to embrace new challenges.”