What led you to product development?
“Early in my career I was focused on building my technical skills, however, I found that even if you have the best skills in the room, if the product stinks, no one cares how great the code is. Product is the bridge between technology and users; working in this area hits all my checkboxes for a rewarding career.”
What is your favorite thing about being in product development?
“Working on something that has a direct connection with users. My goal is to delight users and leverage technology to solve their problems.”
What is one thing that would surprise people about product development?
“Product developers care very much about what users think.”
“Most people don’t understand that product development is about deeply understanding the users and needs and trying to deliver the best possible solution to their needs. It doesn’t always mean giving customers what they ask for but, rather, figuring out how your product can best solve their needs.”
What kinds of things do you think we should be doing to encourage more people to pursue a career in product development?
“One of the things I remind people is that good product ideas can come from anywhere, it’s not just the responsibility of one designated person or group. Likewise, bad ideas can come from places we expect good ideas, which is why it’s the whole team’s responsibility to deliver a great product. If you enjoy a collaborative, multidisciplinary environment, you can participate in product development by leveraging a variety of skills.”
What brought you to CIBO?
“The unique opportunity to build a product in a space ripe for transformation. I could immediately see that CIBO has the talent and potential to be an industry leader.”
What are your primary responsibilities at CIBO?
“Building top-notch consumer products that enable our users to easily tap into the incredible depth of data offered on the CIBO platform.”
What do you find the most rewarding about your work here?
“Working among such highly intelligent and insightful area experts is a rarity in anyone’s career. The combination of the people I work with, our position to transform an industry, and the ability to leverage my technical skills makes every day exciting.”
About Jackson Tomlinson
Jackson Tomlinson is the VP, Software Engineering at CIBO Technologies, a science-driven software startup. He is an experienced web and mobile application development professional with expertise delivering highly available software across a broad range of devices. Prior to CIBO, he has worked for Wells Fargo, RedBrick Health, and Cooper Power Systems. He holds a BS in Computer Science from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities.