While pursuing his doctorate degree, Jens was employed as a research assistant at the International Center for Lightning Research and Testing (ICLRT). In this capacity, Jens published four scientific papers as main-author and nine scientific papers as co-author in peer-reviewed journals. He has also been the main or co-author of over 20 technical reports and conference proceedings.

Jens completed a research project for Florida Power and Light (FPL) to investigate the interaction of two test power distribution lines with rocket-triggered lightning. He successfully modeled the experimental data using EMTP96.

He also completed a research project to measure lightning-induced currents in grounding structures for Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory to investigate the threat of nearby lightning to explosive storage bunkers. Prior to that, Jens worked on a research project investigating the threat of lightning strikes to aircrafts for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Prior to his work at the University of Florida, Jens was a research assistant at the High-Voltage Laboratory, University of Paderborn, Dept. Soest, Germany, where he designed and built a generator to simulate multiple lightning surge currents and voltages. His work at the University of Paderborn earned him the Adam-Herbert Award for outstanding accomplishments in the lightning protection area.