Jakob Nordström obtained his MSc degree at Stockholm University in 2001, and his PhD degree at KTH Royal Institute of Technology in 2008. During 2008-2010 he was a postdoctoral researcher at MIT, after which he returned to KTH in 2011, where he became an Associate Professor and received his Docent degree (habilitation) in 2015. In 2019 Jakob moved to the University of Copenhagen, and since 2020 he also has a part-time affiliation with Lund University as a Professor.

In 2006, Jakob Nordström received the best student paper award at 38th ACM Symposium on Theory of Computing (STOC '06), and his PhD thesis received the Ackermann Award 2009 for "outstanding dissertations in Logic in Computer Science" from the European Association for Computer Science Logic. Since 2018 he is a member of the Young Academy of Sweden. 

In 1997-1998, Jakob Nordström served as a military interpreter at the Swedish Armed Forces Language Institute, graduating as the best student of the 1998 class. In parallel with his studies and later his research, he has worked as a Russian interpreter, engaged among others for His Majesty the King of Sweden and the Swedish Prime Minister. He also has a Diploma in Choir Conducting with extended Music Theory from the Tallinn Music Upper Secondary School, Estonia. During the period 1994-1999, he was the artistic director of Collegium Vocale Stockholm, a vocal ensemble performing mainly Renaissance and Baroque music.