Meet JJ Starrett: A Mover, a Shaker, and a Maker

Meet JJ Starrett: A Mover, a Shaker, and a Maker

Welcome to Jumpmind Reveal, a blog series showcasing some of the talented folks we have here at Jumpmind. In today’s installment, we bring you a profile on JJ (Jake) Starrett, a software engineer who works out of Jumpmind’s Columbus, Ohio headquarters.

How did you come to join Jumpmind?

I joined Jumpmind in 2020 after graduating from The Ohio State University with a degree in computer science. I had interned at Jumpmind previously in 2018 and 2019. When I first joined the company full-time, it was during the COVID-19 pandemic, so it was after I had graduated without a ceremony and it was a bit of a strange time to enter the workforce. However, Jumpmind was “full-steam ahead” working on major integrations with big retailers.

Since then, Jumpmind has grown significantly, and it’s been exciting to be here throughout that journey. Our core culture hasn’t changed – we still have an engineering-first, architecture-first mindset and have preserved our careful and considered approach to product development. We haven’t become overly corporate yet, and the environment has remained very friendly and collaborative.

What’s your role on the team?

I started at Jumpmind as a software engineer, but I’m in the process of transitioning to a sales engineering role. Previously, I helped drive the development of Jumpmind Commerce and Shopkeeper, supporting integrations for retailers such as American Eagle and Petco. I really enjoyed the customer interaction and found it deeply satisfying to see how customers were using our products in the real world at trade shows such as NRF.

Transitioning to sales engineering means I’ll now have more opportunities to engage directly with our customers while continuing to work on the technical side of things.

That’s great – congrats on the new role. So, you’re based in Columbus, Ohio (Jumpmind headquarters). What do you like about the city?

Columbus is a very balanced city – it’s not overly dense, but still has great cultural amenities that you want when living in a city. It’s not very touristy, so it feels truly like a locals’ city. I live in South Columbus, but my favorite neighborhood is the Short North Arts District. I enjoy going to Arch City Tavern there with friends and playing board games every week.

Where else can we find you outside of work?

I enjoy video games, and in college, I worked with a team to create a small game experience with Unity Engine. I also love watching movies and going to the theatre. I own a Subaru WRX STI that I work on in my spare time, too, and I taught myself how to sew.