PHOTO BY LAURA PETRILLA

Chris Dunkers
Head of Software, Thoro.ai

Christopher Dunkers always thought that he would be an engineer. Once he started programming in college, it changed his trajectory. Now as head of software at
Thoro.ai, Dunkers creates and programs robots to clean and work at schools, airports and warehouses that are struggling to hire and keep cleaners on staff.

“My goal and hope is to help facilitate these industries to operate at their highest potential and be more efficient,” he says.

Dunkers is a founding member at his company, helping to grow the team to 22 members and forge global partnerships with top industrial equipment manufacturers and local sites like Pittsburgh International Airport and Carnegie Mellon University.

A strong team mentor, Dunkers also works to promote his field. “I want everyone to have that opportunity to get excited about robots and learn the tech that’s out here and the cool stuff that we’re doing,” he says.