Lead AI/ML Software Engineer – Remote

Optum is a global organization that delivers care, aided by technology to help millions of people live healthier lives. The work you do with our team will directly improve health outcomes by connecting people with the care, pharmacy benefits, data and resources they need to feel their best. Here, you will find a culture guided by inclusion, talented peers, comprehensive benefits and career development opportunities. Come make an impact on the communities we serve as you help us advance health optimization on a global scale. Join us to start Caring. Connecting. Growing together.

 

Optum AI is UnitedHealth Group’s enterprise AI team. We are AI/ML scientists and engineers with deep expertise in AI/ML engineering for health care. We develop AI/ML solutions for the highest impact opportunities across UnitedHealth Group businesses including UnitedHealthcare, Optum Financial, Optum Health, Optum Insight, and Optum Rx. In addition to transforming the health care journey through responsible AI/ML innovation, our charter also includes developing and supporting an enterprise AI/ML development platform.

 

Optum AI team members:

• Have impact at scale: We have the data and resources to make an impact at scale. When our solutions are deployed, they have the potential to make health care system work better for everyone
  
• Do ground-breaking work: Many of our current projects involve cutting edge ML, NLP and LLM techniques. Generative AI methods for working with structured and unstructured health care data are continuously being developed and improved. We are working in one of the most important frontiers of AI/ML research and development
  
• Partner with world-class experts on innovative solutions: Our team members are developing novel AI/ML solutions to business challenges. In some cases, this includes the opportunity to file patents and publish papers about the methods we develop. We also collaborate with AI/ML researchers at some of the world’s top universities» 

 

Are you passionate about building scalable AI/ML platforms that power real-world innovation? Join our United AI Studio team and help design the next generation of enterprise AI infrastructure. You’ll lead the development of robust, cloud-native solutions that support everything from generative AI to real-time inference—while mentoring a talented team and driving technical excellence.

 

You’ll enjoy the flexibility to work remotely * from anywhere within the U.S. as you take on some tough challenges. 

 

Primary Responsibilities: 

• Design, develop, and deploy scalable AI/ML solutions for complex business challenges
• Build distributed, fault-tolerant systems across multi-cloud environments (Azure, AWS, GCP, Databricks, Snowflake)
• Develop services for batch and real-time model inference using tools like AzureML, Databricks Workflows, SageMaker, and Airflow
• Implement MLOps best practices including CI/CD, model versioning, and monitoring
• Build infrastructure and tooling to support model hosting, DataOps, and MLOps workflows
• Develop and maintain big data pipelines using technologies like Apache Spark and Hadoop
• Mentor and guide a team of AI/ML engineers, fostering a culture of learning and innovation
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to align technical solutions with business goals
• Communicate complex AI/ML concepts to non-technical stakeholders
• Stay current with the latest AI/ML advancements and introduce new tools and techniques
• Contribute to the strategic direction of the platform team, including roadmap planning and goal setting

 

You’ll be rewarded and recognized for your performance in an environment that will challenge you and give you clear direction on what it takes to succeed in your role as well as provide development for other roles you may be interested in. 

Required Qualifications: 

• Bachelor’s degree in CS, AI, or related field
  
• 7+ years of professional software engineering experience, including 5+ years of hands-on coding in Python, Java, or similar languages with a focus on building scalable, maintainable systems
  
• 5+ years designing, building, and scaling AI/ML solutions on cloud platforms such as AWS, Azure, GCP, Databricks, or Snowflake
  
• 3+ years implementing MLOps practices, including CI/CD pipelines, model versioning, monitoring, and automated deployment workflows
• 2+ years in a senior or technical leadership role, with demonstrated experience mentoring engineers and driving technical direction
  

 

Preferred Qualifications:

• Hands-on experience with CI/CD, Docker, Kubernetes, and Infrastructure as Code tools like Terraform or CloudFormation
  
• Proven success deploying AI/ML models in production environments at scale with real-world use cases
  
• Proficiency in AI/ML frameworks (e.g., TensorFlow, PyTorch, Keras) and distributed systems (e.g., Apache Spark, Ray)
  
• Demonstrated ability to influence across matrixed teams and communicate technical vision and strategy effectively

 

*All employees working remotely will be required to adhere to UnitedHealth Group’s Telecommuter Policy

 

The salary range for this role is $106,800 to $194,200 annually based on full-time employment. Pay is based on several factors including but not limited to local labor markets, education, work experience, certifications, etc. UnitedHealth Group complies with all minimum wage laws as applicable. In addition to your salary, UnitedHealth Group offers benefits such as, a comprehensive benefits package, incentive and recognition programs, equity stock purchase and 401k contribution (all benefits are subject to eligibility requirements). No matter where or when you begin a career with UnitedHealth Group, you’ll find a far-reaching choice of benefits and incentives.

 

Application Deadline: This will be posted for a minimum of 2 business days or until a sufficient candidate pool has been collected. Job posting may come down early due to volume of applicants.

 

At UnitedHealth Group, our mission is to help people live healthier lives and make the health system work better for everyone. We believe everyone–of every race, gender, sexuality, age, location and income–deserves the opportunity to live their healthiest life. Today, however, there are still far too many barriers to good health which are disproportionately experienced by people of color, historically marginalized groups and those with lower incomes. We are committed to mitigating our impact on the environment and enabling and delivering equitable care that addresses health disparities and improves health outcomes – an enterprise priority reflected in our mission.   

 

 

UnitedHealth Group is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer under applicable law and qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, national origin, religion, age, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, or protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by local, state, or federal laws, rules, or regulations.

 

UnitedHealth Group is a drug – free workplace. Candidates are required to pass a drug test before beginning employment.