As a child, he grew up watching movies with his father. He graduated from Philadelphia's Greene Street Friends School in 1982 and Central High School in 1986.
Tichenor worked as Editor Geraldine Peroni's assistant on several films in the 1990s, including Robert Altman's film The Player (1992). His first credit as an Editor was for Altman's Jazz '34 (1996). Following Peroni's death in 2004, Tichenor stepped in to finish his mentor's editing of Brokeback Mountain (directed by Ang Lee).
Tichenor has had a notable collaboration with Director Paul Thomas Anderson. Tichenor's first major editing credit was for Anderson's Boogie Nights (1997), for which he was nominated for a Satellite Award. Tichenor was nominated for an Oscar for his work on Anderson's 2007 film There Will Be Blood.
