by Clara Hill

The home services industry is booming, projected to reach $1.3 trillion by the end of 2025. But behind those big numbers is a different story, one playing out in neighborhoods every day. While platforms like Angi and Thumbtack thrive with advanced technology, millions of small service providers—plumbers, electricians, landscapers—still struggle with slow workflows, manual bookings, and customer leads that can cost up to $200 each. 

That gap caught the attention of Hisham Juneidi, a data scientist  and Lead Software Engineer who has spent years building AI-powered systems for research and industry: “When I first came to the U.S., I realized how fragmented the home service industry was,” he says. 

“Finding help for simple things meant long calls, online vetting, and a lot of waiting. I wanted to make that process seamless by using AI to connect people who need a service with the professionals who can deliver it.”

This sought-after AI expert’s fascination with problem-solving started early: “I’ve always liked things to make sense. I love to solve problems, it’s what drives me,” he shares That mindset guided him from his days studying computer science at Virginia Tech, where he built apps to make student life easier—from a carpooling platform for college commuters to a scheduling tool that cut long lines during teacher assistants. Later, at Fairfield University, he expanded his research into machine learning and voice AI, even developing a system to track animal behavior at a local zoo. It was at this establishment Hisham was also a member of the esteemed organization Upsilon Pi Epsilon Honor Society.

These experiences shaped how he now sees the potential of AI in small businesses: “Every business has its own way of handling operations,” Hisham explains. “Some sign contracts first, others take payments upfront. So my challenge was: how can I build software that gives them flexibility while still keeping everything connected?”

That challenge led this highly-regarded AI expert to focus on what he calls operational AI—the behind-the-scenes intelligence that powers scheduling, client tracking, and daily management. “What I’m building isn’t just another CRM,” he explains. “It’s an ecosystem that lets businesses connect all the tools they already use—payments, social media, bookings, quote generation and inventory using AI and automations—and take advantage of AI without needing to be tech-savvy.”

Hisham’s systems-level approach stems from his engineering roots. At Virginia Tech and Fairfield University, he learned how to turn complex algorithms into practical tools. This ability is his guiding principle up to this day: “Technology should make life easier, not harder,” he often says.

This in-demand engineering expert first proved his skills with an early project called SkimMedText, a Python and TensorFlow-based NLP app that could summarize medical research papers in seconds. His goal behind this was to make complex information easy for anyone to understand: “Simplicity is very important in business. “I like to see the impact—how something I build can improve people’s quality of life,” he says. 

Fragmented and Overwhelmed

To Hisham, the booming home services industry, driven by aging infrastructure, rapid urban growth, and growing homeowner demands, reveals a deeper struggle beneath the surface. Despite the sector’s massive potential, most small service providers are left juggling disconnected tools, manual processes, and outdated systems: “The real challenge isn’t access to capital; it’s access to technology,” Hisham explains. “AI can level the playing field. But most small businesses don’t have the time or money to build complex systems.”

The home services industry runs on local trust, but behind the scenes, it’s still a bit of a digital Wild West. Many operators juggle bookings by zip code, manage their tools, and handle constant customer inquiries across various apps, including social media, payment systems, and CRMs. According to EverCommerce’s 2025 report, this leads to scheduling errors in nearly 30% of cases: “Each business has its own way of doing things,” says one innovator in the space, showing how rigid most ready-made software can be. Rising costs only make things more complicated, with inflation pushing material prices up 12% year over year. Small operators—most of whom work alone or in teams of fewer than five —feel the squeeze.

The need for innovation has never been more urgent. Missed calls alone cost independent operators nearly $500 million annually, largely due to fragmented systems and outdated tools. AI has the potential to automate up to 60% of routine tasks, from quote generation to review management, yet most small firms remain locked out by the high cost and complexity of custom-built solutions. As Intuit’s 2025 report highlights, while 89% of small businesses see AI as essential to efficiency, few can scale without dedicated engineering support.

