MARCH SPOTLIGHT
James Riebe

James joined JR Merit as a project engineer in 2023 after interning with us the previous summer. Originally from rural southern Idaho, James grew up in agriculture, raising cattle and working on farms. He earned an Associate’s degree in auto-mechanics , then worked at a rural mechanic shop on agricultural and automotive equipment. After a time, he decided to go back to school at University of Idaho, where he received a degree in operations and supply chain management. When looking for an internship in his junior year of college, his interest in mechanical systems led him to JR Merit. “The work they do in the hydro industry caught my interest. During my internship, I’d find that there would be a lot of exposure to old equipment and problem solving, and my background in ag mechanics would transfer well.”

James finds similarities and differences between agriculture and industrial contracting. “In construction, there’s a lot more resources available in some ways, but to some degree, you’re still working in remote areas and making do with what you have. I’m learning to invest heavily in planning ahead of time, while still being required to improvise in the field when needed.”

James loves the problem-solving aspect of his role as project engineer. “Getting to attack a new aspect of the project every day is great, as well as working in areas you wouldn’t get to see otherwise. There’s no monotony, and there’s a lot of opportunities to learn and grow because of the wide breadth of different industries and projects we work in. There’s a real startup mentality about the company—you can take on multiple different responsibilities and be part of the growth. I’m just not sure where those opportunities exist elsewhere.”

Coming from the field, James has learned to adapt to the coordination and management aspects of his project engineer role. “As a technician, I was spinning the wrench, diagnosing problems as they arose. Now I’m in a support role to make sure those doing the work have everything they need to get the job done correctly. You don’t know what you don’t know when you start out—there’s nuances I didn’t even know would be necessary to learn. I think my hands-on experience gives me a great perspective on the technical aspects of our projects. I benefited a lot from that background, and I’m learning the coordination and management piece along the way.”

In the next five years, James is excited to continue the work he’s doing and help expand JR Merit’s work in the hydro sector and related industries. “It would be interesting to pursue more work in the irrigation infrastructure sector. It’s appealing since irrigation is such a lifeblood of society where I come from. That comes to my mind for the next horizon. Right now, I’m focusing on doing the best I can to learn and grow in the role I’m in—that’s my full-time preoccupation.

“Over the next few years, I’ll get to be involved in projects from start to finish—the whole process from bidding to preplanning and execution. That’s really appealing. It’s awesome to be involved from the get-go. That’s not something you always get to experience at a bigger company where they have a preconstruction team, a buyout team, and different silos for each process. There’s more vertical integration and lean operations here, which was part of the reason I came back to JR Merit after my internship, actually. One project I got to help with bidding as an intern was awarded after my internship concluded, and I was assigned to the project when I came back full time. You own your responsibility at JR Merit so if I find anything when I’m on site that we missed in the bid, I know exactly who to blame!”

One of the first projects James was involved in when he came on full time was a challenging spillway modification. “Due to a variety of changes in condition, we ended up working all winter long in order to finish the work by the spring deadline. We were working seven-12s in two feet of snow, or mitigation ice buildup over all the scaffolding and crane. Working on a bridge over the spillway is like working in a wind tunnel. I’d never had the opportunity to experience upside down rain and snow before that project. I ended up buying a camper and stashing it in the national forest near the project site so I didn’t have to drive two hours each way morning and night. It was a great experience working with that crew. There’s a special bonding and team building that happens when you’re working a wild schedule. It’s fun getting to work with those team members again under more favorable conditions.”

In his free time, James enjoys being outdoors, raising livestock, building demolition derby cars, and competitive Timbersports, which he was introduced to and helped coordinate at the University of Idaho, where he met his now fiancé, Delaney. “We still train and participate in competitions and try to stay involved through coaching and helping out at collegiate events. When I moved to Vancouver, I bought a house that needed a ton of work, so that occupies my spare time these days. Our evenings and weekends for the last year have been spent working together as a couple remodeling this house. We’ve learned a lot about the process and each other along the way, but we hope to make a full recovery with counseling.”