Founding AI / Backend Engineer (Healthcare, Agentic Systems)

Founding AI / Backend Engineer — TurnKey AI Practice TurnKey AI Practice is building a full-stack agentic operating system for orthopedics. We are replacing fragmented clinical software with AI systems that perform real work inside live medical workflows. We are hiring a founding AI / backend engineer to own the core intelligence layer. You will design and ship production LLM systems powering clinical triage, documentation, orders, billing logic, and research automation. These systems must be accurate, auditable, and safe in regulated healthcare environments. You will work directly with founders and clinicians to translate clinical intent into deterministic system behavior. ––––––––––––––––––What You’ll Do Build and own production LLM-powered backend systems used in live clinical care Design and maintain RAG pipelines grounded in musculoskeletal and clinical data Own hallucination reduction, failure-mode handling, and clinical accuracy Architect agentic workflows that chain AI outputs into real downstream actions with human-in-the-loop safeguards Build Python backend services and microservices (FastAPI preferred) Integrate with healthcare infrastructure (FHIR, HL7, EHRs) Design HIPAA-compliant systems handling PHI (encryption, RBAC, audit logging) Collaborate closely with frontend engineers, designers, and clinicians ––––––––––––––––––Qualifications Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related technical field Advanced degree (MS or PhD) in CS, AI/ML, Data Science, or related field is a plus, but not required Proven experience shipping LLM-powered systems to production Hands-on experience with GPT-4-class models (OpenAI, Azure OpenAI, Anthropic, or equivalent) Deep understanding of RAG, vector databases, and embedding strategies Strong Python backend experience (FastAPI preferred) Experience designing secure, auditable REST APIs and async systems Familiarity with healthcare data, interoperability standards, or other regulated domains Experience handling PHI and building HIPAA-compliant systems is strongly preferred Strong systems thinking, ownership mindset, and ability to work in ambiguity ––––––––––––––––––Nice to Have Healthtech, medtech, or regulated SaaS experience AI scribe, clinical NLP, or CDS tooling experience Workflow orchestration or agent-based systems experience Early-stage startup experience (0→1 or scale) ––––––––––––––––––What This Role Is Not Not a prompt-only role Not a research-only role Not a generic chatbot builder Job Type: Contract Pay: $190,000.00 - $225,000.00 per year Work Location: Remote