What We Do

Wagmo is a modern pet healthcare company built around how pet parents actually care for their pets. We partner with employers to provide a complete approach to pet and pet-parent wellbeing, from preventive wellness plans and emergency coverage to 24/7 pet telehealth guidance. Our purpose is to unlock every pet parent's potential to provide extraordinary care, and we do it by bringing the same intentionality to pet benefits that the best employers bring to human healthcare. Founded in 2017 and female-founded, Wagmo is headquartered in New York City and trusted by leading employers nationwide.

What’s Important To Us

Our mission shapes everything we build and how we work together. We take fearless ownership of outcomes, collaborate with radical candor, and are always driven by the customers and pet parents who trust us. We think critically, follow through relentlessly, and find the extra 10% that turns good work into exceptional work. We keep it weird because the obvious answer is rarely the most interesting one. Our values aren't aspirational. We interview for them and hold each other accountable to them. If what you've read so far resonates with you and you want to be part of a team where every person makes the company meaningfully better, we'd love to hear from you..

About The Role

As Principal Engineer at Wagmo, you will be the named owner of our application architecture. Wagmo sells pet wellness and insurance directly to consumers and through employers, brokers, and benefits administrators. Over the past two years we moved our insurance program to a new carrier partner and built a provider-agnostic interface to make that possible. It works, and it is not finished: two generations of models still coexist behind feature flags, and the legacy path has to be supported for years. On the partner side, each new benefits administrator we onboard currently arrives as its own build, with its own file format, renewal cadence, and eligibility rules. Our growth depends on that stopping.

Architecture has been owned by the CTO to date. This role takes it over. You will set technical direction across insurance, claims, partner integration, and our AI systems, decide what we will not build, and leave designs that two squads can execute without escalating. You will do this with no direct reports, real influence, and your hands in the codebase.

The scope here is wide for our team, which is the appeal and also the challenge. There is no platform organization beneath you and no architecture review process to inherit beyond the one we started this year.

Our Tech Stack: React · Python · TypeScript · React Native · Kubernetes · Django · Next.js · Node.js · Flutter (legacy) · builder.io · GitHub · Slack · Notion · Claude

Core Responsibilities

Own the end state of Wagmo's insurance provider interface, including a documented retirement path for legacy provider models and the decision about when dual-write paths come out.
Design partner and carrier onboarding so that adding a new benefits administrator is a configuration exercise rather than an application build. File format, renewal cadence, group structure, and product eligibility should be configured, not coded.
Own architecture review: run it, hold decision rights in it, and maintain a decision log that the team can rely on. Success is squads unblocked without escalation.
Define a single identity architecture spanning enterprise SSO tenants, our partner portal, and consumer authentication, with per-tenant onboarding reduced to a documented, repeatable process that stands up to enterprise security diligence.
Own the architecture of our AI systems across claims adjudication, customer support, and internal engineering tooling: versioned prompts and strategies with a promotion path, controls that match their documentation, and a measured cost per automated decision.
Mentor squad tech leads and raise the standard of technical design across the team, without taking on people management.

What You’ll Need To Be Successful

Experience holding a cross-cutting architectural decision that touched several domains at once, and driving it from ambiguity to a shipped, documented outcome that other engineers built on. You should be able to name the option you rejected and the cost you knowingly accepted.
A track record of retiring and scaling systems, not just building them. You have lived inside a half-migrated codebase running two paths in parallel and know what it takes, organizationally as well as technically, to finish.
Depth in Python and Django, relational data modeling, and third-party integration at scale. Familiarity with Kubernetes and GCP is useful; you will not own the cluster.
Experience putting non-deterministic systems into production, with real opinions about evaluation, versioning, and who is allowed to change a model's behavior.
The judgment to say what not to build, and the written and verbal clarity to carry that argument with people who outrank you.
Comfort that "principal" here means unblocking two squads rather than presiding over ten. Experience in insurance, benefits, payments, healthcare, or another regulated, integration-heavy domain is a strong plus.

Why Consider This Role?

