Director, Clinical AI

New York, NYPosted 11 days ago

Job Description

<div class="content-intro"><div>Pelago is the world’s leading virtual clinic for Substance Use Management. Our program provides guidance, support and treatment for members seeking to overcome their tobacco, alcohol and opioid use. From unhealthy habits to active substance use disorders, Pelago delivers a personalized solution based on individual health, habits, genetics, and goals, providing care for members wherever they might be on the substance use spectrum.</div> <div> </div> <div>Pelago's suite of virtual services ranges from education, to cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to comprehensive medication-assisted treatment (MAT). Pelago enables employers and health plans to deliver accessible, affordable, and effective treatment for substance misuse.</div> <div> </div> <div>Pelago has scaled to helping hundreds of employers and health plans and has already helped more than 750,000 members manage their substance use better. We have recently closed our Series C and raised over $151m from leading global investors. If you are passionate about making an impact on the health of others, join us and make it happen!</div></div><h3>Overview of the Role: </h3> <p>Pelago is the world's leading virtual clinic for Substance Use Management, and we are expanding the frontier of what virtual care can do through AI. As we build and scale the AI arm of our clinical operations, we are looking for a Director, Clinical AI to serve as the clinical backbone of this work, bridging care delivery, product development, and strategic partnership at a company-wide level.</p> <p>This is a director-level role for a clinician who is equally at home in a strategy conversation and a compliance review, and who can move fluidly between clinical, technical, and executive audiences. This role sits at the intersection of clinical excellence and AI-driven product innovation. This is currently an individual contributor role with a clear path toward building and leading a team as the function grows.</p> <p>This is a hybrid role with a high-collaboration rhythm (3 days/week in our NYC office).</p> <h3>In This Role You Will: </h3> <p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]"><strong>Clinical Operations Leadership</strong></p> <ul class="[li_&]:mb-0 [li_&]:mt-1 [li_&]:gap-1 [&:not(:last-child)_ul]:pb-1 [&:not(:last-child)_ol]:pb-1 list-disc flex flex-col gap-1 pl-8 mb-3"> <li class="whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Serve as the senior clinical decision-maker overseeing Pelago's AI-driven mental and behavioral health care programs.</li> <li class="whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Own the day-to-day clinical operations of the AI arm, ensuring that AI-assisted care meets Pelago's standards for quality, compliance, regulatory requirements, and documentation.</li> <li class="whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Manage clinical escalations and serve as the senior point of accountability for clinical decisions within the AI care program.</li> </ul> <p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]"><strong>AI Product Collaboration</strong></p> <ul class="[li_&]:mb-0 [li_&]:mt-1 [li_&]:gap-1 [&:not(:last-child)_ul]:pb-1 [&:not(:last-child)_ol]:pb-1 list-disc flex flex-col gap-1 pl-8 mb-3"> <li class="whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Work closely with product, design, and engineering teams to provide clinical annotation, structured feedback, and ongoing quality review of AI products.</li> <li class="whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Serve as the clinical voice in product design discussions, contributing insight that keeps AI tools grounded in evidence-based care delivery.</li> </ul> <p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]"><strong>Strategic Leadership</strong></p> <ul class="[li_&]:mb-0 [li_&]:mt-1 [li_&]:gap-1 [&:not(:last-child)_ul]:pb-1 [&:not(:last-child)_ol]:pb-1 list-disc flex flex-col gap-1 pl-8 mb-3"> <li class="whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Represent clinical priorities in cross-functional strategy discussions, standing in for the VP of Care Delivery when needed.</li> <li class="whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Partner with the Chief Scientific Officer on clinical standards, research alignment, and innovation.</li> <li class="whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Help shape the long-term vision for AI-assisted care at Pelago.</li> </ul> <p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]"><strong>External Stakeholder Engagement</strong></p> <ul class="[li_&]:mb-0 [li_&]:mt-1 [li_&]:gap-1 [&:not(:last-child)_ul]:pb-1 [&:not(:last-child)_ol]:pb-1 list-disc flex flex-col gap-1 pl-8 mb-3"> <li class="whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Build and manage relationships with mental health agencies, clinical vendors, and external partners.</li> <li class="whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Act as Pelago's clinical representative in external settings, upholding our standards and values.</li> </ul> <p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]"><strong>Internal Alignment</strong></p> <ul class="[li_&]:mb-0 [li_&]:mt-1 [li_&]:gap-1 [&:not(:last-child)_ul]:pb-1 [&:not(:last-child)_ol]:pb-1 list-disc flex flex-col gap-1 pl-8 mb-3"> <li class="whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Facilitate alignment between Clinical and Product teams, ensuring consistent communication and coordinated execution.</li> <li class="whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Work hand-in-hand with the Care Manager team to ensure continuity between AI-assisted and human-delivered care.</li> </ul> <h3><strong>The Background We're Looking For:</strong></h3> <ul> <li class="whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Master's or Doctoral degree in a clinical field (LCSW, LPC, PsyD, PhD, or equivalent); active licensure required.</li> <li class="whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">8+ years of clinical experience in mental or behavioral health, with at least 3 years in a leadership or manager-level role.</li> <li class="whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Experience working at the intersection of clinical care and technology or digital health.</li> <li class="whitespace-normal break-words pl-2"><strong>Hands-on AI fluency:</strong> has integrated AI tools into their own clinical or operational workflows, can critically evaluate model outputs, and understands both the capabilities and failure modes of AI in a clinical context.</li> <li class="whitespace-normal break-words pl-2"><strong>Strong technical collaboration:</strong> able to work closely with product and engineering counterparts, iterate alongside technical teams, and contribute meaningfully to how AI tools are shaped and improved.</li> <li class="whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Experience managing external partnerships and engaging with health agencies or vendors.</li> <li class="whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Strong communication and influencing skills across clinical, technical, and executive audiences.</li> </ul> <h3><strong>What you’ll love about us:</strong></h3> <p>We have a whole host of perks for our people! From life essentials to nice-to-haves, there are more than a few good reasons to love working with us. We strive to ensure Pelago employees have equitable access to healthcare, wellbeing, time away, and then some.</p> <ul> <li>Generous and meaningful equity package</li> <li>Full Medical, Dental, & Vision coverage </li> <li>401k Plan</li> <li>Unlimited PTO Policy, 10 paid holidays, & company wide “Me Time” Days</li> <li>Paid maternity, paternity & new parent leave</li> <li>Flexible working environment</li> <li>Annual Learning and Development stipend to support continued learning and career development</li> <li>Wellness Reimbursement Program </li> <li>Access to Reproductive & Family Planning Care </li> <li>Substance Use Support for employees and family members </li> </ul> <p><strong>At this time, we are unable to offer visa sponsorship for this position. </strong></p> <p><em>Please note that Pelago is dedicated to providing accommodations to candidates upon request. If you need accommodations at any point throughout the interview process, please reach out to your recruiter.</em></p><div class="content-pay-transparency"><div class="pay-input"><div class="description"><p>The provided range reflects our US target salary range for this full-time position, which is part of our broader total compensation package, including incentive bonus program, stock options, comprehensive benefits, and incentive pay applicable to eligible roles. Individual pay within the range will vary based on a variety of factors like role-related experience and education, internal pay equity, and other relevant business factors. At Pelago, we are committed to an equitable and fair pay philosophy and review total compensation for our employees at least twice a year.</p></div><div class="title">Base Pay Range</div><div class="pay-range"><span>$160,000</span><span class="divider">—</span><span>$175,000 USD</span></div></div></div>