Founding Software Engineer
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AI Summary
Build and ship end-to-end product features including data pipelines, backend services, and LLM integrations for a federal arbitration system. Collaborate directly with operations to iterate on specs and maintain production systems in a regulated environment.
Founding Software Engineer
Ship product from day one inside a multi-billion-dollar federal arbitration market. Work with AI as a real collaborator, not a demo.
Location: San Francisco or Remote | Full Time
Why This Exists
A federal arbitration system called Independent Dispute Resolution, or IDR, now determines billions of dollars in healthcare payments each year. Providers win the vast majority of disputes, yet most eligible claims are never filed. The process is manual, fragmented, and resource-intensive, and most providers don't have the infrastructure to pursue what they're owed.
The No Surprises Act created the framework, and the market already exists. Today it runs on spreadsheets, consultants, and static playbooks. We're building the first intelligent system designed to operate inside it.
The engineering team is small by design. Every engineer ships product that changes outcomes for real providers. This role is for someone who wants to build a lot, learn a lot, and operate as a full owner of the work they take on.
Why This Is Hard (and Interesting)
Claims data is inconsistent and domain-heavy. Payers adapt. Deadlines cascade. Audit trails matter. You'll work across data ingestion, LLM-powered reasoning, workflow orchestration, and UI — not siloed into a single layer.
We build with AI end to end. You will use Claude, Cursor, and agentic tooling daily, not as a novelty but as a core part of how you ship. You'll write specs, read specs, and move from idea to working code faster than you ever have.
If you enjoy clean CRUD SaaS, this is not that. If you want to build systems where intelligence directly drives financial outcomes in a complex, regulated domain, this is a rare seat.
Who We Are
Recourse is being built in partnership with 25M Health, a healthtech venture firm. We have institutional backing, a shared platform team spanning engineering, strategy, design, and back-office, and early access to large provider systems.
We are actively working with health system design partners and have access to $400M+ in billable claims to inform product development from day one. This is a funded, validated opportunity with real customers and real data.
We are small. We move quickly. We value clarity over theater. We want this to be the best work of your career. The stretch you look back on as the one where you shipped real things, with people who raised your game, on something that mattered.
We care about clear thinking, high ownership, intellectual honesty, and direct communication. We believe operations, product, and engineering should operate as one pod, not three functions. We want the machines to do machine work, and the humans to do their best work. The person in this role is central to making that real.
The Role
As a Founding Software Engineer, you will build the product end to end alongside the Head of Engineering and a small, senior team. You will:
- Ship features across the stack — data pipelines, backend services, LLM integrations, and product UI
- Write, read, and iterate on specs. Turn a paragraph of intent into working code
- Use AI tooling (Claude Code, Cursor, agentic frameworks) as a core part of your workflow — to accelerate yourself, not replace your judgment
- Partner with operations directly. The person running a claim is often sitting next to you; their feedback is your backlog
- Build features for regulated environments where correctness, auditability, and financial impact are tightly coupled
- Take real ownership of production systems: observability, on-call, quality, and quick fixes included
- Help define engineering culture from the start: code review norms, testing posture, documentation habits
You will write code every day. You will also think about the product, the workflow, and the customer. We are not looking for ticket-takers; we are looking for engineers who want a say in what gets built and why.
Who You Are
You are AI-pilled. You have used AI tools to ship real work, and you have opinions about which ones are useful and which are hype. You stay current because the world is changing and you want to see the next shift before anyone else.
You are a strong generalist. You're comfortable jumping between backend, frontend, data, and AI integration. You may not be an expert in every layer, but you can pick up what you need to ship the thing.
You have a bias to action. You don't default to no. Speed of iteration over polish of iteration. You start, you learn, you fix things in motion. Most decisions are reversible and do not need extensive study.
You are intellectually honest and curious. You ask questions when you don't understand something. You say so when you're wrong. You use plain language. You respectfully challenge decisions you disagree with, and once a decision is made, you commit.
You care about the craft. You write code you would be comfortable handing to anyone else. You think about the reader of your code, not just the compiler. You leave the codebase better than you found it.
You put the team first. You are reliable and fully invested. You take your vacations. You check on your teammates. You help build a culture where people do their best work because they are supported, not squeezed.
What You Bring
- 2+ years building and shipping production software. Full-stack exposure strongly preferred
- Meaningful hands-on experience with AI tooling and LLM-powered features. You have integrated models into real products, not just tried the playgrounds
- Comfort across the stack: TypeScript/Node, Python, SQL, a modern frontend framework. The specific stack matters less than the ability to pick things up
- Strong instincts for data modeling, API design, and the difference between a clean abstraction and an over-engineered one
- A preference for small teams and early-stage chaos over mature org charts
- Experience building in regulated or security-sensitive environments (HIPAA, SOC 2, PCI, financial controls) is a plus
- Familiarity with healthcare data (claims, EDI, HL7/FHIR, clearinghouses) is a plus. Not required — we'll teach the domain to the right person
- Sound judgment, technical depth, and ownership mindset are required. Grit matters more than pedigree.
Why This Role
This is a chance to join a small founding team and build something real. You will ship product that moves money for real providers. You will work with AI as a true collaborator, and you will come out the other side with an operator's understanding of how healthcare payments actually work.
If you want this to be the most memorable stretch of your early career, where you shipped something real, with a team you respected, in a domain that actually matters, this is the seat. We would like to talk.
Compensation
Base salary range: $140,000 to $180,000, with meaningful equity. Specific offers are calibrated to experience, location, and scope of the role. We also cover standard health, dental, and vision benefits, and expect our team to take real vacation time.
Equal Opportunity
Recourse is an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. We believe the best teams are built from people with different backgrounds and perspectives, and we're committed to creating an environment where everyone can do their best work.
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