Forward Deployed Expert - Manager

At Trunk Tools, we’re the leading AI company revolutionizing construction, the second-largest industry on earth. We recently raised a $40M Series B led by Insight Partners, bringing our total funding to $70M from top-tier investors including Redpoint and Innovation Endeavors. This new round is fueling our next phase of growth as we scale AI agents across the jobsite.

Our mission is to build the future of construction through intelligent automation. Despite being a $13+ trillion industry, construction still runs largely on analog processes, we’re changing that by embedding AI directly into field operations.

Founded by builders and technologists (Stanford, MIT), our team has delivered software used by over 140,000 field professionals, impacting millions of users and contributing to $10B+ in built projects. Many of us come from the field ourselves, giving us a deep understanding of the industry’s unique challenges.

After years of building the “brain” of construction, we’re now launching production-ready AI agents, starting with intelligent document processing and Q&A, and rapidly expanding into core operational workflows. Our team has doubled in the past year, and with 100+ employees (50+ engineers), we’re scaling fast and entering a period of hypergrowth. This is a rare opportunity to join at an inflection point.

Position Overview

Trunk Tools is looking for an FDX Manager to lead our deployed team of Forward Deployed Experts (FDX) inside a top-20 general contractor account. You’ll manage a team of five to eight FDX embedded across the customer’s regions, and you’ll still carry field work yourself — this is a player-coach role. You own how the team is deployed: coverage across regions and projects, the quality and consistency of what they deliver, and the deliberate step-down from a fully dedicated team toward fractional coverage as the customer’s own trainers take over. You’ll partner closely with the Program Manager, who owns the overall plan and KPIs. Travel is required, up to 40%.

Key Responsibilities

• Team Leadership

  • Hire, coach, and lead a team of five to eight Forward Deployed Experts.

  • Stay hands-on — carry select field engagements yourself and lead from the front.

  • Set the standard for what great FDX work looks like.

• Regional Adoption Strategy

  • Allocate FDX across the customer’s regions and projects against clear adoption targets.

  • Manage coverage as it ramps to peak and then tapers, so the right people are in the right place at the right time.

• Delivery Quality & Standardization

  • Ensure a consistent methodology, use-case library, and outcomes across the whole team.

  • Contribute to the shared playbook so every FDX and every account gets better.

• Capacity & Bench Management

  • Run the flex model as the engagement matures — rotate FDX to fractional coverage, across accounts, or back to the bench as demand shifts.

  • Forecast capacity and flag needs early.

• Cross-Functional Partnership

  • Partner with the Program Manager on plan, cadence, and KPIs.

  • Interface with product teams on custom agent needs and escalate blockers.

• Measurement

  • Roll up the adoption and efficiency outcomes your team drives and report them to program governance.

Qualifications

• Experience

  • 7+ years of experience including people leadership — you’ve hired, coached, and led teams.

  • A background in construction operations paired with strong AI fluency.

  • Experience leading field, deployed, or turnaround teams; professional-services or consulting leadership is a plus.

• Skills & Knowledge

  • A genuine player-coach — still credible doing the work, and strong at developing people.

  • Capacity planning and the judgment to deploy a team against shifting demand.

  • Construction domain depth and daily AI-tool fluency.

  • Strong stakeholder management across the customer and internal teams.

• Education

  • Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience.

  • Leadership, construction, or AI-related certifications are a plus.

Why Trunk Tools?

• Innovative Culture: Work at the forefront of technology with a team that values innovation and continuous learning.

• Impactful Work: Help transform businesses with tools that drive real, measurable outcomes.

• Career Growth: Be part of a growing company with ample opportunities for personal and professional development.

• Competitive Compensation: We offer a competitive salary, benefits, and performance-based incentives.

• Work-Life Balance: Enjoy a supportive work environment that encourages a healthy work-life balance.

What we offer

🎖️ A close-knit and collaborative early-stage startup environment where every voice is heard and every opinion matters

💰 Competitive salary and stock option equity packages

🏥 4 Medical Plans to choose from including 100% covered option. Plus Dental and Vision Insurance!

🤓 Learning & Growth stipend

🏠 Flexible long-term work options (remote and hybrid)

🥨 Free lunch provided in the office in NYC & Austin - you’ll never go hungry with us!

🛫 Unlimited PTO; We truly believe in work-life balance and that hard work should be balanced with time for rest and rejuvenation

🏝 IRL / In-Person retreats throughout the year

Please note: All official communication from Trunk Tools will come from an email address ending in @trunk.tools. If you receive outreach from any other domain, please disregard it or report it to us.

At Trunk Tools, we’re working hard to build a more productive and safer environment within the construction industry, and we strive to live by these same values here at Trunk Tools HQ. As an equal-opportunity employer, we are committed to building an inclusive environment where you can be you. We work hard to evaluate all employees and job applicants consistently, without regard to race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, disability, pregnancy, gender expression or identity, sexual orientation, or any other legally protected class.