Alpaca Health

Empowering BCBAs to Build Independent Autism Care Practices

Alpaca Health is transforming the autism care landscape by providing a "business-in-a-box" platform for Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs). The company enables clinicians to launch, run, and scale their own independent Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) clinics without the crushing burden of administrative overhead. By handling insurance credentialing, billing, payroll, and compliance, Alpaca Health allows providers to focus entirely on delivering high-quality patient care.

With over $14 million in funding from investors like South Park Commons, Core Innovation Capital, and Adverb Ventures, the company is rapidly expanding its footprint. The platform is built on modern, AI-native technology, offering features like AI-powered clinical documentation and automated scheduling, which significantly reduce the time clinicians spend on non-clinical tasks.

A Culture of Ownership and Impact

At Alpaca Health, the culture is deeply rooted in ownership and autonomy. The engineering team operates with a "founding engineer" mindset, where individuals are expected to own the platform foundation—from data models to AI infrastructure—rather than just reviewing pull requests. It is an environment designed for those who want to build systems correctly from the ground up, avoiding the technical debt often found in fast-growing startups.

The company values builders who are comfortable making hard technical decisions in code rather than in meetings. It is a culture that prioritizes correctness and reliability, especially given the sensitive nature of healthcare data and the critical importance of ensuring providers get paid accurately and on time.

What You'll Actually Do

Work at Alpaca Health varies significantly by role, but all positions share a focus on high impact and rapid execution.

For Software Engineers, the day-to-day involves designing schema migration strategies, building LLM pipelines for clinical documentation, and debugging complex billing edge cases involving Medicaid. Engineers own the core domain model, money invariants, and lifecycle state machines, ensuring the system can handle the complexities of healthcare billing and compliance.

For Product Managers and Designers, the focus is on creating intuitive tools that streamline the provider experience. You will be building AI-driven workflows that eliminate busywork, allowing clinicians to spend more time with patients. The environment is fast-paced, and you will be expected to move between high-level strategy and hands-on execution seamlessly.

Compensation & Benefits

Alpaca Health offers competitive compensation packages that include base salary and meaningful equity. Based on recent job postings, Senior Software Engineers can expect a base salary ranging from $150K to $250K, while Full Stack Engineers and Product Managers typically see ranges of $100K to $200K.

In addition to salary and equity, the company provides comprehensive health benefits, flexible PTO, and perks like dinner when working late. The compensation structure is designed to attract top-tier talent who are motivated by both financial upside and the opportunity to make a significant impact in healthcare.

The Interview Process

While specific details about the interview process are limited in public sources, candidates can expect a rigorous evaluation focused on both technical proficiency and alignment with the company's core values. Given the emphasis on ownership and correctness, engineering interviews likely involve deep dives into system design, state machines, and handling complex business logic.

Candidates should be prepared to discuss their experience building reliable systems in high-stakes environments, such as fintech or healthcare. The process is designed to identify individuals who are not just capable coders, but thoughtful architects who can build scalable foundations.

Why Join / Why Not

Why Join: Alpaca Health offers a unique opportunity to join a well-funded startup that has found product-market fit but still offers founding-level autonomy. If you are passionate about healthcare and want to build systems that directly improve the lives of clinicians and families navigating autism care, this is an ideal environment. The work is challenging, meaningful, and highly visible.

Why Not: This is not the place for someone looking for a relaxed, remote-first environment. Alpaca Health requires a strong in-office presence (5 days a week in NYC) and a willingness to tackle complex, sometimes messy, healthcare challenges. If you prefer to specialize in a narrow technical area or avoid the complexities of compliance and billing, the broad ownership expected here might feel overwhelming.