Joe Ortiz – As Vice President of Engineering, Joe oversees a group of 15 engineers and programmers that develop the engineering and show control systems for virtually every Technifex project. As Technifex’s controls expert (by having designed/programmed over 100 shows during his 35-year career), Joe often works directly with clients from concept through installation to ensure that the envisioned show is what Technifex delivers. Joe and his team can make anything come alive using mechanical, atmospheric, and visual special effects. Joe began his career at Technifex 25 years ago on the shop floor as a Technical Lead and worked his way to become an executive in the company. He admires the stability and diversity of projects at Technifex so much that he has never wanted to go elsewhere. Prior to transitioning into the Themed Entertainment Industry, Joe discovered a passion for making things move and trained to be a Disney animation artist and Fine Art painter. Prior to Technifex, he also worked for entertainment fabrication houses AVG, ShowMotion, and Landmark’s Roboshop, fulfilling and perfecting his life-long passion. For fun, Joe is self-taught in C# Windows App development and 2D/3D Full Stack game development and luckily can apply this found knowledge to projects at Technifex, as the company is so varied in its clientele and projects. Two of Joe’s favorite Technifex projects include Titanic – The Experience walk-through attraction and Niagara’s Fury 360-degree effects theatre.
