Chief Clinical AI Officer

Pelago; New York (NY); Hybrid; USD 275,000 - 325,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity package

401k Plan

Paid parental leave

Flexible working environment

Learning and Development stipend

Wellness Reimbursement Program

Reproductive & Family Planning Care

Substance Use Support

Job summary

Pelago, a leading care provider, seeks a physician-leader to serve as its clinical backbone for care programs and as the clinical authority for its AI-powered platform. You will define standards, oversee MAT/MOUD programs, and supervise care teams while aligning AI with rigorous clinical judgment.

The role blends medicine and AI, requiring leadership across Product, Engineering, and Growth teams. NYC-based, hybrid presence with collaboration across states.

Qualifications

• MD/DO/PhD with active, unrestricted license in good standing; Board-certified in Addiction Medicine, Psychiatry, or a closely related specialty.
• 7+ years of clinical experience; prior leadership experience in a digital health, health tech, or multi-site clinical setting strongly preferred.
• Deep expertise in substance use disorder treatment, including MAT/MOUD protocols.
• Familiarity with co-occurring mental health conditions, CBT, and motivational interviewing.
• Experience working at the intersection of clinical care and AI/technology — not just as an end user, but as a clinical collaborator inside a product or engineering team.
• Strong AI fluency: familiar with the current state of the art, able to iterate on prompts, evaluate model outputs, and understand LLM capabilities and failure modes in a clinical context.
• Exceptional communicator — able to translate clinical complexity for product teams, employer clients, and executive stakeholders; comfortable being the loudest clinical voice in a product room.
• Comfort navigating a fast-moving startup environment where clinical judgment and pragmatism both matter.
• Experience with value-based care models, employer-sponsored health programs, or health plan contracting is a plus.
• Multi-state licensure or willingness to obtain is preferred
• NYC-based or willing to relocate; hybrid presence expected

Responsibilities

• Own clinical protocols, guidelines, and quality standards across Pelago's care model.
• Provide oversight and supervision to the care team as needed; serve as the primary escalation point for complex or high-acuity clinical cases.
• Ensure clinical practice stays current with evidence-based research, regulatory requirements, and licensing standards.
• Lead ongoing clinical quality review, including outcomes measurement and protocol refinement.
• Oversee medication-assisted treatment (MAT/MOUD) programs and ensure prescribing practices align with clinical and regulatory standards.
• Serve as clinical supervisor for Pelago's AI-driven care programs, ensuring AI-assisted care meets Pelago's standards for quality, compliance, and documentation.
• Serve as the embedded clinical voice in product development — participate in design reviews, prompt iteration, annotation, and model output evaluation alongside Product and Engineering.
• Oversee clinical operations of the AI arm, including annotation strategy, safety protocols, clinical routing logic, and escalation pathways.
• Work closely with Product, Engineering, and Design to provide structured clinical feedback and ongoing quality review that keeps AI tools grounded in evidence-based care.
• Define and maintain clinical governance for AI-assisted care — QA standards, escalation pathways, and documentation that meet Pelago's compliance and regulatory bar.
• Help define how care team roles and responsibilities evolve as automation scales
• Build the feedback loop between AI-assisted and human-delivered care — partner with Care Managers so transitions and escalations are seamless.
• Support clinical credentialing, licensure, and compliance workstreams across all operating states.
• Partner with the Chief Scientific Officer on clinical standards, research alignment, and program validation.
• Partner with the VP of Care Delivery on the clinical strategy underpinning Pelago's member experience roadmap.
• Represent clinical priorities in cross-functional strategy discussions, standing in for the VP of Care Delivery when needed.
• Support hiring, onboarding, and ongoing clinical development of care team members as needed.
• Lay the groundwork (workflows, hiring plan, SME contributor pool) to grow the Clinical AI function into a team within 12–18 months

Skills

Leadership

Communication

AI literacy

Clinical judgement

Education

MD/DO/PhD with active license

Board-certified in Addiction Medicine or Psychiatry

Job description

Pelago, a leading care provider, seeks a physician-leader to serve as its clinical backbone for care programs and as the clinical authority for its AI-powered platform. You will define standards, oversee MAT/MOUD programs, and supervise care teams while aligning AI with rigorous clinical judgment.

The role blends medicine and AI, requiring leadership across Product, Engineering, and Growth teams. NYC-based, hybrid presence with collaboration across states.