Staff Software Engineer (Backend)
About The Position
Alaffia is a healthtech startup focused on reducing wasted spending in the U.S. health insurance system through expert clinicians and transparent AI. We are a high-growth, venture-backed Series B company based in NYC, seeking to scale our operations. This role is for a Staff Backend Engineer who will tackle complex, cross-team technical challenges, define architectural direction, and act as a force multiplier within the engineering organization. The engineer will translate strategic goals into technical roadmaps, lead execution, and promote AI-augmented development practices. Key responsibilities include scaling GenAI applications, addressing challenges in backend architecture, system design, and cloud infrastructure. The primary programming languages for this role will be Python or TypeScript, but strong backend fundamentals and the ability to learn new languages are prioritized over specific language experience.
Requirements
- 10+ years of software engineering experience, with a track record of leading complex, high-impact backend projects at scale, including large-scale, production-level API development and backend data processing
- Hands-on experience with relational databases and data model design
- Strong system design and cloud infrastructure experience (AWS preferred), including CI/CD, containerization (Docker, Kubernetes), and observability practices such as logging, user activity metrics, and integration with Datadog or similar tooling
- Demonstrated success adopting AI coding assistants to improve team productivity
- Excellent communication skills and experience mentoring senior engineers
- Current authorization to work in the United States
Nice To Haves
- Building SaaS apps in the healthcare sector
- Experience shipping user-facing AI products or AI/ML model deployment
- Building SDKs or libraries
- Experience with vector databases
- Experience with data processing orchestrators, such as Airflow or Dagster
- Experience with message queue systems, such as AWS SQS, Kinesis, or Kafka
- GraphQL and PostgreSQL experience
- Open source contributions or technical publications
Responsibilities
- Architect and own delivery of complex, high-impact backend systems spanning multiple teams
- Set technical direction and coding/design standards for backend development across the org
- Design, develop, and deploy data-intensive applications in a production environment
- Drive AI coding tool adoption (Claude Code); establish best practices and measure productivity gains
- Mentor senior engineers and influence technical decisions without formal authority
- Partner cross-functionally with fullstack, data, DevOps, and AI engineers, as well as product and business teams, to craft a feature-rich, GenAI-powered claim review platform
- Own testing strategy, system health, observability, and build-vs-buy decisions for critical infrastructure
Benefits
- Competitive compensation package (cash + equity)
- Medical, Dental, and Vision benefits
- Flexible, paid vacation policy
- Work in a flat organizational structure, direct access to Leadership
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Senior
Education Level
No Education Listed
