Lead Software Engineer – Front Office AI Platform (Ruby on Rails)
PracticeTek · United States
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- Hybrid
- Full-time
- $165,000 / year
- United States
Job highlights
- Lead backend services for AI platform.
- Design, build, and operate API-first Rails services.
- Focus on reliability, security, and automation.
- Collaborate with product and design teams.
- Technical leadership without people management.
About the role
Lead Engineer – Front Office AI Platform (Ruby on Rails)
Our Company
PracticeTek is a large and established healthcare technology company, providing comprehensive software solutions to dental, orthodontic, chiropractic, optometry, and other healthcare clinics. We empower clinicians and their teams to deliver better patient care through innovative and user-friendly technology.
At PracticeTek, You’ll Have The Opportunity To
- Work with dynamic technology solutions that are constantly evolving to meet the needs of the healthcare industry.
- Collaborate with a talented and passionate team of individuals who are dedicated to improving the lives of patients and healthcare providers.
- Make a real impact on the healthcare industry by helping to improve the efficiency and quality of care.
- Build a rewarding career with opportunities for growth and development.
Engineering Department:
The Engineering department at PracticeTek is responsible for designing, developing, and scaling our SaaS platform to meet the needs of thousands of healthcare providers. Working closely with Product and Design teams, Engineering ensures the seamless delivery of performant, secure, and cost-effective software solutions.
The Engineering team is responsible for the foundational infrastructure, security, and reliability functions that support all PracticeTek products. This includes cloud architecture, observability, cost efficiency, and compliance with regulatory requirements like HIPAA and PCI.
The Career Opportunity: Lead Engineer – Front Office AI Platform (Ruby on Rails)
We are seeking a Lead Engineer to help design, build, and operate backend platform services that support business-critical healthcare workflows. This role sits within a product-focused engineering group responsible for scalable, API-driven services used across multiple applications.
You will be a hands-on technical leader, contributing directly to system design and implementation while influencing engineering standards, operational practices, and cross-team collaboration. The role emphasizes production ownership, system reliability, and pragmatic use of automation and AI-enabled capabilities where they provide measurable value.
You’ll work primarily in Ruby on Rails (API-first services), building services deployed on AWS, with a strong focus on maintainability, observability, and secure handling of sensitive data.
Areas of Accountability
- Design, build, and evolve API-first Rails services that power shared platform capabilities.
- Own service architecture and interfaces to support consistency and reuse across products.
- Deliver automation and model-assisted features with appropriate safeguards, monitoring, and operational controls.
- Establish and uphold best practices for production systems, including configuration management, rollout strategies, and ongoing evaluation.
- Design and optimize PostgreSQL data models for correctness, performance, and multi-tenant scale.
- Build and operate asynchronous and event-driven processing for high-throughput workloads.
- Maintain high standards for observability and reliability, including logging, metrics, alerting, and incident response.
- Ensure systems meet security, privacy, and compliance requirements, including careful handling of sensitive healthcare data.
- Lead by example through code reviews, technical design, documentation, and mentoring.
- Partner closely with Product, Design, and other engineering teams to deliver durable, high-quality solutions.
This is a technical leadership role. While it does not include formal people management, you will be expected to influence architecture decisions, raise engineering standards, and help develop other engineers.
Competencies for Success
- 5+ years of experience building and operating backend services using Ruby on Rails or similar frameworks.
- Demonstrated ownership of production systems across their full lifecycle.
- Experience delivering automation or AI-assisted capabilities in production environments, including monitoring and operational considerations.
- Strong backend fundamentals: API design, distributed systems concepts, relational data modeling, and background processing.
- Experience with modern cloud-based delivery practices (AWS, Docker, CI/CD; container orchestration is a plus).
- A security- and privacy-first mindset, ideally with experience in regulated or sensitive domains.
- Strong communication skills and the ability to collaborate effectively with technical and non-technical partners.
Must-have Cultural / Soft Skills
- High ownership and accountability; you follow through and surface risks early.
