Software Engineer

About Ocean FriendsOcean Friends is a fast-growing, profitable healthcare tech startup focused on empowering pediatric therapy centers (Speech, OT, PT) with powerful automation, AI agents, and data-driven insights. Our mission is simple but ambitious: use technology to give every child with special needs a greater sense of purpose, progress, and joy.We build tools that help therapists, parents, and care teams work together effortlessly—so more time goes to the child, not paperwork.Role OverviewWe are looking for a Software Engineer (AI & Business Systems) who is passionate about using AI to make a real-world difference in children's lives. This is not a “backend research” or “ML-only” role—it's a full-spectrum technology + business + product thinking position.You will:Build AI-powered agents, copilots, and automation workflows used daily by therapists and familiesStay on the cutting edge of the AI ecosystem (agents, RAG, speech models, multimodal, reasoning engines)Translate business problems into elegant systems and intelligent toolsWork deeply with founders, users, and therapy centers to understand what actually moves the needleDevelop robust, scalable backend services (Python + GCP preferred) that power our core platformBusiness understanding is nearly more important than pure technical skill. Your superpower should be connecting therapy workflows, parent journeys, and business needs to AI capabilities.What You’ll DoAI & ProductBuild and maintain AI agents for scheduling, claims, parent journaling, therapist documentation, and moreEvaluate, experiment, and integrate new AI models and tools quicklyDesign systems that combine deterministic rules with LLM reasoningCreate delightful experiences for therapists, parents, and admin teamsEngineeringDevelop scalable microservices on GCP (Cloud Run, Firestore, BigQuery, Pub/Sub)Write clean, maintainable Python or TypeScript codeWork with structured/unstructured data, PDFs, audio, and multimodal featuresBuild APIs, automation pipelines, and real-time event systemsBusiness & Domain UnderstandingWork closely with founders and customers to understand therapy workflowsTranslate customer needs into product featuresUse empathy and curiosity to understand how your work impacts children, parents, and therapistsMake product decisions that balance business value, ROI, usability, and technical feasibilityWho You AreHuman-centricMission-driven—excited about helping kids and familiesEmpathetic and comfortable talking to non-technical usersCurious about therapy, parent journeys, and clinic operationsAI-nativeStrong understanding of the AI agent ecosystemHands-on experience with LLMs, vector search, multimodal inputs, or agent frameworksComfortable evaluating multiple models and picking the right tool for the jobStays current with the rapidly evolving AI landscapeProduct + Business mindedUnderstands how product decisions affect revenue, workflows, and outcomesThinks in terms of ROI, effort-vs-impact, and user happinessThrives in ambiguity and can define the problem before solving itTechnical skillsStrong Python or TypeScript/NodeExperience with cloud platforms (GCP preferred)Understanding of basic ML/AI concepts (RAG, embeddings, model evaluation, prompting)Ability to ship quickly and iterateNice to HaveExperience in healthcare, education, or therapy techUI/UX empathy and ability to design intuitive workflowsExperience with FastAPI, React, or BigQueryFamiliarity with HIPAA and secure data handlingWhy Ocean FriendsMission-driven team improving lives of children every dayWork directly with founders—zero bureaucracyModern tech stack and an environment that embraces AI deeplyHuge ownership over product direction and outcomesA profitable, growing company where your work has immediate real-world impact