Vice President, Data Scientist – UnitedHealthcare

At UnitedHealthcare, we’re simplifying the health care experience, creating healthier communities and removing barriers to quality care. The work you do here impacts the lives of millions of people for the better. Come build the health care system of tomorrow, making it more responsive, affordable and optimized. Ready to make a difference? Join us to start Caring. Connecting. Growing together.

The Vice President Data Scientist will join the newly created UnitedHealthcare Data Science Capability reporting to the Chief Data Scientist. This role will lead and participate in the development of new predictive techniques to address the business aligned use cases identified. This leader will partner cross-functionally with the broad UnitedHealth Group tech ecosystem. The Vice President will need excellent analytical thinking and problem solving skills to collaborate within the enterprise architecture while designing new data solutions and productized approach to data science. The leader will oversee a small, dedicated team of contemporary data scientists and work with the broader analytics teams within finance, actuarial and healthcare economics teams.

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

Hybrid in MN/DC: This position follows a hybrid schedule with four in-office days per week.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Collaborate with business leaders to problem solve the analytical approach to new and enhanced insights resting on advanced data science techniques
• Develop and implement predictive models, machine learning algorithms and statistical analyses to solve complex business problems
• Design experiments and evaluate model performance using appropriate validations techniques
• Lead the coding and peer review process of predictive techniques to secure explainable and ethical modeling design
• Detailed-oriented approach to use machine learning methods designed to uncover new insights and maximize the value of data available across data domains
• Develop data pipelines and automate repetitive analytics processes for optimized business efficiencies
• Stay current on emerging techniques, technologies and best practices in data science and AI
• Spearhead and influence community of practice across the enterprise by positive interactions and knowledge sharing
• Build and lead a high-performing, multidisciplinary team of data scientists and machine learning engineers and AI product partners

Preferred Technical Expertise

Machine Learning & Advanced Analytics

• Predictive modeling (classification, regression, survival analysis)
• Ensemble methods, gradient boosting, random forests, XGBoost/LightGBM
• Deep learning (NLP, sequence models, representation learning)
• Probabilistic modeling and Bayesian methods
• Time-series forecasting (claims trend, utilization, membership, RAF forecasting)
• Causal inference and uplift modeling for interventions and care programs

Productization of Data Science & AI

• Building analytic products (risk engines, utilization predictors, network tools)
• Designing feedback loops for continuous improvement
• A/B testing and impact measurement in operational workflows
• Integrating AI into digital member, provider experiences and internal workflows

Insurance Data Expertise

• Claims data (medical, pharmacy, behavioral, dental)
• EHR/clinical data, lab results, clinical notes
• Risk adjustment models
• Quality measurement frameworks
• Social determinants of health data integration
• Provider data: NPI, cost/quality variation, contracting data

Natural Language Processing (NLP)

• Clinical document processing (progress notes, medical records, appeals)
• Claims and prior authorization text extraction/automation
• Named entity recognition for diagnoses, procedures, risk factors
• Large language models (LLMs) for summarization, routing, code capture, member communication

AI/ML Engineering & Deployment

• Model operationalization and MLOps
• Feature stores, model registries and artifact tracking
• Model monitoring (drift, bias, performance, retraining)
• Building scalable AI services/APIs for production
• Real-time inference and decision-support integration
• Cloud ML platforms knowledge

Data Engineering

• Data warehousing and lakehouse platforms (Databricks, Snowflake knowledge)
• Data pipelines for high-volume claims and clinical data
• Data modeling for healthcare operations (member, provider, claims)

Preferred Programming & Tools knowledge

• Python (pandas, scikit-learn, PyTorch, TensorFlow)
• SAS (STAT, ETS and OR)
• R (useful for actuarial, risk, quality analytics)
• Spark/PySpark
• Visualization and BI platforms (Power BI)

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:

• 10+ years of proven «hands-on» data science modeling experience in an applied field
• Experience in healthcare analytics, insurance operations, actuarial science or applied AI
• Understanding of the insurance ecosystem, including medical cost drivers, regulatory frameworks, claims workflows and quality performance metrics
• Proven track record of delivering data science and AI solutions that drive measurable impact and scale

 

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

Pay is based on several factors including but not limited to local labor markets, education, work experience, certifications, etc. In addition to your salary, we offer 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 us, you’ll find a far-reaching choice of benefits and incentives. The salary for this role will range from $200,400 to $343,500 annually based on full-time employment. We comply with all minimum wage laws as applicable.

  

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.