- Pragmatic and thoughtful; you prioritize reliability, safety, and real-world constraints.
- Collaborative and low-ego; you value shared success and constructive feedback.
- Clear communicator; you explain tradeoffs and decisions with confidence and clarity.
- Mentorship-oriented; you enjoy helping others grow and improving how teams work together.
At PracticeTek we carefully consider a wide range of compensation factors to determine our offers of employment. This includes internal and external market factors as well as your individual experience and skills. These considerations can cause compensation to vary but we reasonably expect to pay between 145,000-187,000 for this position.
PracticeTek is an Equal Opportunity Employer that values employees with a broad cross-cultural perspective. We strive to create an inclusive environment, empower employees, and embrace diversity. We encourage everyone to apply. All applicants will receive fair and impartial treatment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, ancestry, citizenship status, age, legally protected physical or mental disability, protected veteran status, status in the U.S. uniformed services, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, genetic information or on any other basis which is protected under applicable federal, state, or local law.
Key skills/competency
- Lead Software Engineer
- Front Office AI Platform
- Ruby on Rails
- Backend Services
- AWS
- PostgreSQL
- API Design
- Distributed Systems
- Observability
- Mentoring
Skills & topics
- Lead Software Engineer
- Ruby on Rails
- Backend Development
- AI Platform
- AWS
- PostgreSQL
- API Design
- Distributed Systems
- Healthcare Technology
- SaaS
How to get hired
- Tailor your resume: Highlight your 5+ years of Ruby on Rails backend experience and production system ownership.
- Showcase your skills: Emphasize experience with AWS, PostgreSQL, API design, and distributed systems.
- Demonstrate leadership: Include examples of technical guidance, code reviews, and mentoring.
- Address cultural fit: Mention your high ownership, pragmatic approach, collaboration, and communication skills.
- Apply online: Submit your application through the PracticeTek careers portal for this Lead Software Engineer role.
Technical preparation
Behavioral questions
Frequently asked questions
- What is the salary range for the Lead Software Engineer position at PracticeTek?
- PracticeTek reasonably expects to pay between $145,000 and $187,000 annually for the Lead Software Engineer – Front Office AI Platform role. This range is determined by considering various internal and external market factors, as well as your individual experience and skills.
- What are the key technologies used in the Lead Software Engineer role at PracticeTek?
- The primary technologies for this Lead Software Engineer role are Ruby on Rails (API-first services) and PostgreSQL. You will also be working with AWS for deployment, and a strong understanding of distributed systems, API design, and background processing is essential. Experience with Docker and CI/CD is also beneficial.
- Does the Lead Software Engineer role at PracticeTek involve people management?
- No, this is a technical leadership role and does not include formal people management. However, you will be expected to influence architecture decisions, raise engineering standards, and help develop other engineers through mentorship and technical guidance.
- What is the expected experience level for the Lead Software Engineer position at PracticeTek?
- The role requires at least 5 years of experience building and operating backend services, preferably using Ruby on Rails or similar frameworks. Demonstrated ownership of production systems across their full lifecycle is also a key requirement.
- Is there an opportunity for remote work for the Lead Software Engineer role at PracticeTek?
- The job description does not explicitly state the work arrangement. However, given the company's established nature and typical industry practices for such roles, it is likely to be either on-site or hybrid. Further clarification would be needed from the hiring manager.
- What kind of healthcare data will I be working with as a Lead Software Engineer at PracticeTek?
- As a Lead Software Engineer at PracticeTek, you will be handling sensitive healthcare data. The role emphasizes secure handling of this data and adherence to compliance requirements like HIPAA and PCI, requiring a security- and privacy-first mindset.
- How does PracticeTek approach AI and automation in its engineering practices for this role?
- PracticeTek encourages the pragmatic use of automation and AI-enabled capabilities where they provide measurable value. The Lead Software Engineer will be responsible for delivering such features, ensuring appropriate safeguards, monitoring, and operational controls are in place.