Pet spending in the U.S. has reached $200 billion and the category is still early in its lifecycle. Wagmo is building the platform to lead it. This role is the architecture of that platform, at the moment the decisions are still open.
Wagmo is a female-founded, Inc. 5000 recognized company where performance matters more than pedigree. We are growing fast, building something that matters, and there is real ownership equity in that journey.
The team is exceptionally smart, curious, and kind, led by transparent and low-ego leadership. We take the work seriously and never take ourselves too seriously. This is not a traditional 9-to-5 job. It asks for real dedication and impact, and gives you genuine flexibility and autonomy in return.

Key Benefits

Comprehensive health, vision, and dental coverage
HSA/FSA
401(k) retirement planning with employer matching
Unlimited paid time off
Annual company holidays
Additional company-wide recharge days off
12 weeks parental leave for eligible employees
Company paid Wagmo pet wellness and insurance plans
Regular company-wide events and team gatherings
Pet-friendly office
Catered lunches

About the company

Wagmo provides pet insurance and wellness plans for cats and dogs through wagmo.io. Its wellness plans reimburse preventive care and routine expenses like vet visits and grooming, plus 24/7 telemedicine, totaling over $1,100 in annual reimbursements. Its insurance plans protect against unexpected events and can cover up to 100% of costs in some states after deductibles, with coverage underwritten by National Specialty Insurance Company while Wagmo handles sales and service as a licensed agency. Wagmo differentiates itself by offering combined preventive and emergency coverage and by using partnerships to reach more pet owners, with the goal of making routine and unexpected veterinary costs easier to manage.

Company Size

51-200

Company Stage

Early VC

Total Funding

$24.4M

Headquarters

New York City, New York

Founded

2017

Get referred to Wagmo

See people who can refer or advise you

Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

July 14, 2026 Curql invested, opening credit-union distribution to 160-plus institutions.
November 3, 2025 bswift exposed Wagmo to 16 million covered lives nationwide.
October 1, 2026 Wonderdog partnership adds early-detection perks that strengthen employer retention sales.

What critics are saying

Nationwide owns workplace pet insurance distribution through 10,000 organizations and universal VetHelpline.
Pumpkin and other rivals undercut Wagmo with simpler wellness clubs and employer-facing benefits.
Dependence on employer platforms like bswift and Curql creates channel-concentration risk if partners defect.

What makes Wagmo unique

Wagmo embeds pet benefits inside employers, bswift, and credit-union channels in 2025-2026.
Christie Horvath built employer-first pet healthcare, not direct-to-consumer pet insurance.
Wagmo combines wellness reimbursements, telehealth, insurance, and partner perks in one benefit.

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Benefits

Health Insurance
Dental Insurance
Vision Insurance
Life Insurance
Disability Insurance
Unlimited Paid Time Off
Parental Leave
401(k) Retirement Plan
Company Equity
Pet Insurance
Company Social Events

Growth & Insights and Company News

Headcount

6 month growth

1 year growth

2 year growth

-1%

PETage

Oct 2nd, 2026

Wagmo, Wonderdog partner to bring early disease detection to employee pet benefits.

Wagmo, Wonderdog partner to bring early disease detection to employee pet benefits. Pet Age Staff//October 2, 2026// Wagmo, a modern pet healthcare benefits platform trusted by leading employers, and Wonderdog, a preventive health platform for dogs, recently announced a perks partnership that adds proactive health intelligence and early disease detection to Wagmo's employee pet benefits. Any pet parent with an active Wagmo plan can access preferred pricing on Wonderdog's annual app membership and, in select cities, its at-home blood draw service. Wonderdog joins the member perks included with Wagmo's pet healthcare benefit, alongside routine care reimbursement, 24/7 telehealth support and insurance coverage. Through the partnership, Wagmo members receive 20% off the first year of an annual Wonderdog App Membership anywhere in the United States. Members in Los Angeles and New York City also receive 10% off Wonderdog at-home blood draws with urinalysis and veterinary review. "With Wonderdog, employers offering Wagmo this open enrollment season have even more to give their teams," said Christie Horvath, founder and CEO of Wagmo. "Our partnership with Wonderdog gives employees access to critical tools for early disease detection. Catching a problem early is better for the dog, easier on the family budget and less disruptive at work." The Wonderdog platform connects a dog's veterinary records, tracks health trends over time and flags changes early against that dog's own baseline rather than a breed average. Its at-home blood draw measures more than 40 biomarkers across every major body system in the cities where the service is available. "Dogs can't tell us when something's wrong, but their data can," said Jeff Safenowitz, co-founder and CEO of Wonderdog. "The earlier you catch a change, the more you can do about it, and now a lot more dogs get that chance thanks to this partnership." Wagmo members can redeem both offers through a custom link on the Perks page in their Wagmo account.

