Inga’s career journey is a compelling example of following your passion and making a difference. After working in IT for several years, Inga decided to make a significant career shift into offshore wind energy project planning, driven by a desire to contribute to a more sustainable future.

"The idea of working in offshore wind energy was the result of a long process of self-discovery," Inga explains. "In IT, I often found purpose, but I started asking myself if I could do more. I wanted to make a tangible difference for future generations. My efforts at home—recycling and reducing consumption—didn’t feel impactful enough in the grand scheme of things."

This growing sense of responsibility led her to explore renewable energy. After much research into various energy sources, Inga found herself particularly drawn to offshore wind energy. "I believed that offshore wind has huge potential to make a real difference. It aligned with my values and goals." With this new passion, she took a bold step to transition from IT to the energy sector.

However, the shift wasn’t without its challenges. Inga had theoretical knowledge of renewable energy but no practical experience in the field. "I worried whether I would be able to succeed in such a different industry," she admits. She knew she would need to start from scratch, gaining experience and working her way up again, even though she had been progressing toward leadership roles in IT.

At this crucial moment, Ignitis Group’s internal career consultations provided Inga with the support she needed. "The consultations helped me clarify my goals and find additional resources to learn more about the field. They gave me the confidence to make the change and pursue my passion," says Inga.

In her new role, Inga quickly realized that many of the skills she had developed in IT were transferable. "Effective communication and the ability to gather the right information are essential in both fields. I often find myself working with experts who have been in the energy industry for years, and my experience in IT helps me navigate complex systems and platforms," she explains.

Although there were challenges, Inga embraced the learning curve, including mastering the technical terminology and industry-specific acronyms. "I created a glossary for myself, and I still add to it," she laughs. Inga also had to adjust to the idea that she couldn’t know everything immediately. "In IT, I always aimed to be an expert in my field. It took some time to accept that not knowing everything right away is okay—it’s part of the learning process."

Reflecting on her journey, Inga is grateful for the support she received from Ignitis Group and her colleagues. "The internal career consultations and the encouragement from my team were key to my successful transition," she says. Her experience has deepened her appreciation for the complexity of renewable energy projects. "These projects involve so much more than just building wind turbines. They are the result of careful planning, research, and the work of many people."

For those considering a similar career shift, Inga’s advice is simple: "Be persistent. It took me four applications to finally land a role in offshore wind energy, but I didn’t give up. Keep learning and don’t hesitate to talk to people in the field. You never know what insights you’ll gain from one conversation." 

Edita‘s career transformation from office administrator to IT tester is a story of courage, growth, and the power of a supportive work environment. After years in administration at ESO and GSC, she decided to pursue her passion for technology. 

The turning point came with the Women Go Tech program, which offered mentorship, career guidance, and a community that helped Edita transition into the IT world with confidence. "I knew I wanted to change careers, but I needed guidance and support. Women Go Tech and my employer’s encouragement made all the difference," says Edita. 

Her previous experience at ESO and GSC gave her key soft skills—emotional intelligence and strong communication—that proved invaluable in her new role. “My employer played a huge role in my success by creating an environment that fostered learning and career development. I was always encouraged to grow,” she reflects. 

Edita’s journey wasn’t without its challenges, but with her colleagues and the Women Go Tech community backing her, she found the strength to push through. "The support I received from my employer made a significant impact. It’s not just about the job itself, but the people and culture that help you succeed." 

Her advice for others? "Be brave, embrace challenges, and don’t be afraid to ask for help from your employer. Their support can open doors to new possibilities." 

Driven by a passion for physics, Dominykas Stonkus pursued engineering at Vilnius Tech (formerly VGTU). His career path took an unexpected turn from bartending to discovering his true vocation at ESO. Today, he leads a dynamic team at Ignitis Group. “Six years later, I’m proud to be part of the Ignitis Group,” he shares.

One of his team's proudest achievements is overhauling the rate methodology for connecting new electrical appliances, allowing customers to estimate costs without submitting an application. "Working on this project, I realized the incredible capabilities of my colleagues," he explains.

Dominykas enjoys the meaningful impact, dynamic nature, and skilled colleagues in his job. “You understand that you contribute to beneficial changes affecting many people,” he says. Dominykas exemplifies the dedication and innovation that drive Ignitis Group forward, enhancing operational efficiency and fostering collaboration. 

Joining Ignitis Group a few years ago, Margarita quickly found herself making a significant impact. She joined the team at Vilniaus kogeneracinė jėgainė seeking a stable environment to make a positive impact. “Ignitis Group was the right place for me,” she says. Her role focuses on ensuring the quality of fuel and ash, essential for the power plant’s performance and the company’s sustainability goals.

Currently, Margarita is leading her team in obtaining laboratory accreditation. “It’s our biggest project, and we aim to complete it next year,” she shares. She loves improving processes and making them more efficient. “Building good relationships is key. If you need a favor, bringing cake always helps,” she adds with a smile.

