How I got here.

Growing up in Cupertino with two parents in the software industry, I had a normal childhood. I grew up surrounded by computers and learned to program at a young age. But I also wanted to be a Disney animator and Alex P. Keaton. I couldn’t draw, so I studied Computer Science with a minor in Economics at Harvey Mudd College. As a junior I toured the upstart VFX studio, Digital Domain, while the studio was working on Apollo 13, and saw that I could use computer science to help other people make art. That was the moment it clicked.

I didn’t know what I wanted to do. But looking back at what I loved as a kid, a mix of technology, art and business was always in my future, and I was lucky enough to find a career that merges all three.

I joined Digital Domain after graduating in 1996, writing shaders, plugins, production pipelines, and even timecard systems. Over nearly ten years I grew from software engineer into managing the technical director department, adding the software department, and finally as Director of Technology, responsible for all technology at the studio. That team accomplished some amazing things including several Scientific and Technical Academy Awards as well as the first release of the now industry standard compositing software, Nuke, to the public.

In 2006, I had the opportunity to do something very different and moved back to the Bay Area to join PDI/DreamWorks. There, I led production technology across the studio’s sites, bringing motion capture, compositing and production shader writing into the pipeline, and guiding major initiatives in shading, lighting and animation. In 2011, I returned to Digital Domain as CTO of a now PUBLIC company. After helping DD thru its bankruptcy and aquisition, I moved to become CTO of Method Studios for a short and forgettable period of my life.

The years that followed took me outside the studio walls: running AV engineering operations at Google, bringing the Arnold renderer’s team into Autodesk, serving as CTO of TouchCast, and advising studios and software companies. These experiences gave me such great perspective but ultimately, I truly love working close to and supporting artists making art.

So, in 2018, I joined Animal Logic as Group CTO. Animal Logic was the first place that felt like home since my first decade at DD. After our acquisition by Netflix in 2022, we have rebranded as Netflix Animation Studios, where I lead global technology with teams in Burbank, Sydney and Vancouver.

Throughout my career, I’ve volunteered for the communities that shaped me: for SIGGRAPH since 2001, from reviewing submissions to chairing the Computer Animation Festival in 2003, directing the Oscar-qualifying Electronic Theater in 2022, and serving as Chair-Elect, Chair and now Executive Director; and for the Academy since 2004 on its Scientific and Technical Awards Committee, where I co-chaired the Digital Imaging Technology Subcommittee from 2014 to 2024 and am now in my third and final season as Co-Chair of the full committee. I’ve served on the Academy Software Foundation’s Governing Board since it began in 2018, as its long-time Treasurer, and I’ve served on the Visual Effects Society’s Technology Committee and as elected Treasurer of its New York Section, and volunteered for the Content Delivery & Security Association. It has shaped my career as much as any job.

Every pixel in an animated film depends on technology, but it’s a support role: we don’t build technology for technology’s sake. Success for me has turned out to be less about building technology myself but about building teams who love the craft and enabling artists as much as I do. The teams I’ve worked with and for are still what I’m proudest of.

Full career timeline and filmography →