That insight has since become Hisham’s mission: to make advanced technology simple and accessible for everyone. His vision aligns with what a 2025 Housecall Pro report also confirms: over 70% of home service professionals now use AI to cut administrative work by up to 40%, from automated invoicing to predictive scheduling. Still, accessibility remains uneven. As Hisham puts it, “A plumber shouldn’t have to learn Python or hire a data engineer. AI should work quietly in the background—saving time, cutting costs, and letting owners focus on what they do best: their craft.”

This people-first mindset reshapes how startups and service-tech companies think about usability. Hisham’s guiding principle: “AI should adapt to people, not the other way around,” has influenced a new wave of smaller platforms that prioritize accessibility and user experience.  As he puts it: “When I communicate with clients, I assume they have no tech background. My goal is to make things intuitive enough that they can manage everything themselves.”

Still, even as 77% of small businesses adopt AI and 91% of AI-integrated firms report revenue growth of 15–25% (according to Salesforce), most remain at the surface level. Only 40% use AI beyond basic automations due to integration challenges and the lack of affordable, tailored tools: “The home service industry is very huge, but it’s fragmented,” Hisham observes. “I really want to make it more organized, and AI can make that communication between customers and technicians much easier.”

Engineering Accessibility

The fragmentation Hisham describes is what he set out to solve through The EdgeNode LLC, where he serves as Founder and Lead Software Engineer. After witnessing firsthand how small operators struggle with disconnected tools and costly platforms, he envisioned AI that feels intuitive, not intimidating: “I like things to make sense. I like problem-solving in general, and building software that makes people’s lives easier,” he explains.

At The EdgeNode, that vision takes shape through modular, AI-driven systems that automate marketing, client follow-ups, and data management—turning manual tasks into seamless, scalable workflows:. “Whether you’re one technician or a team of fifty, the AI should adapt to you—not the other way around,” says Hisham.

He expounded in this in a recent podcast with the Hudson River Network on the topic of Automating the Home Service Industry to Save Hours.

Hisham revealed: “We built systems where AI reads product URLs, understands job types, and instantly generates quotes—saving hours per project.” 

This hands-on approach reflects his broader philosophy: AI should quietly eliminate friction, not add complexity, allowing service businesses to focus on what they do best.

Hisham explains how the company’s flagship innovation, the Multi-Channel Processor (MCP) system orchestrates multiple AI agents end-to-end: “It allows one agent’s output to dynamically feed another’s actions in real time. 

“It’s designed to unify calls, texts, emails, and CRMs into a single, intelligent ecosystem—the MCP eliminates communication silos that cost small businesses both time and revenue. We wanted to build something that thinks across channels — not just automates tasks, but understands context.”

Built on AWS, Kubernetes, and CI/CD pipelines, the MCP has been recognized by industry peers as a breakthrough in conversational infrastructure, bridging the gap between communication software and intelligent operations management.

This approach reflects Hisham’s belief that accessibility matters just as much as accuracy, a mindset he developed during his time at LightBox. There, this AI expert created automated data pipelines that improved address-matching accuracy and saved the company over $2.5 million in operational costs: “Each business has its own way of handling its work,” he reflects. “The challenge is to build software that’s easy for many businesses to adapt—without forcing them to change how they operate.”

That’s the gap Hisham is closing—bringing enterprise-grade automation to Main Street. Through The EdgeNode, he helps small businesses reclaim their time, reduce costs, and compete in a digital economy that’s finally catching up to their potential: “What I’m building isn’t just another CRM,” he explains. “It’s an ecosystem where businesses don’t need to be tech-savvy. They can connect all their tools and get the most advantage from AI, without hiring a developer to do it for them.”

Behind this mission are a data scientist and software engineer whose combined experience in machine learning and full-stack development redefines what accessible AI can look like. Founded in 2024 and based in Stamford, CT, The EdgeNode LLC builds AI ecosystems that unify disparate tools into intuitive platforms, empowering Main Street professionals without tech degrees. Hisham’s hybrid expertise in SQL, DynamoDB, React, and Node.js enables him to design robust, user-friendly systems.

