Staff Software Engineer

About engineering at Headway

Building a new mental healthcare system at Headway is only possible because of the scale and leverage that software can provide.  The engineering team at Headway is a small but mighty team using technology to build that future (and have a fun time while doing it!).

Principles that guide us:

• Focus on the mission: We view software as a means of effecting change in the world, not as an end unto itself. We write software to empower our patients and therapists to better solve the problems they’re facing. 
• Ship small, learn fast: We are building new and novel products and believe that we learn what our users need by quickly shipping and iteration
• Everything is a product: Whether it's our patient search experience or a developer productivity improvement, we treat everything we build at Headway as a product with end-users in mind.
• Optimize for trust: We believe that engineers should be continually learning. To learn effectively and to be productive, engineers must feel safe asking questions and discussing mistakes.

Tools we use:

• Languages: Python 3, TypeScript
• Libraries & Frameworks: FastAPI, React, Remix, Next.js, React Aria
• Infrastructure: AWS (Fargate, ECS, S3, and more), Spark and Kafka
• Monitoring: Datadog, PagerDuty, Sentry
• Version Control: Github, PagerDuty

The role:

The Staff Frontend Engineer on the Patient team will play a central role in shaping the future of the patient experience at Headway. You will architect the patient application to deliver magical, intuitive, and performant user experiences while driving the most complex and impactful frontend projects for Headway’s most important audience: patients.

In this role, you will:

• Scope and lead proof-of-concept experiences such as conversational AI, mobile-first web apps, experimental matching flows, and tools that guide patients through their care journey.
  
  
• Set the standard for frontend excellence by defining reusable component patterns, testing strategies, accessibility practices, and close integration with our design system.
  
  
• Partner deeply with product and design to shape zero-to-one patient experiences that balance usability, scalability, and speed.
  
  
• Push the boundaries of what a web application can do by focusing on performance, responsiveness, and cross-device experience.
  
  

This is a high-impact, fast-moving role in one of the most direct user-facing areas of the company.

Who you are

We’re looking for experienced frontend engineers who thrive in ambiguity, care deeply about user experience, and can push both the craft and impact of engineering forward.

For all engineers:

• Experience working on modern web applications with React or similar frameworks.
• Strong understanding of at least one programming language, with depth in JavaScript/TypeScript and comfortability with others
• Shaped work to achieve company and team goals
• Flexed into new technical and non-technical areas as projects require
• Committed team member supporting the growth of those around them

For staff engineers:

• Architected complex systems spanning multiple technical domains or product areas (e.g. large-scale React applications, design system evolution, or performance-critical user flows
• Driven technical vision and strategy at the organization level, by writing and reviewing technical design documents and participating in quarterly planning activities
• Established frontend standards and best practices across multiple teams
• Led major technical initiatives requiring coordination across product, design, and engineering
• Mentored senior engineers and technical leaders, raising the bar for frontend craft and impact

Our interview process

After you apply to Headway, here are some details of what to expect during the interview process.

Initial screen: You’ll connect with someone in recruiting so you can learn more about the team, Headway’s mission and exciting growth, and we can get a better idea of your background. 

First round: You'll meet with an engineer on the team to do some live coding and learn more about the engineering team.

Final rounds: You’ll meet several more team members for technical and non-technical interviews and leave with a fuller picture of what it’s like to work at Headway.

References and the Offer: Our favorite part of the process! We'll send over all of the details, including specifics on employee equity, and congratulatory messages from excited future team members!

Compensation and Benefits:

The expected base pay range for this position is $224,000 - $280,000, based on a variety of factors including qualifications, experience, and geographic location. In addition to base salary, this role may be eligible for an equity grant, depending on the position and level.

We are committed to offering a comprehensive and competitive total rewards package, including robust health and wellness benefits, retirement savings, and meaningful ownership opportunities through equity. Compensation decisions are made holistically, ensuring fairness and alignment with market benchmarks while recognizing individual contributions and potential.

Benefits offered include:

• Equity Compensation
• Medical, Dental, and Vision coverage
• HSA / FSA
• 401K
• Work-from-Home Stipend
• Therapy Reimbursement
• 16-week parental leave for eligible employees
• Carrot Fertility annual reimbursement and membership
• 13 paid holidays each year as well as a Holiday Break during the week between December 25th and December 31st
• Flexible PTO
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Training and professional development

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