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All Roads Return to Ann Arbor for Florida Native, Silicon Valley Engineer

September 10, 2018 Talent
Jeremy and two coworkers

Ann Arbor has a quality that draws people back. Just ask Jeremy McMinis, director of data engineering at Groundspeed Analytics, who has relocated to Ann Arbor — twice.

Jeremy’s first stint in Ann Arbor lasted about five years. He first moved here after completing his bachelor’s degree in economics from New College of Florida where he met his future wife, and Ann Arbor native, Jenny. In 2017, after earning a PhD in physics at University of Illinois and spending four years working at startups in the San Francisco Bay area, Jeremy returned to Ann Arbor. “We always knew we’d eventually end up back here. There were just a lot of twists and turns between then and now.”

It was an unexpected twist that eventually led Jeremy to his new position at Groundspeed. “The company I was working with when we first returned to Ann Arbor pivoted not long after I started there. I felt like my specific skills were no longer an ideal fit for the organization.”

At that time, Jeremy decided to pursue his dream of launching his own company — Baseline BI. He connected with the Ann Arbor SPARK entrepreneurial services team and became a tenant at the SPARK Central Innovation Center. During that time, Jeremy took advantage of exclusive SPARK.ed classes and connected with other tenants, such as Groundspeed Analytics.

“While I was at SPARK Central, I became even more familiar with the tech landscape in town. I was impressed with the work being done here and one organization, Groundspeed, really caught my attention. I made a connection with Groundspeed founder Jeffrey Mason and was thrilled to accept a position with his organization when the opportunity arose. While I’ve put Baseline BI on hold, for now, Groundspeed is the best job I’ve ever had.”