Jillian is the curator at the New York Museum of Archaeology. Her primary role in the story is as the immediate superior to the museum's intern, Elena Wallace. In this position, her character is defined by a tendency to delegate menial tasks to her subordinates and subsequently take credit for their professional work.

Jillian’s personality is shown to be self-centered and career-driven. She is primarily concerned with her own professional advancement and social standing. This is evident when she expresses hope that a newly acquired falcon statue is rare enough to secure her a feature article in the publication Minerva. She is also depicted as being dismissive of her intern, ignoring Elena's theories about the true nature of the artifact.

Her motivations revolve around personal recognition and maintaining a comfortable, prestigious position. She is not involved in the larger conflict between the Autobots, Maximals, and Terrorcons, serving instead as an obstacle in the human protagonist's journey. When the police bring artifacts from a busted auction to the museum for authentication, Jillian relies on Elena to perform the actual appraisal work. Jillian then uses her intern's conclusions to report back to the authorities and present the findings as her own.

The key relationship in Jillian's role is with her intern, Elena. This dynamic is one of an exploitative boss and her overworked subordinate. Jillian frequently sends Elena to run errands such as fetching coffee and dry cleaning. Later, when Elena tries to share her theory that the falcon statue is more than it appears, Jillian dismisses her and sends her away with more dry cleaning. In a moment that inadvertently aids the plot, Jillian leaves for a fundraiser and tosses her intern a bundle of clothes that contains her own museum ID, which Elena then uses to access the laboratory where the statue is being stored.

Jillian shows no notable character development within the film. She remains a static figure whose function is to create an obstacle for the main human character. As a normal human, she possesses no special abilities or combat skills, and her significance to the story is limited to her position as the museum curator who unintentionally enables the events that follow. There is no information available regarding any background before her position at the museum.