At the waste and biofuel cogeneration plant, Margarita contributes to Lithuania’s energy independence and landfill waste reduction. “Our work greatly impacts the community and the environment,” she emphasizes. Her dedication and drive for improvement are propelling both her team and “Ignitis Group” toward a more sustainable future. 

Dovilė began her journey in the energy sector by studying engineering, earning both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree. Joining “Ignitis Group”, she immediately knew she found a place where she could fulfill her ambitions. "Ignitis Group" was the right place for me because it is an important and integral part of the energy sector in the Baltic region," she says.

Dovilė leads a team responsible for physical and financial electricity trading, electricity demand and production forecasting, and trading green certificates and biomethane. Over the years, her department has expanded from basic physical and financial electricity supply activities to include sustainability solutions and PPA activities. "The energy sector is constantly changing, so every day brings new challenges and opportunities," she says. The dynamic nature of the work and the ability to constantly learn and adapt to changes are particularly interesting to Dovilė.

Every day, Dovilė works on creating and implementing sustainable energy solutions. She emphasizes that her team's activities not only reduce greenhouse gas emissions but also actively promote the use of renewable energy, thus contributing to strengthening Lithuania's energy independence. 

Having relocated from Latvia to Lithuania 10 years ago, the HR specialist Liene never thought that one of her tasks would be... to become the face of Ignitis Group. And yet, that’s precisely the role she signed up to. And that’s far from the only bold move she’s made throughout her career!

Transitioning to Green Energy 
After gaining some professional experience by working for international companies, Liene took an interest in green energy and joined the then-relatively-small team of Ignitis Renewables. “I got into ESG and soon began looking for work in this field. I learned about the job vacancy from a good friend who’d been working in the Group for years at that point. I knew nothing about the energy sector and had never worked at a Lithuanian company, so I had no idea what to expect. But today I’m totally convinced that it was the right decision”.

Championing Sustainability Initiatives 
Liene is promoting the company’s sustainability culture through numerous initiatives, such as reducing car travel to reduce its carbon footprint. When working on this, as well as on many other projects and events, she often invites her colleagues to join in, thereby speeding up the achievement of the Group’s sustainability goals. What inspires Liene the most is the opportunity she has to enhance the organisation’s international character. As an HR expert, she’s responsible for onboarding new colleagues and introducing them to all available benefits and initiatives. In her view, it shouldn’t matter what country an Ignitis Renewable employee lives in, he or she should be able to enjoy the same positive experience.  

Žilvinas has been fascinated by technology since childhood – ever since the moment he got a hold of a soldering iron. His teachers later encouraged him to study electrical engineering. Having started his career in the Group as a technician, Žilvinas soon became Head Engineer, and now leads our Diagnostics Team at the Network Quality Assessment Department. Hailing from Panevėžys, Žilvinas is happy to have a meaningful job at a large organisation from his hometown.

Embracing Advanced Technologies

Today, he’s using not only digitisation, Lidar data, 3D models, and drones, but also artificial intelligence to better detect malfunctions of the electric grid. And this is only the beginning, as these technologies are incredibly flexible and developing at great speed. As part of its daily tasks, his team collects massive amounts of data that could have numerous uses in the future, especially when it comes to developing innovative solutions.

Educating and Inspiring New Talent

In addition to being responsible for the smooth functioning of our electric and gas networks, Žilvinas also teaches energy basics to both current and new employees, and provides students with the occasional introduction to Ignitis Group, the energy grid and its operating principles, as well as the nature and benefits of working in the energy sector.

Overcoming Public Speaking Fears and Learning Through Teaching

“I used to be wary of public speaking, but thanks to the inspiration given me by my former teachers, and feeling the support of my colleagues, I found myself in this area, too. Besides, teaching affords many opportunities to learn something new yourself. For instance, you may be lecturing on the latest technological developments, while some colleagues from legal tell you about the processes that lead to changes in law. This way, I leave the auditorium having not only transferred my own knowledge, but also gotten some of that back from my co-workers.” 

The litigation lawyer Lukas got a job at Ignitis Group in 2021, right after finishing his legal studies. Even though, at first, he was somewhat worried about possibly joining a massive bureaucratic machine, to his pleasure he quickly realised that both his closest colleagues and the company’s management are firmly committed to the best Western-style practices. Early on, Lukas received lots of assistance from his friendly and supportive team, and found his groove after the first time he started to look over legal processes and other litigation questions.

Variety and Collaboration in Legal Work

What he likes about his job is the variety of tasks and the opportunity to work in different legal areas. His responsibilities include everything from replying to citizen inquiries and providing legal recommendations to representing the Group and resolving disputes. The Group’s large legal team allows for the exchange of not only professional experience and knowledge, but also warm mutual relations.

Finding Purpose in Daily Tasks

According to him, even those who see their jobs as meaningful don’t always feel the tangible results they’re generating out there in the world. “Meanwhile, since work in our Group is closely related with practical activity, it’s easy to not only perceive its meaning, but to also see it directly. Although this is slightly less the case for someone like me, as I don’t really engage with practical engineering, I learn from my colleagues and public Comms about the projects that my daily tasks contribute to. So it’s definitely possible to feel a real sense of purpose every day.” 

