Headway
Headway Innovation & Technology Culture
Frequently Asked Questions
Headway has a technology culture built around solving difficult healthcare problems, experimenting with new ideas and giving engineers ownership of their work. Engineers work on everything from payment systems and healthcare infrastructure to artificial intelligence and clinical software. The company encourages teams to move quickly, learn from users and build practical solutions that improve the experience for patients and providers.
- Engineers work on complex problems with real-world impact: Headway's engineering teams build systems that simplify insurance billing, provider credentialing, patient matching and clinical documentation. Projects range from using optical character recognition to process doctors' faxes to developing large language models that help patients find appropriate therapists. One chief technology officer described enjoying the challenge of connecting outdated healthcare systems while developing technology that helps providers spend less time on paperwork and more time with patients.
- Teams use modern tools across software engineering and data: Headway's technology stack includes Python, TypeScript, JavaScript, React, Next.js, Flask, FastAPI, SQL and Amazon Web Services. Engineers also work with tools such as Looker, Amplitude, Jira and Figma to support analytics, product development and collaboration. The company has invested in Temporal to rebuild its provider credentialing system, replacing spreadsheet-based processes with technology that supports more than a dozen teams and tens of thousands of providers. These projects give engineers opportunities to work on systems used throughout the business.
- AI is becoming an important part of how teams build products: Headway developed Eddy, an internal AI platform designed to let employees use AI tools while protecting sensitive healthcare information. Built in approximately two months, the platform helps teams automate repetitive tasks and accelerate software development. In one eight-week period, engineering teams produced more than 250 pull requests using AI agents, with human review of the code. More than 20 engineers participated, contributing improvements to website performance, accessibility, testing and billing systems.
- Product development is shaped by feedback from clinicians and patients: Headway's engineers, designers and product managers work closely with healthcare professionals to understand what needs improving. Its electronic health record system brings scheduling, telehealth, billing and clinical documentation into one platform. Clinician feedback has helped teams simplify workflows, improve reliability and introduce Scribe, an AI-assisted documentation tool that reduces time spent writing session notes. One chief product officer described the importance of working directly with providers, patients and health plans rather than making product decisions without understanding their everyday challenges.
- External signals:
- Headway has received recognition for workplace innovation: Headway was named to the 2026 Best Workplaces for Innovators list, recognizing its approach to employee-led ideas, experimentation and turning innovation into practical results. (Fast Company)
- Its engineering organization has established technical breadth: Headway's technology profile includes cloud infrastructure, modern web development frameworks, analytics tools and Python-based backend systems. (Built In)
- Its technology investments have attracted industry attention: Headway's expansion of AI-assisted clinical tools and insurance-focused software has been covered as part of the broader effort to modernize mental healthcare delivery. (Fierce Healthcare)
Bottom line: Headway gives engineers and product teams opportunities to work on challenging healthcare technology, experiment with AI and improve systems used by patients and therapists. Modern development tools, collaboration with clinicians and an emphasis on practical results create an environment where technical employees can build useful products while developing their expertise.
Headway's Candidate Tradeoffs
If you’re weighing whether Headway is the right fit, these are the core tradeoffs to consider.
- Headway emphasizes modern tech across teams, though that comes with ongoing learning expectations.
Headway Employee Perspectives
Tell us a little bit about yourself. What brings you to Headway?
I’ve spent my entire career across product strategy and digital transformation, particularly at complex network businesses — most recently as head of developer platform at Plaid. I joined Plaid when the company I co-founded, Quovo, was acquired by Plaid in 2019. At Quovo, I served as chief product officer, leading and scaling the product team responsible for building the leading platform for investment and brokerage aggregation.
Joining Headway as chief product officer is an exciting opportunity to leverage my experience across product strategy and execution of a mission I’m deeply passionate about — making mental health care accessible and effective for everyone. Headway’s commitment to putting providers at the center of the solution aligns perfectly with my vision for creating products that empower users and improve outcomes.
How would you describe your approach to leadership, and how do you plan on building team culture?
My leadership approach is deeply aligned with Headway’s core values, which guide everything we do. I believe in “thinking future first” — envisioning big possibilities even when tackling small tasks. This means constantly seeking opportunities to reimagine how we can build for the future of mental health care, and encouraging my team to do the same.
I also embrace the philosophy that “the first time is always handmade.” Building amazing products often starts with doing things that don’t scale initially. I believe in rolling up our sleeves, getting creative and deeply engaging with the people we are building for — our providers, patients and payers.
By embedding these values into our daily operations and interactions, I aim to build a team culture that is innovative, collaborative and deeply committed to making a difference in our industry.
What upcoming project or initiative are you most excited to tackle?
Headway has spent the past several years cracking the access code. Today — thanks to our technology platform making it possible — millions of Americans have access to accessible, affordable mental health care. Headway is also the only company doing this at scale: our network of 33,000 in-network providers is the largest in the country.
For our next phase of growth as a company, Headway has an opportunity to further innovate beyond access. Now that we’re the leader in scale, we’ve earned the right to innovate and bring new products to our providers, health plan payer partners and patients designed to further increase the quality of care patients receive.
To build out our product stack and bring our platform to the next level, we need to grow our rockstar team of product leaders and developers. Throughout the rest of this year, Headway will be looking to bring on collaborative product leaders and designers to make our vision a reality. I’m excited to work with and grow our amazing product team to build the future of mental health care.
Headway's Tech Stack
