Staff Python Engineer

Alaffia Health; New York (NY); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Alaffia Health is a healthcare AI startup transforming medical billing and data automation. We are seeking a Staff Python Engineer to solve complex backend challenges, set architectural direction, and empower engineers across the org with AI-augmented tooling.

You will build the GenAI framework for the team, translate strategic goals into technical roadmaps, and drive scalable, reliable backend systems in a cloud environment.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of software engineering with leadership on large-scale backend/API projects.
• Expert Python and CI/CD automation experience.
• Experience with relational databases and data modeling.
• Strong cloud infrastructure knowledge (AWS) and containerization.
• Experience mentoring senior engineers and clear communication.

Responsibilities

• Architect and deliver complex backend systems across multiple teams.
• Define standards for Python backend development.
• Design and deploy data-intensive Python applications in production.
• Promote AI tooling adoption and measure productivity gains.
• Mentor senior engineers and influence technical decisions.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to build GenAI workflows.
• Own testing strategy, observability, and infra build-vs-buy decisions.

Skills

Python

API development

CI/CD tooling

Cloud infrastructure

System design

Mentoring

Communication

HIPAA/HITRUST knowledge

Tools

Docker

Kubernetes

Datadog

Airflow

Dagster

Job description

Every year, U.S. health plans lose billions to improper payments and administrative waste. That wasted spending ultimately trickles down across the healthcare ecosystem, driving up costs for plans, providers, and patients alike. We're here to change that paradigm.

Alaffia is a new kind of claims operations partner for health plans. Using expert clinicians and transparent AI, we deliver deeper insights, smarter automation, and consistently better outcomes across the entire lifecycle of claims. With Alaffia, health plans can cut wasted spending more effectively than ever — and provide their members the most affordable care.

We're a high-growth, venture-backed Series B healthtech startup based in NYC and are actively scaling our company. Join us in helping to build a healthcare system that works better for everyone.

*This position requires current authorization to work in the United States. Unfortunately, we are not in a position to sponsor work visas at this time.

About the Role & What You'll Be Doing

Alaffia Health is a healthcare AI startup revolutionizing medical billing and data automation. Our AI-driven platform leverages state-of-the-art generative AI and machine learning technologies to enhance accuracy, efficiency, and compliance in medical billing and auditing. As we scale, we're looking for a Staff Python Engineer to solve complex, cross-team technical challenges, set architectural direction, and act as a force multiplier across our engineering org.

You will be tasked to build the GenAI framework for the engineering team to build AI agents on, and lead the effort to scale our GenAI applications. You'll translate strategic goals into technical roadmaps, drive execution, and champion AI-augmented development practices, all while tackling challenging problems in backend architecture, system design, and cloud infrastructure.

What You'll Do

• Architect and own delivery of complex, high-impact backend systems spanning multiple teams, including the GenAI framework other engineers build AI agents on
• Set technical direction and coding/design standards for Python backend development across the org
• Design, develop, and deploy data-intensive applications in Python in a production environment
• Drive AI coding tool adoption (Claude Code, Copilot, Cursor) — 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 agentic workflow framework
• Own testing strategy, system health, observability, and build-vs-buy decisions for critical infrastructure

What We're Looking For

• 10+ years of software engineering experience, with a track record of leading complex, high-impact projects at scale, including large-scale, production-level API development and backend data processing
• Expert-level Python, with hands‑on experience developing test suites and working with CI/CD tooling for automation
• 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
• Healthcare tech/regulatory experience (HIPAA, HITRUST) a plus

Preferred

• Building SaaS apps in the healthcare sector
• Experience shipping user-facing AI products or AI/ML model deployment
• Building Python SDKs/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
• Open source contributions or technical publications

Our Culture

Alaffia was born out of our founders' personal connection to the inefficiency of the U.S. healthcare system. We are deeply mission-driven, with an abiding belief that technology can help create a better future for everyone — and we're looking for others who share our passion for change to join the team.

What Else Do You Get?

• Competitive compensation package (cash + equity)
• Medical, Dental and Vision benefits
• Flexible, paid vacation policy
• Work in a flat organizational structure — direct access to Leadership