The health tech sector is no longer a niche space, but it’s a critical force reshaping how care is delivered, measured, and managed. Behind every platform is a multidisciplinary team of engineers, clinicians, scientists, and behavioral experts turning complexity into accessible care. At the center of this shift is Joe Kiani, Masimo and Willow Laboratories founder. He is helping lead efforts to build smarter health tools as well as support the people required to scale them.
As digital health becomes more complex, the demand for interdisciplinary talent is rising. Startups that once operated with a small engineering team and a physician advisor are now hiring data scientists, behavioral designers, security analysts, and user experience leads, all under one roof.
From Startup Scrappiness to Specialized Roles
In the early days of health tech, companies often relied on lean teams and generalists. But as space matures, roles are becoming more specialized. Today’s platforms need experts who can translate health data into actionable insights and infrastructure professionals who can ensure systems are secure, fast, and scalable.
Willow Laboratories embodies this approach in the development of Nutu™. A seemingly simple prompt about meal timing reflects the behind-the-scenes collaboration of AI engineers, metabolic researchers, and behavioral scientists. This shift from scrappy to strategic reflects a broader trend in the industry. Teams are growing not just in size but in function. Companies that want to compete must think carefully about who they hire and how those roles connect across the organization.
Hiring for Personalization and Precision
One of the biggest differentiators in health tech today is personalization. Platforms like Nutu respond to each user’s real-time data to deliver tailored recommendations. To do this well, companies need talent that can handle high-dimensional datasets, interpret biometric signals, and design adaptive user experiences.
That’s why health tech companies are expanding hiring in data science, machine learning and personalized medicine. It’s no longer enough to track steps or log meals, but today’s platforms must understand how stress, sleep, and nutrition interact for a specific person.
The Rise of Behavioral and Human-Centered Design
As platforms aim to support long-term habits, not just one-time actions, behavioral science has taken on a larger role in health tech hiring. Teams are now recruiting professionals who understand how people make decisions, stick with routines, and respond to feedback.
It includes behavioral economists, clinical psychologists and habit formation researchers who help craft the tone, timing and format of digital prompts.
Security and Compliance Talent in High Demand
With sensitive health data at the core of many platforms, companies are also hiring aggressively in cybersecurity, risk management, and regulatory compliance. Startups that once outsourced these functions are now building in-house teams to meet expanding privacy and safety expectations. Health tech employees often work across multiple regulatory frameworks, including HIPAA, GDPR and emerging AI governance laws. Professionals with both technical expertise and regulatory knowledge are in short supply and highly valued.
Remote Work and Global Talent Pools
The pandemic permanently shifted where and how people work, and health tech has embraced this flexibility. Many companies now recruit globally, assembling teams from different geographies and time zones. This approach allows access to a wider talent pool and supports diverse perspectives on product development.
This flexibility has supported rapid innovation for companies. Teams can move faster, iterate continuously and test features with broader user groups, all without the traditional limitations of a single-site team. That said, remote hiring comes with challenges, especially around collaboration, compliance, and onboarding. Health tech leaders are increasingly investing in systems that help distributed teams stay aligned and efficient.
Upskilling and Retention Are Strategic Priorities
Finding talent is just the beginning. With high competition, health tech companies are also focusing on how to retain skilled professionals. That means offering professional development, mentoring, and paths for internal advancement. Technology develops quickly in fast-growing sectors like personalized healthcare. Upskilling employees ensures that teams stay current on the latest tools, frameworks and clinical insights.
Joe Kiani, Masimo founder, explains, “Our goal with Nutu is to put the power of health back into people’s hands by offering real-time, science-backed insights that make change not just possible but achievable.” That same principle of empowerment extends to the teams behind the technology. When people feel empowered in their roles, equipped with knowledge and supported in growth, they’re more likely to stay and contribute meaningfully.
Interdisciplinary Teams Are the New Norm
Modern health platforms don’t function in silos. A single insight delivered to a user may involve a data scientist, a clinician, a product manager, and a UX writer. Companies are now building integrated teams that work cross-functionally from the start.
This model improves cohesion and accelerates development, but it also requires hiring people who are comfortable collaborating outside of their field. Soft skills, communication, flexibility and curiosity are becoming as important as technical expertise. Teams work in cross-functional pods to tackle product challenges. Engineers, behavior specialists and designers meet weekly to review data, test changes and adjust based on user experience.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Hiring
As the sector grows, there is also increasing attention to diversity and inclusion. Health tools must work across different populations, and building inclusive teams is one way to ensure products reflect the needs of diverse users. Companies are expanding their hiring pipelines to reach underrepresented groups and creating cultures where people of all backgrounds can thrive. This approach strengthens the product and the business.
Teams with diverse perspectives tend to build more comprehensive, empathetic tools, which are essential in a field like chronic care, where context and culture matter.
Building the Infrastructure for the Future
The growth of health tech isn’t slowing. As platforms become more sophisticated and user expectations rise, the companies that succeed can be those that match innovation with talent strategy. That means more than just hiring fast, but it means hiring smart, building interdisciplinary teams, prioritizing user-centered design, and ensuring that technology serves both the product and the people who use it.
Health tech companies aren’t just building apps. They’re building systems of care, and that system is only as strong as the people behind it. The future of health innovation lies in how well we invest, not only in code and sensors but also in talent, collaboration, and real-world insight.