The EdgeNode’s unified framework for communication, scheduling, and analytics is already making waves in developer communities and startup incubators as a scalable model for vertical SaaS. Even academic researchers have cited Hisham’s MCP-based architecture as a milestone in AI accessibility, demonstrating that powerful automation is no longer limited to large enterprises.

Much of Hisham’s technical foundation was built during his time as a Research Fellow at Fairfield University, where he developed a model that classified leopard saw audio data with 87% accuracy. The project sharpened his ability to train precise AI models under real-world constraints. With a Master’s in Data Science (GPA 3.87) from Fairfield and a Computer Science degree from Virginia Tech, he now applies tools like Python, TensorFlow, AWS, and React to create custom automations that help businesses grow.

And those results speak for themselves. Hisham’s NLP chatbots have cut client response times from days to seconds. His voice AI integrations helped a $7–8 million cleaning company automate after-hours bookings, sending calls straight into executive calendars: “I look at innovation in three stages: theory, application, and communicating multiple applications at once,” he says.

That precision extends to his optimization systems, which now balance technician schedules, service areas, and equipment requirements for complex operations such as gazebo installations. Through RESTful APIs and Kubernetes, he ensures smooth scalability as businesses grow: “The most advanced thing,” Hisham explains, “is managing people and machines at the same time—technicians, tools, and locations—all through one system that learns from what you do.”

From research labs to real-world applications, Hisham’s work with The EdgeNode achieves what small businesses can expect from AI: not complexity, but clarity.

Real-World Impact

What began as Hisham’s vision for smarter, more connected systems has evolved into real solutions that are reshaping how businesses run.  Through The EdgeNode’s automated CI/CD pipelines, deployment times are now 40% faster, helping small and mid-sized enterprises embrace cloud technology without needing large tech teams: “I’m always thinking about the next milestone,” Hisham says. “I want what I’m building today to still be relevant in five or ten years—and to keep making people’s work simpler.”

That forward-thinking mindset is paying off. One home services client fully automated their booking system by allowing customers to simply paste a product URL — the AI then identifies the service type, matches it with the most suitable technician based on location, availability, and skill set, and instantly generates a quote. 

This automation unlocked 24/7 booking capability, boosted revenue by 20%, and saved both the business and its customers significant time. The same technical foundation that powers this system traces back to Hisham’s earlier innovation, SkimMedText, an NLP tool that could summarize medical papers with 82% accuracy and later evolved into predictive models such as a COVID classifier reaching 98% accuracy—demonstrating his ability to adapt research-level AI into real-world business automation.

Behind these results is a rare balance of scientific precision and empathy for the realities of small business. Hisham understands that not every user is a “digital native.” His designs favor plain language, conversational AI, and intuitive automation.  By bridging the gap between advanced tech and practical usability, his unique approach could set a new standard for the next generation of field service management tools.

Charles Lobosco, Chief Executive Officer in the facilities services industry, commends Hisham’s intuitive approach. Having first met Hisham years ago through a personal connection, Lobosco later saw his professional expertise in action while developing digital tools for his own companies: “Hisham really takes the time to listen and get what a business is all about—its goals, culture, and challenges. Then he turns that insight into software that is actually genuine and spot-on,” he shares. Lobosco credits Hisham for creating a website that perfectly captured his company’s identity and strengthened its brand credibility, noting that his organization saw measurable growth in client engagement and RFP traffic after the launch: “In my 35 years in business,” Lobosco adds, “I can honestly say Hisham’s work rivals major engineering firms—but with a personal touch that’s hard to find.”

