Careers at Vasl Health

The most necessary
work in health
technology right now.

The behavioral health system was designed around people who already had access — and then pointed at everyone else. Vasl is building the infrastructure that was never built for the communities that needed it most. That work requires specific expertise, deep commitment, and the willingness to build something that hasn't existed before. If that's the work you want to do, we want to hear from you.

From the Founder

"Building technology for diverse communities requires diverse teams. Our differences aren't just welcomed — they're essential to our success."

Rodney Bell — Founder & CEO
01
The problem is architecture, not access
The gap isn't that underserved youth can't find mental health support. It's that every tool in the field was built for a different population. Fixing that requires building something new, not improving what exists.
02
The outcomes are real and documented
79.5% 30-day retention. 42% PHQ-8 improvement. 3 weeks to first support versus 9 months nationally. These are from deployed pilot cohorts — not projections. The platform works.
03
The governance matches the mission
Delaware Public Benefit Corporation. The commitment to serving underserved communities is in the charter — not the pitch deck. That's who you'd be building for, legally and operationally.
04
The institutional validation is serious
Mayo Clinic Platform_Accelerate. IRB study with University of Maryland. Senior Medical Advisor from Johns Hopkins. This is not a startup claiming clinical credibility. It is one with it.
Chapter 02 — Open Positions

Two roles open.
Both essential.

We hire when we have a specific need and a specific role that a specific person is right for. We don't hire to fill headcount. The two roles below are the work we need done now — and we've described them with enough precision that you'll know whether you're that person before you apply.

Engineering Remote / San Francisco Full-time Featured
Senior AI/ML Engineer
$180K–$250K
Base + equity + benefits

Lead the development of CulturalBERT-VLAP and Vasl's next-generation behavioral signal detection systems. This is not an NLP role that happens to touch healthcare — it is a healthcare-first AI role that requires deep NLP expertise. The model you build will be read by licensed clinicians before they see youth in crisis. That responsibility shapes every architectural decision.

What You'll Do
Design and implement advanced ML models for culturally specific behavioral signal detection
Lead development of CulturalBERT-VLAP — extend the model vocabulary, signal taxonomy, and inference pipeline
Build culturally-aware NLP systems that understand AAVE, code-switching, and youth vernacular
Collaborate with clinical team to ensure AI safety, non-diagnostic output, and clinician-appropriate signal framing
Design and implement bias monitoring across demographic subgroups — this is an operational gate, not a metric
Optimize model performance for real-time, HIPAA-compliant deployment at clinical scale
What We're Looking For
5+ years ML/AI engineering — healthcare or NLP context strongly preferred
Deep expertise in Python, PyTorch or TensorFlow, and cloud platforms (AWS/GCP)
Transformer architecture fluency — fine-tuning, model optimization, BERT-family models specifically
MLOps experience: model deployment, monitoring, and production maintenance
HIPAA technical safeguard knowledge — in-memory processing, PHI handling, audit requirements
PhD in ML/AI or equivalent production experience — publications in NLP/ML a plus
Experience with multilingual or cross-cultural AI systems a significant bonus
Research Remote / Boston Full-time Featured
Clinical Data Scientist
$150K–$200K
Base + equity + benefits

Bridge clinical expertise with data science to validate CulturalBERT-VLAP's signal accuracy, conduct outcome studies, and ensure the platform delivers measurable behavioral health improvements for the populations it serves. The active IRB study with the University of Maryland is the immediate context for this role — you will be working with real clinical data from real deployed cohorts, under real IRB oversight, with real peer-reviewed publication as an output.

What You'll Do
Design and execute clinical validation studies for the VLAP signal taxonomy — in partnership with the University of Maryland IRB study
Analyze real-world evidence to measure platform clinical effectiveness — PHQ-8 trends, retention, escalation rates, subgroup parity
Develop and maintain bias monitoring methodology — demographic disaggregation of FPR/FNR across BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and first-gen cohorts
Collaborate with clinical leadership to establish and validate outcome metrics
Prepare data for HL7 FHIR-compliant integration with Mayo Clinic Platform data infrastructure
Publish research findings in peer-reviewed journals — IRB study publication is a primary deliverable
What We're Looking For
PhD in Clinical Psychology, Biostatistics, Epidemiology, or related field — active licensure a significant plus
3+ years clinical research or healthcare data science — published research strongly preferred
Strong statistical analysis skills in R and/or Python — clinical trial design experience
Familiarity with healthcare data standards: HL7, FHIR, HIPAA Safe Harbor de-identification
Knowledge of mental health assessment tools — PHQ-8/9, GAD-7, PCL-5, AUDIT, DAST
IRB protocol experience — study design, submission, ongoing compliance
Background in culturally responsive research methodology a strong bonus
Remote Various
Don't See Your Role?

We're actively planning roles across multiple functions. If your background aligns with the work Vasl is doing, we want to hear from you now — before the role is posted.

