At a young age, James had an interest in creating buildings and roller coasters with Legos, and later found that developing communities using the computer game “Sim City” was the perfect outlet for his creativity. As he got older and went off to Santa Clara University, civil engineering became a natural choice for him, as it was a “real-life” extension of these activities he enjoyed as a youngster.

A career fair was James’ first introduction to BKF, and soon after his college graduation in 2004, he was hired as an E1 to assist the Redwood City staff. “It’s been a great experience; engaging with an amazing team and collaborating with clients and partners on innovative and sustainable projects.”

A firm believer that experience is the greatest tool for learning and growing as an engineer, James looks back on his early work on the Arbor Real residential project in Palo Alto as particularly rewarding. He worked on the project from the early phases of entitlements to final project closeout after construction. “Being exposed to the breadth of design and permitting on this project allowed me to gain a greater depth of engineering and consulting knowledge, as well as learning the importance of design strategies such as preserving trees, designing dynamic pedestrian environments, and managing and treating stormwater flows,” he said. Years later, this foundation, and experience on subsequent projects, have provided James the opportunity to work on creating the sustainable communities of the future, such as Hunters Point Shipyard and Mission Rock in San Francisco.