Leah Rubin-Cadrain is a creative technology leader with a long history of pioneering work in augmented reality. She leads the creative team at Arcadia, Snapchat’s in-house studio for AR innovation.
Her work lives at the cutting edge of spatial computing, applying machine learning and generative AI to the field in all-new ways. She uses design thinking to develop AR utilities that solve problems and enhance real world experiences. With Arcadia, she has used AR and AI to reimagine music festivals with LiveNation, reinvent the vending machine with Coca Cola, and rebuild Notre Dame for the city of Paris. Her latest work with L’Oreal, an AI-powered makeup generator, is currently picking up awards across the industry.
As a Snapchat veteran, Leah was on the vanguard of introducing AR to the public, teaching consumers how to interact with it and marketers how to leverage it. As a leader in the entertainment space at Snapchat, she developed the first ever AR portal for Netflix’s Stranger Things, which won a Clio Award, ThinkLA Innovator Award, and Business Insider’s Ad of the Year, and went on to become a standard ad format. Also at Snapchat, she founded the Snapchat Brand Lab team, co-led the Snap Pride ERG, and mentors students in the Snap Academy for underrepresented youth in tech. She has served on the jury of the Clio Awards and a speaker at conferences including IAB, C2 Montreal, and The Female Quotient.
Leah’s creative technology career evolved unconventionally, following a Yale literature degree, teaching, reality TV production, and a tour across creative agencies. Writing is her first love, and her creative nonfiction has been published in magazines and literary journals. As a member of the LGBTQ+ community, she prides herself on bringing an outsider perspective to her work and championing inclusivity and accessibility. She lives in the Hudson Valley with her wife and daughter, the absolute lights of her life.