When choosing what and where to study, Monika – Environmental and Permitting Project Manager at Ignitis Renewables – already knew that she wanted a career in a field related to building a greener future. After getting a degree in biology – and learning a lot about the environment, as well as herself in the process – she took a job in the Ministry of the Environment. While there, she became increasingly fascinated by renewable energy.

Currently, Monika is working on solar and wind parks, where there’s never a shortage of interesting tasks, challenges, research projects, public relations events, and opportunities to grow, and to work on eco-friendly technologies. Her responsibilities include the implementation of new, and the monitoring of completed projects, as well as a plethora of things related to the environment and biodiversity. One day she’s thinking of ways to reduce a solar park’s environmental impact, and the next day – dealing with invasive plant species. 

“What I appreciate the most is all the support we get from management, always willing to green-light whatever efforts may be necessary to ensure the sustainability of our projects. We never go through with a project that could potentially have a seriously detrimental effect on the environment. It would just be greenwashing and would, therefore, contradict our key values.” 

What do the Ignitis Group’s accounting specialists do all day? Kristina, an accounting expert, counts lots of things – sometimes it’s funds, while other times – it’s her own blessings and sources of inspiration. From drawing up financial statements and conducting audit procedures, there’s never a dull moment at work for Kristina!

Career Growth and Responsibilities

Having joined our team 7 years ago, she started by working with some of the Group’s smaller companies, and today she’s responsible for a major one – Ignitis Gamyba. According to Kristina: “The sense of personal importance that I get working here comes from all the opportunities I get to make a contribution to achieving tangible results. I also appreciate being able to work flexibly and communicate with my colleagues from other departments in a friendly manner, as well as to learn and grow together. Whether it’s emotional well-being or mindfulness training – opportunities abound”.

On-Site Experiences and Achievements

Even though, most days, Kristina works from the head office (that has multiple rest areas), she also gets to travel to sites where the actual generation of energy is taking place. One of such opportunities came during the shooting of our TV ad, which took place at the Kruonis Pumped Storage Plant – a truly exceptional facility without analogues in the Baltic Region. In addition to the latter, Ignitis Gamyba also manages and continues to develop the Elektrėnai Complex and the biggest renewable energy plant in Lithuania – the Kaunas Hydro Power Plant. 

After finishing her Business Management studies and getting a job in the finance sector, Sandra realised that she wanted to work in a more dynamic and impactful field. This eventually led her to take up programming. Finding the learning process both rapid and to her liking, the idea to start working in the automation field became reality once the newly-minted specialist joined ESO. For the first three years she worked as a programmer, and for the past two has been leading her own team of RPA developers.

Achievements in Automation

What is Sandra most proud of today? The “little robots” that she’d deployed at work save her colleagues 18,000+ hours of work every month. Making the robots “know” what to do took lots of programming and energy-related knowledge, creativity, and a strong connection with the workforce of the company – and of the entire group. Sandra is happy that, instead of competing, the group’s employees are both friendly and always willing to share knowledge with each other. Due to their different areas of expertise, however, mutual understanding can at times only be achieved with the help of the more analytically-inclined colleagues!

Daily Challenges and Unique Opportunities

Although Sandra’s job brings something new to the table almost daily, that’s exactly what makes work at Ignitis Group interesting. You can pretty much count on being offered a unique opportunity for self-realisation – such as taking part in the shooting of a TV ad – at least once in a while. “I got to play an engineer for just 3 hours, but the process was fascinating. I was wearing a bright-coloured ESO uniform – someone actually came over to me, asking about my job. This experience has made me realise how difficult my colleagues’ jobs really are. Working from the office, we’re optimising the Group’s operations, so our other colleagues can bring light to people’s homes,” Sandra told us. 

For some, an offshore wind park in the Baltic Sea is still a matter of science fiction. For Dainius, a project manager at Ignitis Renewables, on the other hand – it’s one of the milestone projects of his career. Dainius is not intimidated by such large-scale projects because, as he tells us, he’s working alongside a large crew of consummate professionals both from Lithuania and abroad. Even though the wind park is scheduled for completion by 2030, he remains excited because this project is exceptionally dynamic, offering numerous opportunities for learning and growing.

So, how did Dainius end up working on one of the country’s most vitally strategic projects? Following in his sister’s footsteps, he went to study water engineering at VGTU (now Vilnius TECH), took part in the Erasmus student exchange programme, and capped off his education with a Master’s degree in green energy. Dainius started his professional career in the then-Vilniaus Energija and ESO, where he was responsible for a smart metre installation project. Later on, after trying his hand at working in a different field, Dainius realised that the people, culture, and the actual work at Ignitis Group is what he liked the most. Soon afterwards, having accepted an invitation to apply for a new position from his former colleague, he joined the Ignitis Renewables offshore wind team and is now making his mark in projects that will, no doubt, become historic for Lithuania’s energy sector. “There’s going to be lots to learn until we get to 2030, and the project itself will be changing at each stage”, Dainius said.