Lead Software Engineer

At LifeStance Health, we strive to help individuals, families, and communities with their mental health needs. Everywhere. Every day. It’s a lofty goal; we know. But we make it happen with the best team in mental healthcare.

Thank you for taking the time to explore a career with us. As the fastest growing mental health practice group in the country, now is the perfect time to join our team!

LifeStance Health Values

• Belonging: We cultivate a space where everyone can show up as their authentic self.

• Empathy: We seek out diverse perspectives and listen to learn without judgment.

• Courage: We are all accountable for doing the right thing - even when it's hard - because we know it's worth it.

• One Team: We realize our full potential when we work together towards our shared purpose.

ROLE OVERVIEW

We’re looking for a Lead Software Engineer to drive end-to-end technical solutions across LifeStance’s digital platform. This role requires deep expertise in system design, full-stack architecture, and a strong foundation in TypeScript and Node.js. You will lead initiatives that span both frontend and backend, playing a critical role in building scalable, secure, and high-performing applications used by clinicians, patients, and internal teams.

As a hands-on technical leader, you’ll guide engineering best practices, mentor teammates, and collaborate cross-functionally with Product, Design, QA, DevOps, and Security. You’ll contribute across the stack—from architecting APIs and services to shaping modern, intuitive frontend experiences.

Consistent with LifeStance’s values, every member of the LifeStance team is expected to support each other and the mission, which may mean participating in projects and initiatives and performing functions and responsibilities not specifically outlined in this job description.

Key Responsibilities 

• Code Excellence: Develop high-quality, maintainable, and efficient code that meets the highest standards of software craftsmanship. Demonstrate best practices in coding to produce code that is scalable, robust, and easy to understand, setting a standard for the team.
• Define and lead the end-to-end technical vision and architectural direction for mission-critical, distributed systems, ensuring the platform's long-term scalability, security, and resilience.
• Technical Vision: Provide technical leadership and mentorship to engineering teams, fostering a deep understanding of our architectural vision and strategy.
• Accountable for system performance and scalability, with a goal of improving application response times by 15% and reducing infrastructure costs by 10% year-over-year
• Technical Documentation: Develop and document comprehensive technical specifications, architectural diagrams, and design patterns to guide development efforts.
• Spearhead the evaluation and adoption of emerging technologies and architectural patterns (e.g., event-driven architecture, advanced caching strategies) to continuously enhance the platform and maintain a competitive advantage.
• Best Practices Enforcement: Establish and enforce best practices, coding standards, and architectural guidelines across engineering teams, promoting a culture of technical excellence.
• System Development: Architect and implement scalable, high-performance, cloud-native systems for mission-critical applications, ensuring high availability and reliability.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Collaborate closely with cross-functional teams, including product management, operations, and executive leadership, to make key architectural decisions and drive projects from conception to completion.
• System Optimization: Lead system-wide troubleshooting efforts, performance tuning, and optimization to ensure system stability and resilience.
• Team Mentorship: Mentor and coach other engineers, facilitating knowledge sharing and professional development within the team.
• DevOps Integration: Champion DevOps practices, integrating development and operations to improve deployment frequency and system reliability.

REQUIREMENTS

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, Engineering, or a related field.
• 10+ years of professional experience in software development, with a significant focus on system and API design, microservices architecture, and web applications.
• 7+ years of expertise in designing and managing complex data models and high-performance database systems across relational and NoSQL databases.
• Proven experience in a formal leadership role (e.g., Tech Lead, Team Lead) including direct reports or leading multiple project teams concurrently.
• Deep expertise in TypeScript across both Node.js (backend) and React (frontend)
• Demonstrated expertise in designing and architecting large-scale, highly available, distributed systems from the ground up.
• In-depth, hands-on expertise with key cloud services on AWS (e.g., Lambda, Fargate, Aurora, Kinesis, ECS), with AWS certifications (Solutions Architect, DevOps Engineer) being highly desirable.
• Strong understanding of system performance optimization, scalability considerations, and cloud-native design patterns.
• Proficient in quality assurance practices, automated testing strategies, and DevOps methodologies.
• Proven ability to lead and manage projects across full technology stacks and cross-functional teams, including collaboration with executive leadership.
• Exceptional analytical and problem-solving skills, with a data-driven and objective approach to decision-making.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to articulate complex technical concepts to diverse audiences.
• Strong sense of ownership and ability to drive initiatives across teams and domains
• Self-motivated and comfortable working in a fast-paced, agile environment.
• Demonstrated experience with secure coding practices and knowledge of healthcare data security and compliance standards (e.g., HIPAA)
• Committed to fostering diversity, inclusion, and belonging in engineering environments
• Qualified candidates must be legally authorized to be employed in the United States
• LifeStance is an EEO/Affirmative Action Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, protected veteran status, disability, or any other legally protected status.
  • Demonstrates awareness, inclusivity, sensitivity, humility, and experience in working with individuals from diverse ethnic backgrounds, socioeconomic statuses, sexual orientations, gender identities, and other various aspects of culture.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS

• The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of the job. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
• While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit, stand, bend, talk and hear. The employee is frequently required to walk. The employee must be able to lift and/or move objects up to 25 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception and the ability to adjust focus.

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LifeStance is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are fully committed to creating an inclusive work environment for all our employees. Learn more about Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at LifeStance.

Benefits
As a full-time employee of LifeStance Health, the following benefits are offered: medical, dental, vision, AD&D, short and long-term disability, and life insurance. Additional benefits include a 401k retirement savings with employer match, paid parental leave, paid time off, holiday pay and an Employee Assistance Program.