Born and raised in the Philadelphia area, David was obsessed with movies and music. David studied film at Temple University and drumming at the Musician’s Institute in Hollywood. His editing career began with a summer internship at the Academy of Television Arts and Science.
As an editor working in premiere commercial post production houses, David has cut for Nike, Google, Ford, Chevy, T-Mobile, and Mazda, including Super Bowl spots for Hyundai and Butterfinger. His advertising work has been recognized by Ad Age, Shoot, Creativity, and AICE.
In 2011, Trachtenberg edited the viral sensation Portal: No Escape directed by Dan Trachtenberg and the Sundance Film Festival's Jury Prize-winning short Brick Novax's Diary directed by Matt Piedmont. His first feature was Piedmont's 2012 film Casa De Mi Padre starring Will Ferrell.
Trachtenberg was back at Sundance in 2015 with the Jury Prize and Audience Award-winning film,
Me & Earl & the Dying Girl directed by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon. The film earned him an Eddie nomination and in 2016 he was inducted into American Cinema Editors (ACE). His latest feature film, The Current War, also directed by Gomez-Rejon, was released in 2019.
David’s television work includes the pilot episode of the acclaimed Amazon series The Boys, the Netflix series Shadow and Bone, and the limited series The Offer for Paramount+.
David still plays drums and is known to cut the occasional Bar/Bat Mitzvah video.