Life at Bigeye: Tyler Jones, Senior Staff Software Engineer

Meet Tyler.

If you ask Tyler Jones what he does for fun, you’ll get the same kind of answer you’d get if you asked him what he does for work: he builds things. “I love building and fixing stuff,” he says. “That’s what got me into computers when I was a kid. Now it’s remodeling the house, working on cars, cooking, or doing yard work.”

That love of making things work (and work well) runs through everything he does. “I’ve always liked the satisfaction of seeing something broken turn into something solid,” he says. “It’s the same with code. You find the weak spots, you rebuild, you make it better.”

He brings that same patient energy to Bigeye, where he leads the frontend engineering team. “At a startup, you get pulled into all kinds of things,” he says. “Some days I’m mentoring engineers, other days I’m talking with marketing about the website or helping a customer. It keeps me on my toes.”

“I like the variety,” he adds. “It feels like one big problem-solving loop.”

His Day to Day at Bigeye

Tyler joined Bigeye four years ago after a conversation with co-founder Egor Gryaznov. “Egor talked about Bigeye becoming a centerpiece in the data stack,” he says. “It was ambitious, but it made sense. I’d led other frontend teams before, but I wanted to build something that could grow into that kind of role.”

Now, he’s proud of what they’ve created. “The app has scaled a lot as our customers have grown,” he says. “But it’s still fast and stable, which is something we’ve worked hard on. We’ve put so much into accessibility, usability, and performance. It’s not just about how it looks, but how it feels for our customers to use.”

He’s especially proud of the design system his team built from scratch. “It took time to build something that embodies Bigeye’s product goals, users, and character,” he says. “You know you did it right when it disappears into the background.”

Ask him what makes Bigeye special and he doesn’t hesitate. “Honesty,” he says. “I’ve seen leadership deliver bad news and do it with transparency and respect. That kind of honesty builds trust. And it trickles down, people show up for each other here.”

He’s quick to point out that he’s learned as much from others as he’s taught. “Leadership isn’t about knowing everything,” he says. “It’s about listening and learning. I’ve had people across the company teach me things that changed how I work.”

When he looks back at his time at Bigeye, what stands out most isn’t a single project or milestone, it’s the people. “Everyone’s trying to do their best work,” he says. “But they’re also kind. That combination doesn’t happen everywhere.”

He pauses for a beat. “I like that what we’re building actually matters,” he adds. “And I like the people I get to build it with.”

Life After-Hours

Outside work, Tyler keeps a rhythm that’s equal parts focus and fun. “I’m really list-driven,” he says. “I have personal goals, work goals, and then goals that don’t fit either. At the end of the week, I check in: did I do a little from each list? Did I give myself time to do nothing? That helps me stay balanced.”

He pauses, then adds with a small smile, “Sometimes I’ll realize I haven’t let myself be bored in a while. Being a little bored can be good. It means I’ve slowed down enough to notice it.”

Most evenings, he’s working on something around the house. “I love building and fixing things,” he says. “That’s what got me into computers when I was a kid. These days it’s remodeling, cooking, or doing yard work. Soccer is kind of the opposite. I don’t have to think about building anything. I just show up, run, and have fun.”

Once a week, he heads to a local soccer meetup. “It’s great to get outside and run around,” he says. “I don’t think about code for an hour, which is nice.”

Home these days is North Carolina, where he lives with his wife, three kids, three cats, and their Bernedoodle puppy, Bonnie. “She can be a handful, but she mostly just wants to sleep at my feet while I work,” he says.

He grew up in California and made the move east without ever visiting first. “I’d never even been to North Carolina before I moved here,” he says, laughing. “We had many reasons for moving, but most importantly, we wanted to be surrounded by trees. It was a leap of faith, but it felt right. I think that’s kind of how I approach a lot of things: do your homework, trust your gut, and figure it out as you go.”

When he does take time off, he and his wife love to travel. “We love to explore big cities and learn about other cultures. We try to find the things that the locals love, and as a result we often get other tourists asking us for directions, thinking we live there.

Our trip to Barcelona was a favorite,” he says. “I love the energy there, but it’s always nice to come home to quiet.”

Working remotely has also shaped how he thinks about balance. “I’ve learned to do good work without letting it take over everything,” he says. “You get to enjoy the small stuff again.”