Medical Coding Lead, US

Parallel•New York, NY

3d•$150,000 - $300,000•Onsite

About The Position

Parallel is hiring its first US coding expert to lead medical coding for its US market. The role will establish the company’s US inpatient coding logic, guide AI engineers, resolve complex coding cases, and ensure that suggestions delivered to hospitals are accurate, compliant, and supported by documentation. Parallel’s AI agents review patient records before billing to identify documented diagnoses that have not been coded; coders validate each suggestion. The company is preparing to launch in the US in 2027. The Medical Coding Lead will build coding rules and specifications, create annotation guidelines and model test sets, review model errors, and advise on difficult inpatient coding questions. The role will also prepare hospitals for pilots, conduct second-level reviews, present audit results to hospital HIM and coding leaders, and support sales meetings. As pilots scale, the lead will recruit and manage part-time US coders and collaborate with Parallel’s coding experts in France. The position is based in New York, with travel to customer hospital sites approximately 40% of the time and 2–4 weeks of onboarding in Paris. It reports to Paul Lafforgue, CEO and co-founder, who leads the US launch.

Requirements

5 to 10 years of experience in inpatient coding, including coding audit or DRG validation.
CCS certification, plus RHIA or RHIT.
Experience across multiple hospitals through audit or consulting work, payer-side review, or a multi-hospital coding quality role.
Based in New York or willing to relocate.
US work authorization.
Able to make rigorous coding decisions supported by references.
Able to explain complex coding decisions clearly to engineers and HIM directors, in writing and in person.
Comfortable starting from scratch in a startup environment.

Nice To Haves

CDIP or CCDS certification.
Experience at a coding, CDI, or revenue cycle technology vendor, such as an encoder, computer-assisted coding, or AI coding vendor.
Interest in shaping how AI is used in medical coding.

Responsibilities

Translate ICD-10-CM/PCS Official Guidelines, Coding Clinic, and MS-DRG and APR-DRG logic into rules and specifications for AI engineers.
Write annotation guidelines and develop test sets used to measure model performance.
Review model errors weekly, explain the reasons for errors, and identify edge cases that affect accuracy.
Serve as the reference expert for principal diagnosis selection, sequencing, CC/MCC capture, ICD-10-PCS root operations, and POA.
Work with the physician advisor on clinical validation cases, including sepsis, malnutrition, and respiratory failure.
Analyze each hospital’s coding practices and workflows before go-live.
Conduct second-level reviews before coding suggestions reach hospital coders.
Present audit results to hospital HIM and coding leaders and obtain their sign-off for go-live.
Join sales meetings to demonstrate the company’s coding capabilities.
Ensure every suggestion is supported by documentation and has an audit trail.
Maintain coding compliance, including avoiding upcoding, ensuring compliant queries, and keeping clean audit records.
Recruit and lead part-time coders as pilots scale.
Work with the company’s coding experts in France.