HealthTech HotSpot

Jul 14th, 2026

Wagmo and Curql announce strategic investment, bringing modern pet healthcare to the credit union movement.

Wagmo and Curql announce strategic investment, bringing modern pet healthcare to the credit union movement. NEW YORK-(BUSINESS WIRE)-Wagmo, the modern pet healthcare platform, and Curql, a collective of more than 160 credit unions jointly investing in fintech, today announced a strategic investment by Curql in Wagmo. The investment reflects growing demand within the credit union industry for benefits that support the full financial reality of employees and members, including the rising cost of pet care. Curql's backing of Wagmo reflects real demand from an industry built around taking care of people. For Wagmo, the relationship opens a new channel to bring pet insurance, wellness reimbursements and 24/7 virtual veterinary care to credit unions and their members across the country. "Pets have gone from afterthought to family. Benefits are finally catching up," said Christie Horvath, founder and CEO of Wagmo. "Credit unions recognize that taking care of their teams and members means taking care of their family members, four-legged and two. We're proud to have the industry behind us as we work to make extraordinary pet care accessible to more people." "Curql invests in companies that strengthen credit union members' financial well-being," said Nick Evens, president and CEO of Curql Collective. "With more pets than children in American households today, families can face significant financial strain when their four-legged members need care. We're proud to back Wagmo, which makes pet care simpler and more affordable while thoughtfully positioning itself as both a direct member benefit and a meaningful employee benefit." Wagmo's pet healthcare plans now reach more than 5 million employees across 19,000+ employer groups. With Curql's backing, Wagmo plans to build on that momentum and bring pet healthcare to even more employees and the pets they go home to. About Wagmo Wagmo is a New York City-based pet healthcare benefit provider trusted by leading employers. With a goal to unlock every pet parent's potential to provide extraordinary care, Wagmo is committed to improving the lives of pets and their owners. Wagmo was founded in 2017 and is the only female-founded and operated pet healthcare company in the market. Visit HealthTech HotSpot LLC at Wagmo.io or follow HealthTech HotSpot LLC on LinkedIn to learn more. About Curql Curql Collective is a fintech investment ecosystem built by credit unions, for credit unions. With the backing of over 160 progressive credit unions, Curql invests in and accelerates the development of fintech solutions that empower credit unions to better serve their members and stay competitive. Curql Fund II closed in 2025 at $360 million (the largest credit union-led fintech fund ever), following the success of Fund I ($252 million closed in 2021). Through Curql Fund I, Curql Fund II, and Curql Accelerate, the collective has partnered with over 50 fintech companies to bring transformative technologies directly to the credit union movement. Together, HealthTech HotSpot LLC is creating opportunities for growth, enhancing member experiences, and driving meaningful change across the industry.

StreetInsider

Jul 14th, 2026

Wagmo secures strategic investment from Curql to expand pet healthcare to credit unions

Wagmo, a pet healthcare platform, has received a strategic investment from Curql, a collective of over 160 credit unions investing in fintech. The partnership will enable Wagmo to expand its pet insurance, wellness reimbursements, and 24/7 virtual veterinary care services to credit unions nationwide. Wagmo currently serves more than 5 million employees across 19,000+ employer groups. The investment reflects growing demand for benefits addressing pet care costs, particularly relevant as American households now have more pets than children. Curql Fund II closed in 2025 at $360 million, making it the largest credit union-led fintech fund. Combined with Fund I's $252 million raised in 2021, Curql has partnered with over 50 fintech companies. Wagmo, founded in 2017, is the only female-founded and operated pet healthcare company in the market.

