A graduate of the École Polytechnique and a general engineer from the École Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées, Daniel Bursaux also holds a Master of Science degree from the MIT, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Daniel Bursaux began his professional career in 1979, serving until 2005 as Director General of Services in several departments and then regions of France. Between 2005 and 2007, he was Chief of Staff to Dominique Perben, Minister of Transport, Infrastructure, Tourism and the Sea. From 2007 to 2008, he was Director General of the Sea and Transport at the Ministry of Ecology, Energy, Sustainable Development and Spatial Planning.

From 2008 to 2014, Daniel Bursaux was Director General of the DGITM (Directorate General for Infrastructure, Transport and the Sea) at the Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy. From 2014 to 2020, he was Director General of the French National Geographic Institute (IGN) and then Vice-President of the General Council for the Environment and Sustainable Development. In May 2022, the French government appointed him President of TELT.