Vice President, Software Research & Development

David Ryu joined Pixar Animation Studios in 2001. After working as a graphics software engineer in Pixar’s tools department, David has since worked in a variety of capacities on multiple Academy Award®-winning feature films. He worked as a character shading artist on 2003’s "Finding Nemo," as a crowds technical director and on global technology for 2007’s "Ratatouille,” and as a crowds technical director for 2008’s "WALL•E." David also worked on global technology for the Academy Award®-winning feature "Up,” as shots sequence lead on "Toy Story 3,” and global technology supervisor on “Monsters University.” David supervised the effort to transition Pixar to a fully path-traced rendering environment on “Finding Dory.” David then served as supervising technical director for 2017’s Oscar®-winning feature film "Coco" and most recently held the role of visual effects supervisor on the 2021 release, “Luca.” 

In 2021, Ryu was promoted to Vice President, Tools. In this role, he oversees the studio graphics and animation software including the Academy Award®-winning animation software “Presto.”

Raised in Tustin, California, David was influenced by the "Star Wars" films and attended Harvard University, where he received his degree in 2001.  While in school, he interned at Electronic Arts and Microsoft, where he briefly worked on Microsoft Word and Tiger Woods golf video games.

David currently resides in the San Francisco Bay Area with his family.