Jia joined IDEA in 2022, shortly after completing his Bachelor of Architecture at the University of Illinois Chicago. Jia has been passionate about architecture since his early high school years. He became fascinated and skilled with BIM through completing various projects for his drafting class. He developed a pragmatic approach toward architecture, as he was exposed to how the Architecture, Construction, and Engineering trades all worked together during his time as a student in the ACE Mentor Program throughout his high school career.

Prior to joining IDEA, Jia has interned at large architectural firms such as CannonDesign and small engineering practices such as SQN Associates. Outside of architecture, Jia enjoys playing basketball, cooking, and spending time with his cat, Rico.