James serves as the Director of the Bridges and Structures Bureau at Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) and State Bridge Engineer leading a Bridge Maintenance and Inspection Section and two Bridge Project Development Sections. The Bridge Maintenance and Inspection Section inspects over 4,100 bridges on the primary roadway system and provides oversight for over 19,600 bridges on secondary roads. The Bridge Project Development Sections produce and oversee the production of over 100 bridges and structures designs annually at a construction cost of over $240 million. In his career at Iowa DOT James has held positions in the Bridges and Structures Bureau as a bridge designer, bridge consultant coordination engineer and bridge final design unit leader. Prior to joining the Iowa DOT in 1999, James worked as a civil engineering consultant.

James is an active member of the AASHTO Committee on Bridges and Structures and serves as Chair of the Bridge Preservation Technical Committee (T-9) and is a member of the Concrete Design Technical Committee (T-10).

James is a graduate of Iowa State University with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering and a Master of Science in Civil Engineering with emphasis in Construction Engineering and Management.