The Role
Lead design and implementation of scalable backend services and member-facing APIs using Python/Django, PostgreSQL, BigQuery/dbt and GCP. Own infrastructure as code (Terraform), container orchestration (Docker, Kubernetes), async/event-driven systems, observability, and performance tuning. Mentor engineers, collaborate with Product and Data teams, and ensure secure, low-latency, AI-driven member experiences.
Summary Generated by Built In
ABOUT US
At Vida, we help people get better- and we're helping the healthcare system get better, too.
Vida is a virtual, personalized obesity care provider that uses evidence-based treatment to help patients manage obesity and related conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure, anxiety and depression. Vida's team of Obesity Medicine-Certified Physicians, Registered Dietitians, Expert Coaches and Licensed Therapists takes a whole-person approach to care, helping people lose weight, reduce stress and improve their overall health.
By combining advanced technology with top-notch healthcare providers, Vida is breaking down the barriers that have historically kept people from getting the best care. It's trusted by Fortune 100 companies, major national payers and large providers to enable their employees to live their healthiest lives.
Vida Health is looking for a highly skilled Backend Software Engineer IV to design, build, and scale the foundational backend services that power Vida’s member experiences. As a Level IV engineer on the Member Applications team, you will focus on the core APIs, data interactions, and cloud infrastructure that drive how members interact with our platform on a daily basis.
You will own complex technical initiatives end-to-end, working deeply with Python, Django, PostgreSQL, and Google Cloud Platform (GCP). As we restructure our data layer, you will play a critical role in efficiently leveraging our hybrid data architecture (PostgreSQL, BigQuery, and dbt) to build highly responsive, personalized, and AI-driven member features. You will be a key technical leader, mentoring peers, evolving our infrastructure as code (Terraform), and ensuring a resilient, scalable backend that delivers a premium member journey.
Responsibilities:
- Lead the architectural design and technical strategy for new backend systems, microservices, and scalable member-facing APIs.
- Design robust, versioned REST APIs that seamlessly power cross-platform web and mobile (React Native) member applications.
- Evaluate trade-offs in system design, ensuring high availability, security, and low latency for a growing healthcare platform.
- Evolve database models, schemas, and indexing strategies in PostgreSQL to support complex, high-throughput application logic.
- Write clean, performant, and highly testable code primarily in Python and Django.
- Provision, manage, and optimize cloud infrastructure on GCP—including IAM and Compute—utilizing Terraform (Infrastructure as Code).
- Manage containerized deployments and orchestrate services using Docker and Kubernetes.
- Implement and refine asynchronous event-driven systems (e.g., Celery, Pub/Sub) to handle application workflows and notifications.
- Utilize AI-assisted development tools (e.g., Claude, Cursor, GitHub Copilot) to accelerate delivery and maintain high engineering velocity.
- Architect application-level data access patterns that efficiently interact with our newly restructured data layer, pulling from both operational databases (PostgreSQL) and analytical warehouses (BigQuery transformed via dbt).
- Collaborate on and utilize dbt (data build tool) models to ensure backend applications consume well-structured, tested, and documented analytical data.
- Optimize complex BigQuery and SQL queries to ensure low-latency data retrieval for personalized, member-facing features.
- Partner with Data Engineering and AI teams to seamlessly consume structured data and models that drive smart, automated member interactions in the app.
- Drive a culture of operational excellence by defining and monitoring SLAs, SLOs, and SLIs for member-facing services.
- Implement advanced monitoring, alerting, and logging using Datadog, GCP Cloud Monitoring, and distributed tracing tools.
- Lead root-cause analysis (RCA) for complex production incidents and implement permanent architectural safeguards.
- Serve as a technical mentor to mid-level engineers, elevating the team’s capabilities in system design, Python best practices, and cloud architecture.
- Champion rigorous engineering standards, including code review practices, comprehensive documentation, and automated testing strategies.
- Partner closely with Product, Design, and React Native frontend teams to deliver seamless, secure, and compliant end-to-end member experiences.
- Additional responsibilities as assigned.
Qualifications:
- Bachelors degree at a minimum.
- 7+ years of professional engineering experience with a proven track record of leading technical projects and cross-functional initiatives.
- Deep, senior-level expertise in Python and the Django framework, with a proven track record of maintaining large-scale production applications.