Hisham believes that kind of integration, where technology reflects the real need of a business, is what truly unlocks AI’s potential: “Having a system that can communicate all that in one place gives you the most advantage from AI,” he explains, referring to the fragmented tools that still slow down over half of operators. Hisham’s clients, ranging from startups to growing firms, praise the flexibility, which includes self-service logins for quick updates, video walkthroughs for non-tech users, and scalable systems built for real-world conditions.

Moreover, this people-first approach won the trust of entrepreneurs beyond the home service industry. Lynn Castagna, Co-owner and Operator of ZAZA Italian Gastrobar, recalls how Hisham helped modernize their operations through custom-built automation tools: “He unified everything: reservations, menus, staff communication, into one intuitive platform. This made our restaurant more efficient and profitable,” she shares. “What impressed me most was that he did not simply consult; he built the entire digital backbone that powers ZAZA today. From our AI-driven review system to the staff app, everything runs seamlessly thanks to his work.”

Castagna, who has known Hisham for seven years, says his character matches his technical expertise: “Hisham has this rare combination of brilliance and humility. He makes complex technology feel accessible—even for people like us who don’t speak ‘tech.’ He empowered our team to manage everything independently, and this completely changed how we operate.” Under Hisham’s guidance, ZAZA’s customer ratings increased and manual errors decreased, demonstrating how accessible AI can empower even non-technical teams.

The impact of his work soon caught the attention of both academia and industry. Fairfield University honored him at the 2023 School of Engineering Awards Luncheon, celebrating achievements that include $2.5 million in address-matching savings and an 87% accurate audio classifier built for wildlife conservation. Earlier in his career, Hisham’s attention to detail earned him membership in his college’s Honor Society for Computing after he stepped in to rescue a struggling COVID-19 prediction model, raising its accuracy to nearly 98%. That project became one of his earliest proofs that thoughtful data engineering can have life-saving implications.

Even beyond his own work, this engineering and AI expert has always found ways to lift others. As a college peer reviewer for capstone projects, he guided student teams through design challenges and build processes, helping nearly 20 peers sharpen their systems and workflows across two development phases. Later, as a graduate teaching support at Fairfield University, he mentored students through assignments, exams, and projects—offering the same clarity and patience that now define his approach to clients and teams. That same spirit of mentorship carried into his professional life, where he served as a judge at GIVE (Global Impactful Vision Efforts), Inc., a hackathon event celebrating socially driven innovation and technological creativity.

These experiences, spanning research, mentorship, and industry, have shaped the kind of innovator Hisham has become: one who builds systems for people, not just for performance. His trajectory from classroom mentor to recognized AI builder shows that when technology is driven by understanding, it doesn’t just predict the future—it helps people thrive in it.

Building a More Equitable Future Through Automation

Hisham imagines a future where mobile-first AI tools replace messy email threads with real-time updates, helping organize the trillion-dollar home service industry: “I really would love to have the home service industry be more organized and less fragmented. Right now, there’s a lot of fragmentation in how they handle business —from finding a service to having the service delivered. I want to make that process a lot more seamless,” he explains.

Hisham’s lasting impact may go beyond his software—it’s his philosophy that sets him apart: AI should serve local economies. His push for equitable access to automation is already shaping discussions in small-business tech forums and influencing state-level digitalization initiatives: “I think a lot of ecosystems miss the connection,” he explains. “They have payment systems, scheduling, and social media—but nothing that ties it all together. What I’m building gives small and mid-sized businesses that power, without needing to be tech-savvy.”

As AI spending hits $12 billion consumer-wide, his blueprint levels the playing field, proving that software engineering is essential: “I’m always thinking about what’s next,” he shares. “What I’m building—will it still be relevant in five years? That’s what keeps me up at night.”

Every line of code Hisham writes carries the same message: innovation belongs everywhere, not just in Silicon Valley boardrooms. What makes Hisham’s story resonate isn’t just his technical genius; he believes that technology should serve people, not the other way around. In an age obsessed with automation, he’s building something far more personal: systems that listen, learn, and lift the burden off those who keep local economies alive.