Product Manager — AI/ML Products
DevOps Engineer — Healthcare Infrastructure
UX Researcher — Mental Health Applications
Clinical Affairs Manager
Business Development — Healthcare Partnerships
Customer Success Manager — Enterprise
Chapter 03 — What the Work Looks Like

The culture
the mission
requires.

We don't have a culture deck. We have six things that are true about how this team works — derived from the nature of the problem, not from a values workshop. They're not aspirational. They describe the environment you'd be joining.

01
Impact is the metric that matters

Every decision — architectural, clinical, operational — is evaluated against one question: does this improve outcomes for the communities we serve? Not engagement, not retention for its own sake, not platform growth. Clinical impact for youth who had no prior access to care that worked for them.

02
Evidence over assumption

We ground the work in rigorous research, IRB study data, and clinical validation. When we make a claim about the platform — 79.5% retention, 42% PHQ-8 improvement — it comes with a methodology note. We apply the same standard internally: build on evidence, document what we don't know yet, and publish what we find.

03
The communities we serve are in the room

Design decisions, peer group architecture, VLAP training corpus annotation — all shaped in active partnership with the communities the platform serves. This is structural, not consultative. Youth voices are not solicited at the end of the design process. They are part of it from the beginning.

04
Remote-first and genuinely flexible

100% remote. Flexible hours — clinical platform operations don't require synchronous standups. We have team members across time zones. What we care about is the work produced and the contribution to the mission, not presence in a particular location or time window.

05
Clinical rigor is everyone's responsibility

Engineers read the clinical literature. Product makes decisions with the CMO's input. Data scientists work alongside clinical researchers. The boundary between "technical team" and "clinical team" is deliberately permeable — because the platform's value is at the intersection of those disciplines, not in either one alone.

06
Human in the loop — including in how we work

We build AI that informs human clinical judgment. We apply the same principle internally: tools support the work, people make the decisions. We use 20% time for research and passion projects. We attend conferences. We publish. The learning culture isn't a benefit — it's operational.

Chapter 04 — Benefits

We take care of the team
so the team can focus.

The benefits below are real, competitive, and designed around sustainable work on a hard problem. No foosball tables. No vague "unlimited PTO" that no one actually uses. Specific, documented, and yours from day one.

Compensation
Top-10% market salaries. Transparent bands. Equity that means something.
Competitive base salaries — top 10% of market for each role and level
Equity participation — meaningful stake in company growth
Annual performance bonuses
Transparent salary bands — no negotiation games
Regular compensation reviews against market benchmarks
Health & Wellbeing
Premium coverage. Mental health support that includes the platform we're building.
Premium health, dental, and vision insurance — fully covered
Mental health support — including full access to the Vasl platform
$2,000 annual wellness stipend
Flexible PTO with genuine encouragement to use it
16 weeks paid parental leave
Work Environment
Remote-first. Well-equipped. Quarterly in-person time.
100% remote — flexible hours, genuine asynchronous culture
$3,000 home office setup budget — spend it on what you actually need
Latest MacBook Pro or equivalent PC of your choice
Co-working space stipend for those who want it
Quarterly team retreats — in-person time that's substantive, not performative
Learning & Growth
$5,000 annually. Conferences, publications, open source, research.
$5,000 annual learning and development budget — no approval required for reasonable use
Conference attendance and speaking opportunities supported
Research publication support — time, co-authorship, and submission assistance
20% time for passion projects and research exploration
Open source contribution time — structured, not just permitted
Flexibility
Sabbatical at year four. Volunteer time. Arrangements that fit real life.
Sabbatical program — 4 weeks paid after 4 years of service
40 hours annual volunteer time off — paid, self-directed
Flexible work arrangements for caregiving, health, and life
Employee referral bonuses
Visa & Legal
We sponsor. We support long-term.
H-1B, O-1, and other work visa sponsorship for exceptional candidates
Green card support for long-term team members
International contractor arrangements available for select roles
Chapter 05 — The Hiring Process

Transparent, respectful,
and designed to help
you succeed.

Six steps. Two to three weeks total. You'll always know where you stand, what comes next, and what we're evaluating. The assessments reflect real work — not abstract puzzles designed to stress-test your composure under pressure.

Step 01 3–5 business days
Application Review

We review your application within 5 business days. We are looking for relevant experience, evidence of the specific expertise the role requires, and genuine alignment with the mission. We read cover letters when they're substantive. Generic applications get generic responses.

Step 02 30 minutes
Initial Conversation

A 30-minute call with our talent team. We'll discuss your background, what draws you to this work specifically, and answer your questions about the role, the team, and the platform. This is a conversation, not a screen — we're not checking boxes, we're learning about you.

Step 03 1–2 hours
Technical or Domain Assessment

A role-specific assessment that reflects actual work you'd do at Vasl. For engineering: a take-home involving NLP/ML architecture and clinical data handling. For research: a study design or analysis task using the kind of data we work with. We scope these carefully to respect your time. We provide feedback regardless of outcome.

