
We spoke with Director of Customer Success, Jaime Swindle, about her experience in technology, as well as how the industry is performing for women in tech. Here are highlights from our conversation with Jaime:
Tell us about yourself and your journey to Kopius.
I’ve been with Kopius almost 7 years, since the early days when we used to be called Valence. I was part of the 8ninths acquisition where we were brought on for our augmented and virtual reality for enterprise expertise. Along my journey in tech, I’ve had the opportunity to work with a wide variety of emerging technologies from responsive web innovations, to AR/VR, to Internet of Things, and Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning. During this time, I’ve had the opportunity to shift from Technical Project Manager, to Delivery Director, to Sales Account Manager, and ultimately to a Director in our Kopius Solutions & Pre-sales team, where I get to develop custom solution accelerators and lead scoping of incoming project-based work.
How did you first become interested in technology?
While my career didn’t start in tech (I actually started out in Arts & Entertainment journalism), I’ve always been interested in storytelling and how technology can be leveraged to enhance the experience beyond simple text on a page. Whether it’s adding in parallax scrolling and spatial sound functionality to a website, immersing users in a custom 3D environment for training, or visualizing data in novel ways to showcase previously unseen viewpoints, I enjoy bringing my bucket of emerging technology options to the table to solve unique business challenges.
What emerging technology trends are you most excited about, and how do you see them impacting our lives?
I’m very interested in how Generative AI will morph into custom business applications tailored for various industries. Considering all the permutations of industry, use cases, and amount of data sources available, I think there are a lot of opportunities to streamline operations for mundane tasks while leaving real employees with the ability to do meaningful work that truly requires human ingenuity.
Do you have a favorite project you’d like to share with us?
I’ve enjoyed many projects over the years, but I have to say my favorite was developing a 4D immersive virtual reality experience for the Space Needle to show how the new (at the time) renovations would look once construction was complete. Our team designed a short, gamified experience that took you from the base of the Space Needle, up the iconic elevator ride, onto the rotating glass floor interior, and out onto the refreshed outdoor viewing deck with new all-glass partitions and benches curated for the perfect selfie experience. To create the digital VR experience, we leveraged architectural 3D models of the building from designers Olson Kundig and paired them with 360° drone photography filmed from the Space Needle itself. To make the experience as realistic as possible, we hand-crafted a 4D haptic stage that you physically had to walk around in order to progress the experience. Along that journey we developed stations where you get to feel the rumbling of the glass floor rotation beneath your feet, the sensation of wind blowing around you, and the tactile experience of sliding back to sit on a to-scale replica of an observation deck glass bench.
Any advice for women interested in working in the technology sector?
Don’t be afraid to take roles that may appear to be outside your current skill set. The experience you gain across roles is key to creating a well-rounded perspective and adds great value to your career journey. For example: while that stint in Sales or Marketing may not sound like it aligns with a technology career trajectory, it can absolutely make you a better Product Owner or Solution Developer because it helps you better understand the business rationale for technology implementations and figure out what common pain points these businesses are looking to solve. When you have a good handle on both the business and technology sides of the house, you become a powerful advocate for innovation that opens doors to new opportunities.
Anything else you’d like to share about your journey into the tech sector, your experience with tech, or how working in tech has impacted you?
It’s been fun seeing technology trends come and go over the years. Seeing that wave of change has helped me grow creatively and professionally and I apply that experience to just about everything I do.