After graduating from the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich with a degree in business administration, Jo Heim studied at the Hochschule für Fernsehen und Film München (HFF). In 1986 he made his debut as a visual designer for a feature-length film. Since then Heim has shot music videos, commercials and cinema and television films, including »Der Vorname«, »Willkommen bei den Hartmanns«, »Männerherzen«, »7 Zwerge - Männer allein im Wald«, »Brandmal« and »Nacht über Berlin«. In addition to his camera work, Heim lectures at film schools in Germany and Europe.

Heim received the Honorary Professorship at the HFF Munich in 2021, the Honorary Award of the German Camera Prize in 2017, the Bavarian Film Prize in 2015 for »Unfriended« and »One Last Tango« and the Grimme Prize in 2012 for »The Midwife - On Life and Death«. He was nominated four times for the German Camera Award and twice for the German Television Award for Image Design.

Jo Heim is a member of the BVK and the German Film Academy.