He is noted for developing molecular models that describe the thermodynamic properties of complex fluids; as one of the developers of statistical associating fluid theory (SAFT); and for his work in molecular systems engineering.

His theoretical work has found a wide range of practical applications in industries such as gas extraction and emerging fields like carbon capture and storage.

After postdoctoral work at Cornell University with Keith E. Gubbins (1986-1989), he became a lecturer and reader in physical chemistry at the University of Sheffield (1989-1998), and has been professor of Chemical Physics at Imperial College London since 2001.

[2][3] Jackson's research centres on developing simplified but realistic mathematical models of complex fluids, which are used in industries such as pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, gas extraction, and carbon capture.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, he was one of the developers of the influential statistical associating fluid theory (SAFT), an equation of state that predicts the thermodynamic properties of complex fluid mixtures.