Software Engineer (AI) at Tend in Remote

At Tend, we're redefining the dental experience — bringing together expert clinical care, thoughtfully designed studios, and smart technology to make going to the dentist something people actually look forward to. We believe dental health is an essential part of whole-person wellness, and we're building the tools to power that vision.

We're looking for a Software Engineer with hands-on experience building AI-powered products — someone who's worked directly with Claude (Anthropic) and knows how to turn that capability into real, scalable solutions. In this role, you'll sit at the intersection of engineering and patient experience, helping us integrate intelligent AI workflows that make care more seamless for both our teams and the members we serve.

This role is open to fully remote, U.S. based candidates with availability to travel to our Nashville, TN corporate hub up to 4 times per year — or hybrid-based candidates in Nashville who prefer more regular on-site time.

What you'll do

AI Product Development

• Translate complex clinical and operational use cases into structured AI solutions that are reliable, safe, and production-ready
• Partner closely with Product and Operations to identify where AI can reduce friction, automate manual steps, and improve patient outcomes
• Evaluate emerging Claude capabilities and advocate for their adoption when they meaningfully advance our product roadmap

Full-Stack Engineering

• Build and maintain backend services and APIs that support our studio-facing and patient-facing products
• Develop integrations with external systems — including our dental management platforms, scheduling tools, and communication infrastructure
• Write clean, well-tested code with a focus on performance, reliability, and long-term maintainability
• Contribute to CI/CD pipelines, deployment practices, and cloud-native architecture on AWS

Collaboration & Craft

• Work cross-functionally with engineers, product managers, and clinical operations teams throughout the product lifecycle
• Participate in code reviews, technical planning, and sprint ceremonies in an agile environment
• Help document AI implementations clearly so teammates can understand, iterate on, and extend your work
• Stay close to how our studio teams and members use our tools — feedback from the field shapes what we build

Who you are

At Tend, our values and competencies aren't aspirational — they're the standard for how we hire, collaborate, and grow. Every engineer on our team is expected to show up with the mindset and behaviors that drive both product excellence and a culture worth being part of.

Tend values

• Tend to Others – You build with the end user in mind — always. Whether it's a patient navigating their care options or a studio team member processing a treatment plan, you understand that your code has a direct impact on real people. You hold yourself to a high standard of quality because the work matters.
• Be Brave Enough to Lead – You raise your hand when something isn't working — in the codebase, in the process, or in the product. You push back with data, propose solutions, and follow through. When ambiguity shows up (and it will), you make a call and adjust as you learn.
• Savor the Ride – You bring energy to the team, even when the sprint is hard and the scope keeps shifting. You celebrate small wins, stay focused under pressure, and contribute to a culture where people genuinely enjoy working together.
• Embrace Our Differences – You write code and communicate in ways that are inclusive and accessible. You value perspectives that are different from your own — especially from teammates outside engineering — and you use that input to build better products.
• Rooted in Growth – You're genuinely curious. You follow what's happening in AI, you experiment on your own, and you bring that learning back to the team. You ask for feedback, apply it, and share what you know generously.

Role-based competencies

• Build for What's Next – You don't just write code that solves today's problem — you think about how the system needs to scale, how requirements will shift, and what decisions will be easy or painful to revisit. You balance speed with intentionality and know when to optimize early and when to move fast.
• Make the Complex Simple – AI integrations can get complicated fast — edge cases, latency, model behavior, fallback logic. You have a track record of taking messy, multi-layered problems and turning them into clean, well-scoped solutions that your teammates can understand and build on.
• Partner Beyond Your Function – You don't build in isolation. You engage with clinical teams, operations partners, and product managers to understand the real problem before writing a line of code. You translate technical trade-offs into plain language and bring stakeholders along so decisions are grounded in shared context.

What you have

• 2–5 years of software engineering experience with a track record of shipping production-quality features
• Hands-on experience building with the Claude API (Anthropic), including prompt engineering, tool use, multi-turn conversations, and agentic workflows
• Proficiency in Python (Django or similar frameworks) and/or JavaScript/TypeScript (Node.js, React, Next.js)
• Experience building and maintaining RESTful APIs and microservices
• Comfort working in cloud-native environments — AWS is preferred (Lambda, S3, EC2 or similar)
• Familiarity with CI/CD pipelines and modern development practices
• Strong written and verbal communication skills — you can explain what you built and why
• Ability to travel to Nashville, TN one to two times per month (if remote)

Bonus if you have

• Experience working in healthcare, health tech, or regulated environments (HIPAA familiarity is a plus)
• Exposure to other LLM platforms or AI infrastructure tooling (e.g., LangChain, vector databases, RAG pipelines)
• Familiarity with dental practice management systems or health data standards
• Experience contributing to or leading technical documentation for AI systems

Physical requirements

This position requires the ability to perform the essential job duties listed, with or without reasonable accommodation:

• Ability to work at a computer for extended periods throughout the workday
• Ability to communicate clearly and effectively with remote teammates and cross-functional partners via video, phone, and written channels
• Occasional travel to Nashville, TN for in-person collaboration (one to two times per month for remote candidates)

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the role.

What we offer

We believe taking care of people starts with taking care of our own. Here's how we've got you covered at Tend:

• 🩺 Health Comes First – Medical, dental, and vision insurance — plus our own Dental Wellness Program
• 🌴 Time to Recharge – Generous Paid Time Off (PTO) and company holidays — because rest is productive
• 💰 Plan for the Future – 401(k) plan to help you grow your nest egg
• 💸 Bonus Eligible – Annual bonus potential tied to company performance and individual impact
• 💡 Support, When You Need It – Life & AD&D insurance, EAP, legal support, and health advocacy resources
• 🛍️ Smart Spending Options – FSAs, HSAs, and pre-tax transit and parking benefits
• 🎓 Learning & Development – Ongoing opportunities to grow your skills and stay close to the latest in AI and engineering