Jim Howard

Jim Howard is an Instructor in Software Engineering and Data Science at the University of St. Thomas. With over 15 years of industry experience, he currently serves as a Principal Engineer of Machine Learning at Laurel.AI. His expertise spans algorithm development, machine learning system design, and the application of AI in legal contexts and public policy. Howard holds a PhD in Computer Science from the Colorado School of Mines and a BS in Computer Science and Mathematics from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.

Research Interests:

• Machine learning infrastructure optimization
• Generative models for policy creation
• Legal implications of AI deployment
• Production system design for ML models

Teaching: In Fall 2025, he teaches SEIS 765 Machine Learning Operations (MLOps), focusing on bridging ML development and operational deployment through collaborative practices and tooling.

Industry Experience: Previously worked with Fortune 500 firms like 3M, Land O'Lakes, and Meta, specializing in scalable ML implementation.