Engineering Lead

Engineering Lead

Remote (Full Time)
Compensation: $140,000 - $170,000 (per year)

About Us

Zócalo Health is the first tech-driven provider built specifically for Latinos, by Latinos. We are developing a new approach to care that is designed around our very own shared and lived experiences and brings care to our gente. Founded in 2021 on the idea that our communities deserve more than just safety nets, we are backed by leading healthcare and social impact investors in the country to bring our vision to life.

Our mission is to improve the lives of our communities—communities that have dealt with generations of poor experiences. These experiences include waiting hours in waiting rooms, spending mere minutes with doctors who don’t speak their language, and depending on their youngest kids to help them navigate our complex healthcare system. At Zócalo Health, we meet our members where they are, bringing care into their homes and neighborhoods through our team of community-based care providers and virtual care offerings.

We partner with community-based organizations, local healthcare providers, and health plans that recognize the value of culturally aligned care, which are not limited to brief interactions in an exam room. Together, we are building a new experience that revolves around the use of modern technology, culturally competent primary care, behavioral health, and social services to provide a radically better experience of care for every member, their family, and the communities we serve.

We are committed to expanding our reach to serve more members and their communities. We are looking for passionate individuals who share our belief that healthcare should be accessible, personalized, and rooted in the community. Join us in our mission to ensure that no one has to navigate the complexities of the healthcare system alone and that everyone receives the local, culturally competent care they deserve.

Role Description

The Engineering Lead will join Zócalo Health at a critical time in the history of our company and of primary care. The opportunity for impact is large and growing, and Zócalo Health will lead the transition from fee-for-service to value-based care for the growing Latino community in the U.S.

As an integral member of the Zócalo Health founding team, you will be responsible for designing and delivering internal and patient-facing technology solutions—especially tools that empower community-based care teams and streamline care coordination. You will write production code daily, while also setting technical direction, making architecture decisions, and mentoring others as we grow. You’ll work across low-code platforms like Superblocks or Retool and traditional full-stack development environments, with a strong focus on backend systems, API integrations, and infrastructure.

This position reports to the Head of Product.

The Engineering Lead will contribute in the following ways:

• Lead technical development of apps and workflows using low-code platforms like Superblocks or Retool  and backend services.
• Build and maintain robust backend systems (Node.js, Python, or Go) and API integrations (e.g., Athena EHR).
• Write production-quality code daily while also shaping technical direction and system architecture.
• Collaborate with product and design to quickly prototype and iterate on user-facing features.
• Make architectural decisions and establish engineering best practices.
• Help grow and lead a small engineering team, taking on day-to-day technical leadership and mentorship, with the opportunity to expand into a formal management role as the team scales.
  

Qualifications

• 5+ years of professional software engineering experience, with at least 2 years in a technical leadership or staff/principal engineer role.
• Proven experience in full-stack development, with a strong emphasis on backend systems, APIs, and data modeling.
• Hands-on experience with low-code or internal tools platforms like Superblocks, Retool, or Appsmith.
• Proficient in at least one modern backend language: Node.js (TypeScript), Python (FastAPI or Django), or Go.
• Experience designing and integrating RESTful APIs, working with relational databases (preferably PostgreSQL), and managing cloud infrastructure (e.g. AWS, GCP).
• Familiarity with authentication/authorization patterns, especially OAuth2, and experience integrating with third-party services.
• Strong understanding of software architecture, scalable backend design, and system performance optimization.
• Excellent communication skills — can explain technical tradeoffs to non-technical teammates and influence product strategy.
• A track record of taking ownership: delivering MVPs quickly, then iterating based on real user feedback.
• Experience working in early-stage startups or small teams, ideally building 0-to-1 internal tools or operational workflows.
• Committed to clean code, testing, and strong documentation practices, even in fast-moving environments.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience working in or around healthcare, especially integrating with EHR systems like Athenahealth or Epic.
• Familiarity with data privacy and security best practices, especially HIPAA-compliance in SaaS applications.
• Experience with event-driven architectures, task queues (e.g., Celery, BullMQ), and async data pipelines.
• Prior experience working on internal ops tools (care coordination, CRM, scheduling, intake, etc.).
• Exposure to internationalization (i18n) and building interfaces for multilingual users.
  

What you can expect from Zócalo Health

• Equity compensation package
• Comprehensive benefits including medical, dental, and vision 
• 401k with a 4% company match
• Flexible PTO policy - take the time you need to recharge
• $1,000 home office stipend
• We provide the equipment needed for this role.
• Opportunity for rapid career progression with plenty of room for personal growth.

You must be authorized to work in the United States. Remote Work can be done from anywhere in the U.S.

At Zócalo Health Inc., we see diversity and inclusion as a source of strength in transforming healthcare. We believe building trust and innovation are best achieved through diverse perspectives. To us, acceptance and respect are rooted in an understanding that people do not experience things in the same way, including our healthcare system. Individuals seeking employment at Zócalo Health are considered without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. 

Those seeking employment at Zócalo Health are considered without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status or disability status.