Principal Software Engineer

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.  

As a Principal Software Engineer, you will be a pivotal technical leader, driving the architectural vision, design, and implementation of our most critical and complex software solutions. You will leverage your deep expertise across a broad range of technologies including .NET, React, Scala, cloud platforms (Azure preferred), data engineering(Databricks), and emerging AI/ML capabilities to build scalable, resilient, and high-performant systems. You will mentor fellow engineers, influence technical roadmaps across multiple teams, and champion engineering excellence and innovation, including the practical application of Generative AI tools.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Architectural Leadership & Design:
  • Lead the design, architecture, and development of highly scalable, available, and performant software solutions, utilizing modern technologies like .NET, React, Scala, and cloud-native services
  • Functionally decompose complex business and technical problems into simple, straight-forward, and extensible solutions
  • Ensure the quality of architecture and design of systems, considering system inter-dependencies, limitations, and long-term strategic goals
  • Define and drive the technical strategy for data engineering initiatives, utilizing platforms like Azure Databricks for large-scale data processing, transformation, and analytics
• Technical Execution & Innovation:
  • Possess expert knowledge in performance, scalability, enterprise system architecture, security best practices, and engineering best practices
  • Spearhead the integration and practical application of Generative AI tools and techniques to enhance developer productivity and build innovative product features
  • Develop and implement robust solutions on cloud platforms (Azure preferred),leveraging IaaS, PaaS, and serverless paradigms
  • Design and manage efficient SQL database schemas and optimize query performance for critical applications
  • Contribute to and guide MLOps practices for deploying, monitoring, and managing machine learning models in production (preferred)
  • Stay current with industry trends, emerging technologies (especially in Cloud, Data, AI/ML, and distributed systems), and benchmark our technology against competing systems
• Mentorship & Influence:
  • Actively mentor and guide senior and junior engineers, fostering a culture of technical excellence, continuous learning, and innovation
  • Exert technical influence over multiple teams, increasing their productivity and effectiveness by sharing deep knowledge and experience
  • Assist in the career development of others and help managers guide the career growth of their team members
• Collaboration & Strategy:
  • Collaborate closely with product managers, architects, data scientists, and other engineering teams to translate business requirements into robust technical solutions
  • Navigate and influence design and roadmap decisions across various teams to align with overall business and technology strategy
  • Contribute to the company’s intellectual property through innovative solutions and potentially patents
• Operational Excellence:
  • Drive the adoption of modern software engineering practices, including CI/CD, Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC), automated testing, and observability
  • Ensure solutions are built with security, compliance, and data governance best practices in mind
• Comply with the terms and conditions of the employment contract, company policies and procedures, and any and all directives (such as, but not limited to, transfer and/or re-assignment to different work locations, change in teams and/or work shifts, policies in regards to flexibility of work benefits and/or work environment, alternative work arrangements, and other decisions that may arise due to the changing business environment). The Company may adopt, vary or rescind these policies and directives in its absolute discretion and without any limitation (implied or otherwise) on its ability to do so

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related technical fi eld, or equivalent practical experience
• 10+ years of professional software engineering experience, with a proven track record of leading the design and delivery of large-scale, complex software systems
• Technical Proficiency (Core):
  • Cloud Computing:
    • Extensive hands-on experience with cloud platforms, with a solid preference for Microsoft Azure (e.g., Azure App Service, Azure Functions Azure SQL, Azure Data Factory, Azure Synapse, Azure Kubernetes Service)
  • Data Engineering:
    • Proven experience in designing and implementing data pipelines, ETL/ELT processes, and big data solutions, specifically with Azure Databricks and Apache Spark
  • Programming Languages:
    • Deep expertise in multiple languages, with significant experience in NET (C#), React (JavaScript/TypeScript), Scala and Python
  • Databases:
    • Solid proficiency in SQL databases (eg., SQL Server, PostgreSQL),including schema design, query optimization, and performance tuning
  • Architecture:
    • Expertise in designing distributed systems, microservices architecture, event-driven architectures, and RESTful APIs
  • Software Design Principles:
    • Solid understanding of OOP, SOLID principles, design patterns, and domain-driven design
• Technical Proficiency (Emerging & Important):
  • Generative AI:
    • Experience in utilizing Generative AI tools (e.g., GitHub Copilot, large language models via APIs) for code generation, problem-solving, and to enhance development workflows Understanding of how to integrate AI capabilities into applications
  • DevOps & CI/CD:
    • Familiarity with CI/CD pipelines (e.g., Azure DevOps, Jenkins, GitHub Actions), Infrastructure as Code (e.g., Terraform, ARM Templates), and containerization (Docker, Kubernetes)
• Soft Skills:
  • Proven exceptional problem-solving and analytical skills
  • Proven solid leadership and mentoring capabilities
  • Proven excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to articulate complex technical concepts to diverse audiences
  • Proven ability to influence without authority and drive consensus
  • Proven to be a strategic thinker with a passion for innovation and continuous improvement

Preferred Qualifications:

• MLOps:
  • Experience with MLOps principles, tools, and practices for managing the lifecycle of machine learning models (e.g., MLfl ow, Azure Machine Learning)
• NoSQL Databases:
  • Experience with NoSQL databases (e.g., MongoDB, Cassandra, Cosmos DB)
• Advanced Azure Services:
  • Deep expertise in specific Azure services like Azure Cosmos DB, Azure Event Hubs/Kafka, Azure Cognitive Services, Azure FOundry
• Security:
  • Solid understanding of security best practices, threat modeling, and secure development lifecycle (SDL). Experience with identity and access management (IAM) concepts
• Performance Optimization:
  • Expertise in optimizing high-traffic, real-time systems for latency and throughput
• Contributions:
  • Contributions to open-source projects, patents, or publications in relevant fields
• Familiarity with other clouds (AWS, GCP)

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.