Software Engineer
Location: Midtown Manhattan, New York, NY (10001) – 5 days per week in-office
Employment Type: Full-time, Direct Hire
Compensation: $200,000 – $250,000 base + significant equity (no annual bonus)
The Opportunity
This is not a role for ticket-takers or specialists. A fast-scaling, AI-native startup is rebuilding the operational backbone of the healthcare industry. Having recently closed a Series A round, the company is moving from an offshore development model to building a world-class, in-house engineering team in New York. They are hiring 6-7 Product Engineers to join a small, lean team (currently 3 engineers) and report directly to the Head of Engineering.
The mission is to automate the massive administrative burden of healthcare—turning 60-day manual delays for credentialing and licensing into 24-hour automated workflows. This is a high-impact, low-bureaucracy environment where engineers are expected to own problems from end to end, leverage AI to code more efficiently, and build autonomous systems that solve real-world user problems.
What You Will Build
The work is focused almost entirely on new development and new feature builds, with very little maintenance or support. The engineering team is building:
- Autonomous AI agents using RAG architecture and orchestration tools (Temporal.io / Inngest) to navigate complex, real-world healthcare data.
- Full-stack, serverless applications hosted on Vercel.
- AI-powered back-office solutions for provider credentialing, licensing, and payer enrollment.
Who You Are (Must-Haves)
The ideal candidate is a builder first and an engineer second. They love to code, ship products, and work with AI as a core part of their development process. They are not looking to move into management in the next 3-5 years; they want to stay hands-on and capitalize on equity in a growing startup.
Required Experience & Skills:
- 7+ years of professional software development experience (the JD may state 5, but the team needs the depth of a 7-year engineer).
- Expert in TypeScript for full-stack development (used on both front and back end).
- Strong, demonstrable experience in end-to-end system design.
- AI-native development: Must have hands-on experience using AI tools like Claude or Cursor as part of their daily coding process. Candidates with light experience are acceptable only if they are extremely open and willing to learn. Unwillingness to use AI tools is a dealbreaker.
- Startup DNA: Must have worked in a startup or small company environment. Candidates with only large-company experience will not be considered.
- Tenure: Has worked at a single company for 3+ years recently. No candidates who change jobs every 1-2 years.
Nice-to-Haves (Strongly Valued):
- Python
- Temporal.io or Inngest (orchestration)
- RAG system architecture
- Healthcare industry experience
This Role Is NOT For You If:
- You are looking for a purely remote position (this role requires in-office work Monday-Friday in Midtown Manhattan).
- You want a management track (there is no opportunity to move into management; this is a long-term individual contributor role).
- You prefer slow, academic, or highly structured environments.
- You have a "ticket taker" mindset and expect spec sheets handed to you.
- You are more interested in abstract AI research or modeling than shipping products that solve user problems.
- Your resume shows multiple stints of less than 1.5 years (job hopping implies a lack of grit or ability to stick with hard problems).
- You are siloed as "only backend" or "strictly frontend." This role requires end-to-end ownership.
The Interview Process (Can be completed in 1 week)
- Video Interview with Head of Engineering (45-60 min): A mix of technical and cultural fit. Topics include ambitions, interest in the company, basic software communication questions, and views on the future of the software industry.
- Technical Video Round (split into two parts):
- Live Coding & Code Review: TypeScript exercise. Candidates must use Cursor or Claude as part of their coding process.
- System Design Review: A standard system design problem (e.g., "help us build a system that will do X").
- Final Video Interview with Founders: A culture-fit check.
Compensation & Benefits
- Base salary: $200,000 – $250,000 (very limited flexibility above $250k for exceptional candidates)
- Significant equity grant (negotiated at offer stage)
- Health, dental, and vision insurance
- Unlimited PTO
- No 401k currently (may be added in 12-18 months)
- No annual bonus
About the Company
Founded in 2024 and headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, this startup has completed seed and Series A funding rounds. The founders previously built and sold a VC-backed digital health startup (Dawn Health). They are building an AI-powered SaaS platform for healthcare back-office solutions, addressing a $4.5 trillion market with massive inefficiencies in administrative costs.
Underdog.io is a modern recruiting platform. This role is being filled through Underdog.io — a invite-only network of vetted startups and high-growth companies. You won't go through a staffing agency or get passed around. Your resume goes directly to our hiring team and is reviewed by a real human. Your profile is completely confidential. If there's a good fit, you'll hear from us directly — no middleman, no black hole.