CCE’s Top 10 Under 40: Gary Brykov

Photo courtesy PBX Engineering.

This year, for the second 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.

Gary Brykov, 35, is network systems security lead, associate and senior design engineer for PBX Engineering, based in Vancouver.

Born in Ukraine, he moved to Canada at the age of eight and grew up with an interest in science fiction. His father also helped steer him in the direction of science and technology.

“I was interested in space exploration,” Brykov recalls, “but for practical reasons, I shifted my focus to electrical and systems engineering when I attended Simon Fraser University (SFU).”

The promise of sci-fi still unfolded before his eyes, however, as he studied how equipment and devices communicate with each other via robotics, sensors and actuators. He cites the advent of smartphones as a key turning point.

“I saw how this progression meant technology would be more seamlessly integrated into daily life,” he says.

Brykov explains he was drawn to consulting engineering, specifically, due to his mix of skills in math, science and writing.

“Consulting engineering provides the opportunity not only to provide technical solutions,” he says, “but also to be able to articulate problems and solutions in a written form, for people who may not be technical-minded.”

As a communicator, then, in the field of communications and security, Brykov has created designs for correctional centres, the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority and the Capital Regional District on Vancouver Island, among other clients. His network systems designs have ranged from single-camera surveillance modules to multi-site radar-based perimeter intrusion detection systems and varied in application from access control to artificial intelligence (AI) video analytics.

He has also used the same technologies for purposes beyond security, such as variable speed limit systems and, along more remote roads, wildlife detection systems (WDSs) that alert motorists to potential animal-vehicle collisions.

Today, much of his focus is on cybersecurity.

“Everything has an Internet Protocol (IP) address now, including vehicles,” he says, “so it’s not just banks, health-care facilities and defence organizations that need to be aware of the threats, but also consumers.”