Having started his career as a cinematographer with short movies and documentaries in the mid-2000s, Jayesh Nair went on to assist in movies such as Shuttlecock Boys and Liar's Dice. He also assisted in the Nawazuddin Siddiqui-starrer Monsoon Shootout in 2013, however, the movie only released in 2017.

Making his feature film debut, Jayesh worked on the English-German drama The Owner in 2012, before making his Indian film debut in 2013 with the Malayalam adventure comedy-drama North 24 Kaatham, starring Fahadh Faasil. Collaborating with Anil Radhakrishnan Menon, the director of North 24 Kaatham, Jayesh went on to work on his 2014 comedy thriller Sapthamashree Thaskaraha, featuring Prithviraj Sukumaran and Asif Ali, and the Kunchako Boban-starrer adventure thriller Lord Livingstone 7000 Kandi.

In 2017, Jayesh was associated with the Malayalam comedy Varnyathil Aashanka, following which he made his Bollywood debut as a cinematographer with the Anurag Kashyap-directed sports drama Mukkabaaz.