Staff Spotlight: Jim Felice

Jim Filice brings a career spanning multiple industries, technologies, and startups to his role at Stanford Engineering. Today, he manages three shops located in Y2E2, the Huang Engineering Center, and the Blume Earthquake Engineering Center. His work encompasses design, fabrication, mentoring, and, as he puts into practice every day, stepping in wherever his skills and experience can help. Jim began his career as an Apprentice Aeronautical Machinist with United Airlines, building a foundation in precision machining, problem-solving, and hands-on engineering. From there, his career took him through the computer, semiconductor, medical device, and pharmaceutical industries. He also worked with five startups, serving as Director of Research and Development at two of them.

That breadth of experience ultimately led him to Stanford Engineering in March 2024, where he found an opportunity to bring decades of industry knowledge into an academic environment and share it with a new generation of engineers. When Jim arrived, the shops presented both an opportunity and a challenge. Much of the equipment was relatively dated, and the facilities had seen limited use for some time. Since then, he has helped revitalize the shops, including the acquisition of two computer-controlled mills, the development of new shop standard operating procedures, and the creation of a new website. The transition from industry to academia brought its own learning curve, but Jim credits colleagues throughout Stanford with helping him navigate that change and become part of the community. 

For Jim, however, the most rewarding part of the job is not the equipment or the facilities. It is the people. The students, his colleagues, and the vibrant atmosphere of Stanford Engineering keep him energized and continually learning. After a career spent designing, building, solving problems, and developing new technologies, he now has the opportunity to pass that experience along through mentorship and hands-on collaboration. That combination of people, ideas, and the opportunity to make a tangible difference is what makes working at Stanford Engineering special to him. Jim enjoys coming to CEE each day, where his years of industry experience can help students transform ideas into something real.