Wagner worked in Los Angeles recording studios during the 1970s and 1980s, including Ike and Tina Turner's Bolic Sound, Motown's West Coast studios, Everything Audio, and Clover Recorders. He worked as a recording engineer and producer during this period.

After moving to California in 1974, Wagner worked at Bolic Sound and later held a staff position at Motown; designed or maintained recording facilities; and worked with performers including Bruce Springsteen. During work associated with Bruce Springsteen’s The River, he arranged for the use of a Sony PCM-1600 prototype.

He was credited as director of sound recording for the concert film Willie Nelson's 4th of July Celebration.

In 1975, Wagner helped found the University of Sound Arts in Hollywood and participated in developing its curriculum and teaching program.

The University of Sound Arts operated in Hollywood and offered programs in recording engineering, maintenance engineering, record production, sound reinforcement, and music-business management. Contemporary material described practical training in 24-track studios and approval by the California State Department of Education.

In 1977, Wagner was designer and chief technician for Lagniappe, a Sherman Oaks venture that combined a luxury residence with a 24-track recording studio for extended projects. Billboard report described the property as an early "house/studio" rental whose rooms incorporated audio and video connections and whose package could be customized with additional equipment and production personnel.

The Mark Taper Hall of Economics and Finance opened at the California Museum of Science and Industry in Los Angeles in April 1985. The facility was a privately funded $7 million addition containing more than 60 hands-on exhibits and computer games.

Wagner's company, Genius, was contracted by GFI to help create the exhibit as an IBM-sponsored project. Wagner and his staff developed and implemented systems and software for more than 30 interactive exhibits, which incorporated microcomputers, high-resolution graphic displays, automated teller machines, industrial robots, supermarket bar-code scanners, and custom electrical, mechanical, and optical components.

Wagner founded Abaton Technology in 1985 and served as its director of research and development. The company developed Macintosh peripherals and software during the 1980s. Its Abaton Transform translated Apple II programs at the object-code level for use on the Macintosh. The company also produced the Scan 300 series of Macintosh scanners.

A March 1988 report in the Washington Apple Pi journal stated that Everex Systems had acquired privately held Abaton Technology, a marketer of Macintosh optical scanners and scanning software.

Wagner is one of four named inventors on U.S. Patent 5,544,228, ''Method and apparatus for transmission of full frequency digital audio'', filed in 1993 and issued in 1996. The patent describes a system for transmitting full-frequency digital audio over a network, including through ISDN connections, for applications including remote casting auditions and communication among multiple sites. The Walt Disney Company is listed as the assignee.

Wagner is named as a co-inventor on U.S. patents 5,241,406 and 5,381,245, both titled ''X-ray film scanning and digitizing apparatus''. The patents describe a system for digitizing X-ray film transparencies using a scanner and list X-Ray Scanner Corporation as assignee.

Wagner is one of the named inventors on U.S. Patent 6,189,008, ''Dynamic digital asset management'', issued in 2001, and its continuation, U.S. Patent 6,490,587, issued in 2002. The patents describe systems for updating content stored on endpoint servers based on aggregate user profiles.

Wagner worked on the technology in connection with Intertainer, a video-on-demand company.

Wagner is the named inventor on U.S. patent application 2010/0205023, ''System and method for distributing digital content'', filed in 2009 and assigned to Digiboo LLC. The application describes the distribution of digital files through dedicated purchase points or network connections and was recorded as abandoned.

Digiboo operated kiosks that allowed customers to rent or purchase films and download them to USB storage devices or compatible equipment. Technology and business publications reported on deployments of the kiosks at U.S. airports and other locations.

Wagner founded MetaWire in 1993 as an entertainment consultancy and Internet service provider focused on ISDN and higher-speed access.

In 1995, the California ISDN Users' Group listed him as a participant in a session on ISDN packet and satellite applications. The Electronic Cafe International archive also lists Wagner among people associated with the organization and credits him with helping with the installation of ISDN service lines in Santa Monica.

In July 1993, Wagner was a featured speaker at the Video Software Dealers Association convention in Las Vegas, appearing on a panel devoted to video-on-demand. Billboard reported his remarks on the economics of Time Warner's planned interactive-television trial in Orlando, Florida, and his view that because telephone companies were government-regulated utilities they might represent less of a competitive threat to video retailers than other new providers.