Staff Software Engineer - Internal Efficiency

Lyra Health is a leading provider of evidence-based mental health care, serving more than 20 million people globally in partnership with employers and more than 100 million through health plan and partner relationships. The company has delivered over 15 million sessions of mental health care, published more than 35 peer-reviewed studies, and achieved unmatched outcomes in access, clinical effectiveness, and cost efficiency. Extensive research confirms Lyra’s transformative care model helps people recover twice as fast and results in a 26% annual reduction in overall healthcare claims costs. Lyra is transforming access to life-changing mental health care through Lyra Empower, the only fully integrated, AI-powered platform combining high-quality care and technology solutions.

About the role

We are looking for an exceptional Staff Software Engineer to accelerate how Lyra itself works. This role focuses on embedding AI into the daily workflows of teams across the company—from engineering and operations to clinical support functions—so Lyrians spend less time on repetitive work and more time on what matters: getting people the mental health care they need.

This is not a platform team role at arm's length from its users. You will embed directly with internal teams, sit with them to understand how work actually gets done, identify the highest-leverage opportunities, and then design, build, ship, and iterate on AI-powered solutions in production. You own outcomes, not just code: adoption and measurable efficiency gains are the finish line, not the deploy.

This role can be carried out hybrid from our South San Francisco, CA headquarters or virtually (remote candidates must be based in the United States).

Responsibilities

• Embed with internal teams across the company to map their workflows, identify bottlenecks, and scope AI-driven solutions with clear, measurable efficiency outcomes
• Take ownership of the full lifecycle: from discovery and prototyping through deployment, adoption, measurement, and iteration
• Build and continuously improve AI-powered tools, agents, and automations, integrating with our Python and Java-based microservices, web and mobile apps, and third-party systems
• Drive the continued integration of agentic software development across engineering, expanding adoption, elevating technical capabilities, and acting as a force for innovation
• Evaluate emerging AI tools, models, and patterns; run fast experiments and convert the winners into durable internal capabilities
• Define and track the metrics that prove impact (time saved, throughput, quality, cost) and communicate results to stakeholders and leadership
• Work with fellow engineering team members to collaboratively create and refine technical designs and solutions
• Collaborate with key partners including data science, product management, design, security, and operational and behavioral health teams
• Follow and promote best practices during all phases of software development, adhering to the highest quality and security standards, including the responsible handling of sensitive data in AI workflows

Requirements

• BS in CS or related technical field
• 8+ years of experience developing enterprise or consumer web applications, ideally using Python or Java/Spring
• Hands-on experience building with LLMs in production: agentic tools and frameworks, prompt and context engineering, evals, and development workflows using Claude and Codex
• Demonstrated ability to work directly with non-engineering stakeholders: eliciting requirements, translating ambiguous business problems into shipped software, and driving adoption of what you build
• Strong judgment about where AI genuinely helps versus where it adds risk or noise, especially in a healthcare context
• Must be highly proactive and a self-starter. This role has unusual autonomy: you will often be the one deciding what to build next, and everyone at Lyra contributes to design, product, front-end, back-end, and quality

Pay

The anticipated annual base salary range for this full-time position is $161,000 - $245,000. The base range is determined by role and level, and placement within the range will depend on skills, qualifications, experience, and location. This role may also be eligible for discretionary bonuses.

Benefits

• Comprehensive healthcare coverage (including medical, dental, vision, FSA/HSA, life, and disability insurances)
• Lyra for Lyrians: coaching and therapy services
• Equity in the company through discretionary restricted stock units
• Competitive time off with pay policies including vacation, sick days, and company holidays
• Paid parental leave
• 401K with up to 3% matching
• Monthly tech allowance
• Well-being perks and activities, surprise swag, regular community celebrations, and more