A native Texan, Tompkins moved to Philadelphia in 2006 to receive a B.A. in Film & Media Arts at Temple University. After a number of years working the film festival circuit, which includes Telluride and Sundance Film Festivals, Jake followed the film sets to Georgia, where he worked as Key Set PA on Sundance selection V/H/S (2012) as well as other positions on AMC's The Walking Dead (2010), Flight (2012), and The Internship (2013).

Jake currently resides in Atlanta, Georgia.