Senior / Staff Backend Engineer

Ascertain is a healthcare AI startup based in NYC, founded with the backing and expertise of New York’s largest healthcare system, Northwell, and supported by leading clinical experts from Harvard and Stanford, along with seasoned technologists from Amazon and Google. We’re on a mission to eliminate the manual, tedious administrative tasks that drain healthcare providers’ time, enabling them to fully focus on delivering high-quality patient care.

Our AI-driven platform automates notoriously inefficient processes—such as prior authorizations, discharge planning, claims processing, and pharmacy operations. Leveraging recent breakthroughs in large language models LLMs and advanced automation technologies, we help healthcare enterprises streamline these previously manual and tedious workflows. By eliminating unnecessary burdens, Ascertain empowers clinical teams to focus their expertise where it matters most: patients.

Our team works from our NYC office on a flexible, hybrid basis—we value autonomy and trust our team members to manage their schedules effectively.

As a Backend Software Engineer at Ascertain, you will build scalable, robust infrastructure and backend services that power Ascertain’s healthcare AI platform. You’ll take the lead in defining best practices around our infrastructure, security, CI/CD pipelines, and cloud hosting strategy. As one of our earliest engineering hires, you’ll have significant ownership in shaping both technical architecture and our engineering culture.

You’ll work closely with product and engineering teams to ensure our platform remains secure, performant, reliable, and scalable. While your primary focus is backend and infrastructure, our team is small—engineers are empowered to work across the stack when needed to fully own a feature.

• Design and develop scalable back-end services using Python and FastAPI. 
• Support infrastructure management using Kubernetes, Docker, and Terraform.
• Work closely with product managers, designers, and other engineers to define technical requirements and translate them into robust software solutions.
• Participate in code reviews, providing constructive feedback and ensuring high-quality code standards. 
• Mentor junior developers and contribute to fostering a collaborative engineering culture. 
• Contribute to improving software development processes and best practices. 

• 5+ years of experience in back-end development using Python and FastAPI.
• Strong backend expertise, especially Python-based APIs (ideally FastAPI), relational databases, and caching systems.
• Proficiency in modern DevOps and infrastructure tools (Docker, Kubernetes, Terraform) and have experience defining cloud architecture and CI/CD processes.

• You have a security-minded approach to infrastructure design, with experience handling secure, regulated, or sensitive environments.
• Experience in ambiguous startup environments, proactively take ownership, and communicate clearly across teams.
• Excitement (not just willingness!) to dive into new technologies, learn quickly, and step beyond your comfort zone in a rapidly evolving environment.

• Cutting-edge technology: Work directly with the latest advancements in generative AI and automation, tackling challenging problems that meaningfully impact healthcare.
• Ownership & growth: You’ll join Ascertain at a pivotal early stage, shaping our products, technical direction, and culture, with significant opportunities for career advancement.
• Collaborative team: Join a talented, passionate, and supportive team with backgrounds from top tech companies and clinical institutions.
• Flexible hybrid work: We support a flexible hybrid working model from our NYC office, trusting you to manage your own schedule.
• Competitive compensation: We offer competitive salary, meaningful equity, comprehensive health insurance, and more.

• $180,000 - $280,000 base salary, depending on previous experience and alignment with role expectations.

Why Ascertain? Make a real difference: Your work will directly impact healthcare organizations and improve patient care. Join Ascertain in transforming healthcare with AI!