- Exceptional system design skills, with the ability to architect reliable, distributed backend services that power mobile and web clients.
- Strong hands-on experience with Google Cloud Platform (GCP).
- Proven experience defining and managing infrastructure as code using Terraform.
- Hands-on experience working with Google BigQuery and dbt (specifically around query optimization, utilizing dbt models in application code, and integrating analytical data into application backends).
- Deep knowledge of containerization and orchestration (Docker, Kubernetes).
- Advanced proficiency in SQL and relational database architecture, specifically PostgreSQL.
- Strong understanding of observability, profiling, and performance tuning in production environments.
- Excellent technical communication skills, with the ability to articulate complex architectural decisions to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
Preferred:
- Experience using AI-powered development tools (e.g., Claude, Cursor, GitHub Copilot).
- Experience in the healthcare industry or other highly regulated environments (HIPAA, SOC2 compliance).
- Experience integrating AI/LLM models or working alongside Data Science teams to build user-facing AI features.
- Hands-on experience with asynchronous task queues and messaging brokers (Celery, Redis, RabbitMQ, Pub/Sub).
- Familiarity with building automation hooks and CI/CD pipelines (GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, etc.).
Vida is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action employer.
Diversity is more than a commitment at Vida—it is the foundation of what we do. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, ancestry, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or Veteran status. We also consider qualified applicants with criminal histories, consistent with applicable federal, state and local law.
We seek to recruit, develop and retain the most talented people from a diverse candidate pool. We don’t just accept differences — we celebrate them, we support them, and we thrive on them for the benefit of our employees, our platform and those we serve. Vida is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities and disabled veterans in our job application procedures.
We do not accept unsolicited assistance from any headhunters or recruitment firms for any of our job openings. All resumes or profiles submitted by search firms to any employee at Vida in any form without a valid, signed search agreement in place for the specific position will be deemed the sole property of Vida. No fee will be paid in the event the candidate is hired by Vida as a result of the unsolicited referral.
**Vida is authorized to do business in many, but not all, states. If you are not located in or able to work from a state where Vida is registered, you will not be eligible for employment. Please speak with your recruiter to learn more about where Vida is registered.
Please note: Applicants must be authorized to work in the U.S. as Vida is unable to sponsor work visas for any position.
All Vida Employees must reside in/be able to work from the U.S.- international work is prohibited. Job postings at Vida are evergreen and will remain open through end of year, until filled.
#LI-remote
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree
- 7+ years professional engineering experience
- Expertise in Python and Django
- System design experience for distributed backend services
- Hands-on experience with Google Cloud Platform (GCP)
- Experience defining and managing Infrastructure as Code using Terraform
- Experience with Google BigQuery and dbt (query optimization and integrating dbt models)
- Containerization and orchestration experience (Docker, Kubernetes)
- Advanced SQL and relational database architecture, specifically PostgreSQL
- Observability, profiling, and performance tuning in production (Datadog, GCP Cloud Monitoring, distributed tracing)
- Strong technical communication skills
- Designing and implementing versioned REST APIs and microservices
- Experience with asynchronous/event-driven systems (examples: Celery, Pub/Sub)
- Experience using AI-powered development tools (e.g., Claude, Cursor, GitHub Copilot)
- Experience in regulated healthcare environments (HIPAA, SOC2)
- Experience integrating AI/LLM models or collaborating with Data Science teams
- Hands-on with messaging brokers and task queues (Redis, RabbitMQ) and related tooling
- Familiarity with CI/CD tooling (GitHub Actions, GitLab CI)
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The Company
What We Do
Vida is a virtual care company that combines a human-centric approach with technology to address chronic and co-occurring physical and behavioral health conditions. We provide personalized chronic condition management combined with health coaching and therapy through a mobile and online platform that supports individuals in managing and significantly improving conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, obesity, depression, anxiety, etc. Our platform integrates deeply individual expert care with machine learning and remote monitoring to deliver lasting behavior change, health outcomes and cost savings. Vida is in the business of enabling self-insured employers, health plans and providers to take better care of their employees and members. We are trusted by Fortune 1000 companies, major national payers, and large providers to activate, engage, and empower their employees to live their healthiest lives. Based in San Francisco, CA, Vida is backed by investors including Khosla Ventures, StartX, Aspect Ventures, Canvas, Workday, and Nokia.
