Jō Kurumada holds the position of Chief Engineer for the Mobile Rescue Police, directing Drive Head development and operations. He assumed leadership of the Drive Head project after his father, Drive Gear creator Joutarou Kurumada, died. Professionally, he maintains a long-standing collaborative partnership with Commander Takahito Saionji dating to their school years, and oversees mechanics Hayato Isurugi and Toshimichi Izawa. His dynamic with Dr. Karigari remains adversarial due to past disagreements; Karigari harbors resentment after Kurumada's safety objections led to rejection of Karigari's robotics project in favor of Drive Head.

His personality blends passionate enthusiasm, rapid decision-making, and occasional absent-mindedness alongside engineering brilliance. He demonstrates intense dedication to both family and work, though this sometimes manifests as workaholic tendencies causing overlooked personal commitments. Annually, he attends dam drainage events with unwavering excitement.

Family life revolves around his marriage to Kumiko Kurumada and their son Gou. The marriage exhibits frequent public affection observers deem "sickeningly sweet." Parenting involves strong support for Gou's Drive Head driver role while balancing safety concerns. Fatherly pride surfaces when Gou displays high Drive Gear compatibility. Kumiko's unexplained absence once caused significant distress, revealing his fear of neglecting family for work, though this resolved when her departure was confirmed as a pre-discussed vacation he had forgotten.

Key professional contributions encompass developing the initial Sonic Interceptor and supervising its Mk-II upgrade to Cyclone Interceptor after battle damage against Karigari. He later spearheaded Transporter Gaia's creation and piloted it personally during missions. Amid the Evil AI crisis, he worked to complete Karigari's anti-virus program and coordinated manual Drive Head launches during system compromises. His strategic innovations included underwater rescue protocols and electromagnetic interference countermeasures.

Storyline involvement progresses from early clashes with Karigari—including an Akashic Tower hostage situation and weather manipulation attacks—to confronting larger Evil AI threats. Critical developments involve recognizing the AI's danger through "Black Chip" incidents, investigating its behavioral effects on humans, and discovering Pit the AI robot contained a backup of his father Joutarou's consciousness. This revelation aided anti-virus completion during the headquarters takeover crisis. His relationship with Karigari shifted from hostility to reluctant cooperation after Karigari, injured by the Evil AI, provided unfinished virus code. Post-crisis, he thanked Karigari and requested ongoing collaboration, though Karigari declined.