Business Wire

May 6th, 2026

Christie Horvath of Wagmo named Entrepreneur Of The Year(R) 2026 New York finalist by EY US.

Christie Horvath of Wagmo named Entrepreneur Of The Year(R) 2026 New York finalist by EY US. EY US celebrates ambitious entrepreneurs shaping the future of business NEW YORK-(BUSINESS WIRE)-Christie Horvath, CEO and founder of Wagmo, has been named a finalist for the Entrepreneur Of The Year 2026 New York Award by Ernst & Young LLP (EY US). Now in its 41st year, the Entrepreneur Of The Year program celebrates the bold leaders who disrupt markets through the world's most ground-breaking companies, revolutionizing industries and uplifting communities. The program honors entrepreneurs whose innovations drive economic growth and help shape the future of business. Christie Horvath, CEO and founder of Wagmo, has been named a finalist for the Entrepreneur Of The Year 2026 New York Award by Ernst & Young. Share An independent panel of judges selected Horvath among 33 finalists based on their entrepreneurial spirit, purpose, company growth and lasting impact in building long-term value. "For a long time, pet benefits meant a brochure in the break room," says Horvath. "We built Wagmo to give employees a pet healthcare solution built with the same intentionality as human healthcare, empowering pet parents to provide extraordinary care. Being named an EY Entrepreneur Of The Year finalist is an honor I share with the Wagmo team, our employer partners, and the members we're building this for." Founded in 2017 by Horvath, Wagmo is the modern pet healthcare platform trusted by leading employers. The company offers pet insurance, standalone wellness plans, 24/7 virtual vet access (VETalk), and member perks in a single platform distributed through employer benefits and direct-to-consumer channels. Under Horvath's leadership, Wagmo now provides access to more than five million employees across more than 19,000 employer groups. The company was named to the Inc. 5000 list of Fastest Growing Private Companies in 2025. Entrepreneur Of The Year honors business leaders for their ingenuity, courage and entrepreneurial spirit. The program celebrates original founders who bootstrapped their business from inception or who raised outside capital to grow their company, transformational CEOs who infused innovation into an existing organization to catapult its trajectory, and multigenerational family business leaders who reimagined a legacy business model to strengthen it for the future. This year's New York finalists represent New York and Connecticut across all industries, including technology, consumer products, manufacturing, finance, life sciences and more. Regional award winners will be announced on June 16 during a special celebration in Manhattan and will become lifetime members of an esteemed community of Entrepreneur Of The Year alumni from around the world. The winners will then be considered by the national judges for the Entrepreneur Of The Year National Awards, which will be presented in November at the annual Strategic Growth Forum(R), where high-growth CEOs, Fortune 1000 executives and investors converge to shape the future of business. Sponsors Founded and produced by Ernst & Young LLP, the Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards include presenting sponsors PNC Bank, Cresa, LLC, Marsh USA, SAP, and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. In New York, sponsors also include regional Platinum sponsor Donnelley Financial Solutions (DFIN), regional Gold sponsors ADP and DLA Piper, and regional Silver sponsor Stagedge. About Entrepreneur Of The Year(R) Founded in 1986, Entrepreneur Of The Year(R) has celebrated more than 11,000 ambitious visionaries who are leading successful, dynamic businesses in the US, and it has since expanded to nearly 80 countries and territories globally. The US program consists of 17 regional programs whose panels of independent judges select the regional award winners every June. Those winners compete for national recognition at the Strategic Growth Forum(R) in November where national finalists and award winners are announced. The national overall winner represents the US at the World Entrepreneur Of The Year(R) competition. Visit ey.com/us/eoy. About Wagmo Wagmo is a New York City-based pet healthcare benefits platform trusted by leading employers. With a goal to unlock every pet parent's potential to provide extraordinary care, Wagmo is committed to improving the lives of pets and their owners. Wagmo was founded in 2017 and is the only female-founded and operated pet healthcare company in the market. Visit us at Wagmo.io or follow us on LinkedIn to learn more. About EY EY is building a better working world by creating new value for clients, people, society and the planet, while building trust in capital markets. Enabled by data, AI and advanced technology, EY teams help clients shape the future with confidence and develop answers for the most pressing issues of today and tomorrow. EY teams work across a full spectrum of services in assurance, consulting, tax, strategy and transactions. Fueled by sector insights, a globally connected, multi-disciplinary network and diverse ecosystem partners, EY teams can provide services in more than 150 countries and territories. All in to shape the future with confidence. EY refers to the global organization, and may refer to one or more, of the member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity. Ernst & Young Global Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, does not provide services to clients. Information about how EY collects and uses personal data and a description of the rights individuals have under data protection legislation are available via ey.com/privacy. EY member firms do not practice law where prohibited by local laws. For more information about our organization, please visit ey.com.

