Jon Snoddy has lived on the leading edge of entertainment technology his entire career. Prior to heading up Research & Development for Walt Disney Imagineering, Jon worked at NPR and Lucasfilm, started his own companies, and pulled a previous stint at Imagineering developing ride concepts such as the Indiana Jones™ Adventure as well as founding the original Disney VR Studio.  

Jon’s work spans industries as well as continents. Starting off as a recording engineer for NPR, he went on to help launch the THX system at Lucasfilm, install Captain EO Disneyland. As an entrepreneur, Jon spearheaded GameWorks LLC with DreamWorks, Sega, and Universal Studios. Additionally, he’s led redevelopment projects like Centum City in Pusan, Korea; created a movie theater game business with TimePlay Entertainment; and enabled personalized video sharing with Big Stage Entertainment.  

Jon is currently the SVP of Disney Research and Walt Disney Imagineering Research & Development Studio Executive. He oversees a cross-disciplinary group of scientists, artists and engineers inventing the future of entertainment. His teams work across robotics, AI, displays, visual computing, materials and interactive storytelling to create the next generation of Disney characters, rides, experiences and more.