Principal Software Engineer – Patient Health Information & Payments at Athenahealth
Athenahealth · Austin, United States Of America · Onsite
- Senior
- Office in Austin
Join us as we work to create a thriving ecosystem that delivers accessible, high-quality, and sustainable healthcare for all.
Join us as we work to create a thriving ecosystem that delivers accessible, high-quality, and sustainable healthcare for all. We develop workflows and code that prioritize doctor–patient interactions, giving doctors more time to focus on what drew them to medicine in the first place: providing patient care. Our team is innovative, passionate, and driven by a shared mission to make a meaningful impact.
We are seeking a highly experienced Principal Software Engineer with deep expertise across the full stack to lead the design, development, and implementation of our next-generation patient portal, payment workflows, and healthcare platform. This role requires a hands-on technologist who can build scalable, maintainable systems, mentor developers across teams, and drive innovation using AI and agentic AI tools to accelerate feature delivery.
Key Responsibilities
Technical Leadership & Architecture
Lead the end-to-end design and implementation of full stack solutions using TypeScript, React, GraphQL, Java, and Spring Boot on AWS
Collaborate closely with the software architect to define and enforce engineering standards, design patterns, and best practices
Drive the evolution of a MicroUI and Microservices architecture to ensure scalability, maintainability, and high performance
Evaluate and integrate emerging technologies, including AI-assisted development tools and agentic AI systems, to enhance productivity and innovation
Development & Delivery
Design and develop secure, performant APIs using an API-first approach
Modernize and maintain legacy components written in Perl, ensuring smooth interoperability with new services
Implement and maintain robust CI/CD pipelines via Jenkins, ensuring automated, high-quality releases
Apply JUnit for unit testing and Playwright for integration and end-to-end testing to ensure code reliability
Deliver Proofs of Concept (POCs) to validate new architectural patterns, frameworks, and technologies
Collaboration & Mentorship
Work closely with multiple cross-functional software development teams, ensuring alignment on technical vision and delivery timelines
Provide mentorship, technical guidance, and support to engineers across teams, fostering a culture of engineering excellence
Conduct code reviews, ensure adherence to security and compliance standards (including PCI), and drive continuous improvement
Operational Excellence
Contribute to incident management and root cause analysis, ensuring production stability and performance
Participate in effort estimation, sprint planning, and roadmap discussions to help define realistic and achievable goals
Ensure compliance with healthcare data security and privacy requirements (HIPAA, PCI, etc.) through secure coding and design principles
Required Qualifications
Education & Experience
Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent experience
8+ years of professional experience as a full stack software developer
Proven experience leading or mentoring multiple software development teams
Technical Expertise
Strong proficiency in TypeScript, React, GraphQL, Java, Spring Boot, and related frameworks
Experience with AWS cloud services (Lambda, ECS, API Gateway, RDS, etc.)
Solid understanding of microservices and micro-frontend (MicroUI) architectures
Hands-on experience with CI/CD pipelines using Jenkins or similar tools
Familiarity with Perl for legacy system maintenance and migration
Strong background in unit testing (JUnit) and integration testing (Playwright) frameworks
Understanding of secure software development and compliance in healthcare and payment environments
AI & Innovation
Knowledge and practical experience applying AI-assisted coding tools (e.g., GitHub Copilot, Windsurf, Claud Code, OpenAI, etc.) and agentic AI frameworks to accelerate development
Experience evaluating and prototyping emerging technologies and tools through Proofs of Concept (POCs)
Soft Skills
Excellent communication, collaboration, and problem-solving abilities
Strong leadership presence with the ability to mentor and inspire engineering teams
Experience working in agile/scrum environments and managing complex, multi-team initiatives
Preferred qualifications
Prior experience in healthcare software or regulated industries
Familiarity with FHIR, HL7, or healthcare interoperability standards
Experience with payment systems, PCI audits, and compliance-driven architectures
Experience with observability tools (e.g., Datadog)
About athenahealth
Our vision: In an industry that becomes more complex by the day, we stand for simplicity. We offer IT solutions and expert services that eliminate the daily hurdles preventing healthcare providers from focusing entirely on their patients — powered by our vision to create a thriving ecosystem that delivers accessible, high-quality, and sustainable healthcare for all.
Our company culture: Our talented employees — or athenistas, as we call ourselves — spark the innovation and passion needed to accomplish our vision. We are a diverse group of dreamers and do-ers with unique knowledge, expertise, backgrounds, and perspectives. We unite as mission-driven problem-solvers with a deep desire to achieve our vision and make our time here count. Our award-winning culture is built around shared values of inclusiveness, accountability, and support.
Our DEI commitment: Our vision of accessible, high-quality, and sustainable healthcare for all requires addressing the inequities that stand in the way. That's one reason we prioritize diversity, equity, and inclusion in every aspect of our business, from attracting and sustaining a diverse workforce to maintaining an inclusive environment for athenistas, our partners, customers and the communities where we work and serve.
What we can do for you:
Along with health and financial benefits, athenistas enjoy perks specific to each location, including commuter support, employee assistance programs, tuition assistance, employee resource groups, and collaborative workspaces — some offices even welcome dogs.
We also encourage a better work-life balance for athenistas with our flexibility. While we know in-office collaboration is critical to our vision, we recognize that not all work needs to be done within an office environment, full-time. With consistent communication and digital collaboration tools, athenahealth enables employees to find a balance that feels fulfilling and productive for each individual situation.
In addition to our traditional benefits and perks, we sponsor events throughout the year, including book clubs, external speakers, and hackathons. We provide athenistas with a company culture based on learning, the support of an engaged team, and an inclusive environment where all employees are valued.
Learn more about our culture and benefits here: athenahealth.com/careers