bdtonline.com

Nov 3rd, 2025

Wagmo Partners with bswift to Bring Pet Healthcare Benefits to Millions of Employees

Wagmo partners with bswift to bring pet healthcare benefits to millions of employees. Wagmo, the pet healthcare benefit trusted by leading employers, today announced a new partnership with bswift LLC, a leading innovator in employee benefits technology and administration serving more than 16 million lives nationwide. Beginning November 3, 2025, employers using bswift can choose to offer Wagmo pet healthcare benefits, including Wagmo wellness, insurance, and VETalk - a 24/7 televet service - with exclusive discounted pricing. Through this collaboration, bswift customers will be able to offer employees affordable access to Wagmo's pet wellness plans, which reimburse everyday pet care like annual exams, vaccines, grooming, and more, along with 24/7 televet support and discounts on services like pet sitting and medication. Built directly into the bswift platform, Wagmo makes it easy for employers to add meaningful, modern pet benefits into their total rewards packages. bswift clients will also receive a discount off retail rates, ensuring affordable access for their employees. Pet benefits are quickly becoming essential for employers. According to the American Pet Products Association, nearly 70 percent of U.S. households own a pet, and U.S. Census data shows that more families today include a pet than children under 18. In the workplace, a 2024 Wagmo survey found that 75 percent of employees miss time each year for pet care and 65 percent say pet benefits are important when considering a job offer. For employers, the payoff is clear: 94 percent of Wagmo members say they would be disappointed if the benefit went away, and 87 percent report it makes them more loyal to their company. By partnering with bswift, Wagmo is making it easier for employers to deliver benefits that employees value and use every day. "By embedding Wagmo pet healthcare benefits directly into the bswift platform, we can support even more pet parent employees across the country," said Christie Horvath, CEO of Wagmo. "Everyday pet care is an important part of family life, and we're proud to help employers strengthen retention and engagement with benefits that truly matter to their people, delivered seamlessly through their bswift experience." "bswift is excited to partner with Wagmo," said Sharon Morrissey, Senior Vice President of Channel and Integration Partnerships at bswift. "Together, we will make it even easier for employees to access meaningful benefits that support the health and happiness of their pets." Wagmo's integration with bswift ensures a seamless experience for employers and employees alike. For employers, it's a simple way to differentiate their benefits packages with a solution employees love and use often. For employees, it's a chance to save money and stress while keeping their pets healthy through everyday care. For more information about Wagmo's comprehensive pet healthcare benefits, visit: wagmo.io/business. About Wagmo Wagmo is a New York City-based pet healthcare benefit provider trusted by leading employers. With a goal to unlock every pet parent's potential to provide extraordinary care, Wagmo is committed to improving the lives of pets and their owners. Wagmo was founded in 2017 and is the only female-founded and operated pet healthcare company in the market. About bswift bswift LLC is a leading provider of cloud-based benefits technology and employee engagement solutions. Known for continuous innovation and our people-first culture, we enable clients to deliver rewarding experiences that maximize engagement, simplify benefits navigation, and optimize utilization. Our flexible, highly scalable platform offers personalized online enrollment, interactive decision support, AI-infused benefits support, ACA compliance reporting, and custom communications. Discover more at bswift.com. View source version on businesswire.com:https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251103401419/en/ Wagmo bswift

Wagmo

Principal Engineer

About the job