Join us as we work to create a thriving ecosystem that delivers accessible, high-quality, and sustainable healthcare for all.

The Opportunity:

The Customer Onboarding Organization partners with new and existing athenahealth customers to deliver a predictable and outcomes-driven implementation journey. We work directly with practice owners, executives, providers, and other stakeholders to understand their goals and guide them toward the best path for adopting athenaOne for both their medical and dental practice needs. Through deliberate expectation-setting and proactive communication, Customer Onboarding helps customers make the decisions that lead to stronger performance and an efficient transition to athena.

Position Summary:

The Dental Onboarding Sr. Associate serves as a trusted advisor and project lead throughout implementation, ensuring that both the customer and athena meet the responsibilities of our co-sourced model to achieve a timely, predictable, and high-quality go-live. Within our Community Health team, the Sr. Associate operates at times as part of an integrated onboarding team—including Program Management, Project Associates, SMEs, and Director oversight— while also operating independently on dedicated dental projects. Whether operating independently or jointly with their medical onboarding peers, the Sr. Associate is accountable for meeting all readiness criteria and driving successful post-live outcomes.

The Sr. Associate surfaces risks early, aligns internal and external stakeholders, and works cross-functionally across the athena ecosystem—Sales, Product, Customer Success, and other operational teams—to remove friction, enable informed decision-making, and keep customers moving with clarity and purpose.

Responsibilities may include, but are not limited to:  

Customer Obsessed Project Leadership

• Lead customers through the organizational, workflow, and behavioral changes required to successfully adopt athenaOne Dental.

• Help stakeholders understand the impacts of new processes by guiding key decisions, clarifying roles and responsibilities, and reinforcing the behaviors that enable desired outcomes.

• Operate both independently and within a matrixed team structure to drive accountability and coordinate day-to-day project activities across a portfolio of customers, ensuring timely and predictable delivery.

• Proactively communicate project status, risks, mitigation strategies, and scope or timeline changes to both internal teams and customers—enabling joint problem-solving and aligned next steps.

• Set clear, accurate expectations around athena’s product capabilities and service model to support informed decision-making throughout implementation.

• Provide thoughtful, consultative guidance on recommended workflows and best-practice use of athenaOne Dental, ensuring customer choices support long-term success.

• Collaborate closely with the cross-functional Onboarding team—including the Director sponsor, Program Manager, and Project Associates—to deliver a cohesive, high-quality implementation experience.

• Navigate and manage escalations with a balanced, data-driven, and consultative approach—addressing root causes, aligning stakeholders, and driving resolutions that support both customer outcomes and athena’s standards.

• Maintain accurate, transparent documentation of project milestones, decisions, risks, and meeting outcomes to ensure alignment and predictable progress.

Organizational Contribution & Professional Growth

• Support the onboarding of new team members by sharing best practices, offering guidance, and helping them integrate into athena’s implementation approach.

• Offer insight and expertise to advance strategic priorities across Customer Onboarding and contribute as a Subject Matter Expert in leadership-led initiatives.

• Promote a culture of continuous improvement by sharing lessons learned, modeling self-awareness, and elevating team performance through deliberate knowledge-sharing.

• Stay current on product releases, operational changes, and internal development opportunities to continually grow your expertise and strengthen your impact.

• Build strong, trust-based relationships with cross-functional and third-party partners, helping streamline workflows and improve the broader customer onboarding experience.

Desired Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree strongly preferred, ideally in Business Administration, Healthcare Management, Health Informatics, Public Health, Education, or another closely related field.

• 3–5 years of related professional experience, ideally within healthcare or a closely aligned industry, with demonstrated expertise in revenue cycle management, electronic dental records (EDR), and/or electronic medical records (EMR), gained through roles in implementations, client services, or other strategic onboarding functions.

• Minimum one year of project management experience leading complex, multi-stakeholder engagements, ideally within a services or SaaS implementation setting.

• Executive-level communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to effectively navigate and mediate conflict and foster honest dialogue. 

• Direct experience with revenue cycle management at a healthcare-related practice or company a strong plus 

• Familiarity or experience working in an established dental practice or adjacent company a strong plus.

Behaviors & Abilities Required:

• Customer obsessed mindset 

• Consultative listener and empathic communicator, able to see things from the customer’s point of view  

• High emotional intelligence and stellar customer relationship skills

• Self-driven and results-oriented with a positive and constructive outlook  

• Ability to efficiently manage and prioritize work across multiple accounts 

• Ability to take initiative with little to no direction 

• Proactive and high energy work style 

• Ability to successfully negotiate difficult conversations 

• Conflict resolution skills  

• Ability to travel as needed, typically 50% or less

• Ability to work independently as well as part of an extended, cross-functional team

Expected Compensation

The base salary range shown reflects the full range for this role from minimum to maximum. At athenahealth, base pay depends on multiple factors, including job-related experience, relevant knowledge and skills, how your qualifications compare to others in similar roles, and geographical market rates.  Base pay is only one part of our competitive Total Rewards package - depending on role eligibility, we offer both short and long-term incentives by way of an annual discretionary bonus plan, variable compensation plan, and equity plans.