Medical Director, Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist

Medical Director (Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist - Remote)

We are searching for a board-certified Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist to serve as Medical Director of our psychiatry service line. Reporting directly to the Chief Medical Officer (CMO), you will own the clinical architecture of psychiatry at Brightline — ensuring excellence in care quality, provider development, regulatory compliance, and day-to-day operational execution.

This is not a traditional medical director role. We are building something different: a hybrid virtual and in-person pediatric mental health practice that uses technology and data to deliver better care at scale. We are looking for someone energized by that challenge — who brings fresh thinking, genuine comfort with AI tools, and the clinical credibility to lead a team of NPs and prescribers. You will carry a clinical caseload of up to 50%, adjusted over time as administrative responsibilities grow. You will collaborate closely with peer service line owners in therapy, psychological testing, and coaching, and will report directly to the CMO.

Responsibilities:

Clinical Care & Service Line Ownership

• Carry a clinical caseload of up to 50% (adjusted as administrative responsibilities evolve), providing psychiatric diagnostic evaluations and ongoing medication management to pediatric patients across multiple states.

• Own the psychiatry service line end-to-end: clinical quality, provider performance, care protocols, and alignment with Brightline's evidence-based care standards.

• Collaborate closely with peer service line owners in therapy, psychological testing, and coaching to ensure coordinated, multidisciplinary care delivery.

• Sign and maintain Collaborative Practice Agreements (CPAs) with nurse practitioners; partner with the CMO, Legal, and Compliance on the strategic framework governing CPAs across jurisdictions.

• Document work meticulously, including session notes, care plans, and progress in the electronic health record.

People Management & Provider Development

• Directly supervise and manage a psychiatry team composed primarily of nurse practitioners, as well as a pediatrician, with potential growth to include additional psychiatrists.

• Exercise hiring and personnel decision authority in collaboration with the CMO, including recruitment, onboarding, performance management, and when necessary, offboarding.

• Approve timecards and manage scheduling for part-time direct reports.

• Conduct regular 1:1s, case reviews, and clinical office hours to support the professional growth, clinical development, and accountability of team members.

• Foster a culture of psychological safety, high standards, and continuous learning within the psychiatry department.

Clinical Quality & Risk Management

• Develop and maintain clinical protocols, treatment pathways, and quality assurance processes for the psychiatry service line.

• Lead chart reviews and ongoing quality monitoring to ensure adherence to evidence-based care and Brightline's clinical standards.

• Identify and escalate systemic clinical risks, regulatory issues, and practice gaps, partnering with the CMO and Compliance to address them proactively.

• Contribute to organizational policies and procedures as they relate to psychiatry, controlled substance prescribing, and multi-state telehealth compliance.

Budgetary Collaboration & Operations

• Co-manage the psychiatry department budget in collaboration with the CMO, providing input on resource allocation, staffing needs, and operational priorities.

• Monitor productivity and care delivery metrics to support service line efficiency and sustainability.

• Partner with Care Operations to optimize workflows, reduce clinician burden, and ensure smooth day-to-day function of the psychiatry team.

Technology & AI-Enhanced Care

• Effectively utilize AI tools to enhance clinical workflows, documentation quality, and care delivery within the psychiatry service line and in multidisciplinary collaboration.

• Partner with Product and Engineering to provide clinical input on technology builds, including documentation tools, decision support features, and patient-facing enhancements.

• Actively engage with emerging telehealth technologies and help evaluate new tools for safety, efficacy, and clinical fit.

• Contribute clinical perspective to Brightline's broader AI strategy, owned by the CMO and executive leadership team.

Clinical Quality & Risk Management

• Develop corporate-wide methods, techniques, and evaluation criteria for psychiatric care to ensure alignment with evidence-based practices.

• Resolve highly complex clinical and operational issues where standard field-specific principles may not fully apply, particularly at the intersection of telehealth and emerging regulations.

• Make critical decisions regarding clinical safety protocols and "Collaborative Practice Agreements" where the outcomes have a long-term impact on the success of the organization.

• Direct the development of new methods for chart reviews, quality assurance, and risk mitigation across multi-state jurisdictions.

Innovation & Product Integration

• Drive results by harmonizing views across Engineering, Product, and Care Ops to build state-of-the-art, technology-driven care models.

