Principal Backend Engineer

Qualified Health PBC•Palo Alto, CA

3h•$230,000 - $280,000•Hybrid

About The Position

Transform healthcare with us. At Qualified Health, we’re redefining what’s possible with Generative AI in healthcare. Our infrastructure provides the guardrails for safe AI governance, healthcare-specific agent creation, and real-time algorithm monitoring, working alongside leading health systems to drive real change. This is more than just a job. It’s an opportunity to build the future of AI in healthcare, solve complex challenges, and make a lasting impact on patient care. If you’re ambitious, innovative, and ready to move fast, we’d love to have you on board. We’re looking for a Principal Backend Engineer to set the technical direction for our Gen AI for Healthcare SaaS platform. As one of the most senior technical leaders on our engineering team, you will define the architecture of our core services, raise the engineering bar across the organization, and partner with leadership to turn product strategy into a scalable, secure, and reliable platform. You’ll stay hands-on in the hardest problems while multiplying the impact of the engineers around you.

Requirements

Demonstrated track record of designing, shipping, and operating a generative AI application or platform in production at scale
Deep expertise in Python, with working proficiency in TypeScript or Java and hands-on experience with a modern compiled language such as Go or Rust
Proven experience architecting distributed systems, microservices, and RESTful APIs that are secure, resilient, and observable
Deep hands-on experience with at least one major cloud platform (AWS, GCP, or Azure) and infrastructure as code (Terraform)
Strong command of DevOps practices, CI/CD pipelines, and monitoring and observability tooling
Experience with containerization and orchestration (Docker and Kubernetes) in production environments
History of technical leadership that extends beyond your own code: leading cross-team efforts, influencing architecture decisions, and mentoring other engineers
Ability to communicate complex technical concepts clearly to engineers, executives, and customers
Strong problem-solving skills and sound judgment in ambiguous, fast-moving environments
Able to work on-site in our Palo Alto offices 3 days per week

Nice To Haves

Significant experience with GCP, and working familiarity with all three major cloud providers
Experience with AI/ML platforms and frameworks (TensorFlow, PyTorch, etc.), including LLM serving, evaluation, and monitoring
Experience building platforms in regulated environments (HIPAA, SOC 2, or similar)
Familiarity with front-end technologies (React, Angular, Vue.js)
Previous experience in the healthcare industry
Experience as an early engineering team member at a high-growth company, helping establish technical foundations and engineering culture

Responsibilities

Own the architecture and long-term technical vision for our core platform services, ensuring they scale with customer growth and the demands of regulated healthcare environments
Lead the design and delivery of complex, cross-team initiatives from concept through production, making and documenting high-stakes technical trade-offs
Write and review critical code, setting standards for quality, maintainability, security, and performance
Drive our infrastructure automation, observability, monitoring, and alerting strategy, including reliability targets and incident response practices
Partner with product, security, compliance, and customer-facing teams to translate requirements into platform capabilities
Mentor and coach Senior and Staff engineers, and grow technical leadership across the team
Lead technical reviews, architecture decision processes, and the creation of durable technical documentation
Serve as a senior escalation point for complex production issues, leading root cause analysis and systemic fixes
Evaluate emerging technologies in the Gen AI ecosystem and make build-versus-buy recommendations
Contribute to engineering planning, helping to scope, sequence, and de-risk major milestones and deliverables