Job alert: Y Combinator startup seeks founding engineer for AI-powered OCD therapy

Mango Health, a Y Combinator-backed startup, is hiring a founding engineer to build AI-powered therapy tools for people with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The San Francisco-based company aims to democratize OCD treatment by creating an AI guide that makes therapeutic interventions accessible without requiring expensive specialist care that can cost thousands of dollars.

What you should know: Mango Health is developing what they call the world’s leading AI Guide for individuals with OCD, positioning itself as the “Headspace for OCD treatment.”

• The company was founded in 2023 by Zachary Gittelman and Jamison Mercurio, went through Y Combinator’s W24 batch, and currently has a team of just two people.
• They’re offering $120K-$180K salary plus 0.50%-3.00% equity for a founding engineer role requiring 1+ years of experience.

The technical challenge: The role involves building AI systems that integrate established therapeutic modalities like Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), internet-based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (iCBT), and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT).

• The tech stack includes React, Python, and large language models (LLMs), with advanced AI tools like BAML for improving response quality and consistency.
• Engineers will work on context engineering, business logic routing, tool calling, and memory management to enhance AI interactions with users.
• The position requires someone willing to work across the full stack, from concept to deployment, with significant autonomy to identify and build valuable features.

In plain English: The job involves teaching AI systems to deliver proven therapy techniques through software. Think of it like programming a digital therapist that can remember past conversations, make smart decisions about what advice to give, and adapt its responses based on each person’s specific needs—all while using the same evidence-based methods that human therapists use.

Why this matters: The startup is tackling a significant gap in mental health care accessibility, where traditional OCD treatment requires specialized therapists that many people cannot afford or access.

• The company emphasizes that candidates should have a genuine passion for mental health work, noting that “you won’t be optimizing ads, building a finance tool, or constructing data pipelines.”
• They’re looking for engineers willing to “get at the human condition and understand individual’s core motivations and fears,” suggesting the role requires both technical skills and emotional intelligence.

What they’re looking for: The ideal candidate should be prepared to learn about therapeutic concepts and human psychology while building cutting-edge AI applications.

• “Bonus points if you are already familiar with therapeutic concepts or have been or are in counseling,” the job posting states.
• The role demands someone who wants to “take extreme ownership” and is “willing to go from concept phase to building on the frontend and backend, testing, and deploying.”