• Lead the clinical strategy for AI tooling and scalable telehealth innovations, balancing aggressive growth with rigorous patient safety.

• Oversee the cross-licensing strategy to ensure the prescribing team can meet the demands of a rapidly growing, multi-state member base.

Requirements:

Clinical Expertise

• Board-certified Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist with proven expertise in conducting comprehensive psychiatric evaluations, diagnoses, and treatments for a diverse range of mental health concerns in pediatric patients.

• Ability to work collaboratively within a multidisciplinary team to incorporate a pathway-driven approach to delivering high-quality, evidence-based care to members and families.

• Multi-state licensed or willing and able to obtain cross-licensure, with administrative support and financial sponsorship provided.

People Management Experience

• Demonstrated direct people management experience, including supervision, performance development, and personnel decisions — whether through a formal medical director role, chief residency, chief fellowship, or comparable leadership position.

• Experience supervising nurse practitioners and comfort supporting the clinical growth, development, and personnel management of a prescribing team.

• Ability to foster a culture of clinical excellence, psychological safety, and accountability.

Innovation & Adaptability

• Approaches care delivery with fresh thinking; not rigidly anchored to traditional models or "how things have always been done."

• Comfort and demonstrated experience with AI tools, telehealth platforms, and digital health technologies.

• Thrives in fast-paced, ambiguous environments where building from scratch is the norm rather than the exception.

• Passionate about technology-driven care delivery models and committed to continuously improving care quality through innovation.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Experience working collaboratively with cross-functional teams (Product, Engineering, Care Operations) to support technology-driven care delivery models.

• Clear and effective communicator in a fully remote setting, keeping team members informed, engaged, and aligned.

• Ability to translate clinical needs and priorities into actionable input for non-clinical stakeholders.

Nice to Have:

• Willingness to travel periodically (a few times per quarter) to support leadership alignment, team engagement, and key organizational initiatives.

• Preference for New York licensure; candidates with licensure in other states and openness to cross-licensure are strongly considered.

• Prior experience building clinical protocols, care pathways, or quality frameworks in a startup or high-growth environment.

• Hands-on experience with AI-assisted documentation or clinical decision support tools.

We offer several benefits, perks, and stipends:

• Medical, Dental, Vision, Long-Term Disability, Life Insurance, Flexible Spending Account, and 401k

• 12 Company Holidays + Floating Holidays, Holiday Shutdown, Paid - Time Off, Parental Leave

• Health and Wellness Stipend, Home Office Reimbursement and Professional Development Reimbursement

• Stock Options

At Brightline we have built a total rewards philosophy that includes fair, equitable, competitive, geo-based compensation that is performance and potential based. Our strategy is based on robust market research, including external advisory specializing in national compensation, and thoughtful input from every level of our organization. It is a combination of a cash salary, equity, benefits, wellbeing, and opportunity. In compliance with the Equal Pay for Equal Work Act, the annual base salary range is $250,00-$280,000.

Our Commitment to Building a Diverse, Equitable, and Inclusive Workforce

At Brightline, we believe that Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging are essential to the foundation upon which our mission is built. We are committed to:

• building a future where all families can access inclusive, high-quality care

• creating an environment that encourages our employees to show up authentically, reach their highest potential, and have an equal opportunity to thrive

• systematically evaluating and improving our inherent beliefs, observed behaviors, structures, and systems

• ensuring that every employee, candidate, client, and family we serve is valued and respected

About Brightline

Brightline is a therapy and psychiatry practice that delivers expert pediatric, teen, and parental mental health care to families and kids up to age 18. Brightline’s virtual and in-person outpatient services include diagnostic evaluation, therapy, psychiatry services (e.g. medication management), and psychological testing (to assess learning differences, school readiness, executive functioning difficulties [e.g. ADHD], and autism). In addition to Brightline’s generalized support, we offer focused programs including those that support anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorders, ADHD, and disruptive behaviors. Founded in 2019, Brightline has delivered care to tens of thousands of families with industry-leading results. We’ve been nationally recognized for clinical excellence and innovation for several years — recent awards include the Fast Company 50 Most Innovative Companies (2022) and Behavioral Health Business Companies to Watch Award (2024). Brightline is based in Palo Alto and is backed by investors including Boston Children’s Hospital, Northwell Health, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, Google Ventures, KKR, and Oak HC/FT.