Trachtenberg has directed commercials for Lexus, Nike, and Coca-Cola. In 2003, he directed the short film Kickin'. In April, 2008, he joined Tight Films, for which he collaborated with Matt Wolf on an alternate reality game for Hellboy II: The Golden Army.
On October 13, 2011, /Film announced that Trachtenberg would be directing a science fiction action heist film for Universal Pictures with Writer Chris Morgan.
On April 3, 2014, Ain't It Cool News announced that Trachtenberg would direct a film for Bad Robot Productions titled Valencia, which was later revealed to be a code name for 10 Cloverfield Lane. On January 15, 2016, the trailer for 10 Cloverfield Lane was released. Producer J. J. Abrams said about the film, "The idea came up a long time ago during production. We wanted to make it a blood relative of Cloverfield. The idea was developed over time. We wanted to hold back the title for as long as possible."
