He was sent by Sheridan on a scholarship to the New York Institute of Technology Computer Graphics Lab, where he worked as head of the 3D production department, which made film effects, television commercials, and scientific visuals.

[citation needed] In 1994, he moved from Pacific Data Images to Pixar, partly due to his interest in Toy Story and his respect for John Lasseter, where he supervised the animation on Pixar's early successes, including the aforementioned Toy Story, A Bug's Life, Toy Story 2, and Monsters, Inc.[1][2] McQueen also served as a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Hollywood.

His former colleagues also paid homage by naming the main character in Cars as Lightning McQueen.

The studio focused on producing short films and television episodes based on Pixar characters.

[6] Job qualifications were released in 2009[7] and the studio opened in spring 2010, producing many shorts, including Small Fry (2011) and Partysaurus Rex (2012).