Step 04 2–3 hours
Team Interviews

Meet the people you'd work alongside most closely — engineers, clinical team members, product leads. These conversations focus on how you think through problems, how you collaborate across clinical and technical disciplines, and how you'd navigate the specific challenges the role involves. You'll also have time to ask them about the actual texture of the work.

Step 05 45 minutes
Leadership Conversation

A final conversation with Vasl leadership about vision, mission, and how you'd contribute to the next phase of the platform's development. This is also your best opportunity to ask the hardest questions — about the business, the challenges, the decisions we've made that we'd make differently, and the ones we stand behind.

Step 06 2–3 days
Offer & Onboarding

A competitive offer within 2–3 days of the final conversation. We don't lowball and expect negotiation — we lead with the right number. Onboarding is comprehensive: clinical context, platform architecture, team introductions, and the specific context you need to start contributing meaningfully in week one.

We respect your time

Interviews are focused and purposeful. Assessments are scoped to reflect real work, not maximize our evaluation surface area. We don't extend processes unnecessarily.

We communicate clearly

You'll know where you stand at every stage. If we're not moving forward, we'll tell you promptly — and, where possible, tell you why. Ghosting is not a practice we tolerate internally or externally.

Assessments reflect real work

Our technical challenges are derived from problems we've actually encountered. We're evaluating how you think, not whether you can perform under artificial stress conditions.

We accommodate different needs

Tell us what you need to show up fully in this process — scheduling accommodations, accessibility requirements, alternative assessment formats. We'll make it work.

Chapter 06 — Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Our mission to serve
diverse communities
starts with building
a diverse team.

Different perspectives don't just make us stronger — for Vasl specifically, they make the product better. The VLAP signal taxonomy was built by people who understood the communities whose language it reads. The care model was designed by clinicians who have spent careers inside those communities. That specificity is the product. It requires the team to reflect it.

60%
Women & non-binary
team members
45%
Underrepresented
minorities
30%
First-generation
college attendees
15+
Countries
represented
Lived Experience as Expertise
We actively recruit from the communities we serve.

We partner with HBCUs, Hispanic-Serving Institutions, and community colleges to build inclusive talent pipelines. For many roles, lived experience in the communities Vasl serves is not just valued — it is expertise. A first-generation college student who navigated mental health without culturally responsive support understands something about this problem that no credential fully substitutes for.

Pay Equity
We audit regularly and publish the results internally.

Transparent salary bands are published internally. Regular pay equity audits compare compensation across gender, race, and background — with findings shared with the full team. We don't conduct these audits to demonstrate compliance. We conduct them because pay equity is a minimum standard for an organization committed to equity in everything else it does.

Career Development
Mentorship, sponsorship, and advancement — not just access.

We provide structured mentorship and sponsorship for team members from underrepresented backgrounds — not as a separate program, but as part of how we develop everyone. We promote from within when the person is ready, not when it's convenient. Advancement paths are documented and revisited in every performance review.

Inclusive Hiring
An equal opportunity employer — and we mean it structurally.

Vasl Health is an equal opportunity employer. We actively accommodate different needs throughout the hiring process. We use structured interview rubrics to reduce evaluator bias. We apply the same standards we hold the platform to — evidence-based, documented, and open to correction when we get it wrong.

Chapter 07 — FAQ

Questions we
actually get.

Answers to the things candidates ask before deciding whether to apply. If your question isn't here, email us.

Is the work genuinely remote, or is there an expectation to relocate?

Genuinely remote. We have team members across time zones and we build our processes around asynchronous work. The posted locations (San Francisco, Boston) indicate where leadership is concentrated — they are not requirements. We do quarterly in-person retreats and occasional team onsite work, for which we cover travel and accommodation.

What does work-life balance actually look like here?

Flexible hours, genuine PTO, and a leadership team that models taking time off — including mental health days. We have an unlimited PTO policy, but we also set minimum expectations for actual vacation time taken. The mission is urgent. That doesn't mean burnout is a virtue.

Do you sponsor visas?

Yes. We sponsor H-1B and O-1 visas, and we support green card applications for long-term team members. We handle the process and costs. If you're on a visa and this creates specific timeline requirements for your application, let us know early in the process.

What does career progression look like?

We promote from within when the person is ready — which we evaluate based on documented criteria, not tenure. Growth paths for every role are written down and revisited in every performance review. Many of our senior team members have grown significantly within their time at Vasl. We build people up, not just toward the next title.

How does the 20% time work in practice?

It's actual calendar time — not "use it when you can find it." One day per week is protected for research, passion projects, open source contributions, or exploration adjacent to your core role. Some of our best platform features have come from 20% projects. We take it seriously operationally, not just in the benefits description.

How long does the hiring process take?

Typically 2–3 weeks from application to offer. We move quickly while being thorough. If something creates a timeline constraint on your end — another offer, a visa deadline, a job transition — tell us early and we'll do our best to accommodate it.

What if I don't see a role that fits?

Email us. We're actively planning roles across clinical affairs, product management, DevOps, UX research, and business development. If your background is genuinely relevant to Vasl's work and you express that specifically, we'll read it seriously and respond.