Senior Director – AI/ML Engineering

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 diversity and inclusion, talented peers, comprehensive benefits and career development opportunities. Come make an impact on the communities we serve as you help us advance health equity on a global scale. Join us to start Caring. Connecting. Growing together.

We are seeking a Senior Director of AI Engineering to lead the development and deployment of artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI and ML) capabilities and tools across the Blue Platform. Blue is an enterprise-level initiative to deliver a new data and analytics platform, aligned to our Enterprise Data Strategy, to enable scaled business applications for growth. This role will be pivotal in integrating AI capabilities as a core part of the Blue infrastructure, equipping the enterprise with the right technology, tools and connectivity to leverage data, analytics and AI effectively across businesses. It will focus on creating an ecosystem on Blue where AI can connect with data, native applications, knowledge sources, and workflows at scale to deliver a seamless experience for data scientists who build commercial products/solutions that drive growth and innovation.

Key Responsibilities

• Own Blue’s AI enablement roadmap ensuring that Blue has the necessary technology, infrastructure, and connectivity to support new product development and the data science community
• Develop Blue’s requirements for AI training, evaluation, deployment, and scaling, including AI and Machine Learning operations processes
• Use a broad understanding of AI and analytics tools across the enterprise to design the AI architecture and tooling to create a best-in-class data science experience
• Lead the design, development, and deployment of the Blue platform/infrastructure capabilities that drive the adoption of AI/ML
• Be the thought leader who articulates the Blue value proposition for data scientists and AI/ML engineers and stays in sync with the latest market leading AI / ML capabilities
• Ensure high quality data inputs for AI/ML by ensuring appropriate incorporation of enrichment, augmentation and proper classification of data
• Foster global, cross-functional collaboration to align Blue AI capabilities with customer needs and business objectives
• Work closely with Blue Platform product and technical leadership (IGP, OI, CDO, Ireland) to prioritize and align AI enablement with the broader Blue roadmap; maintain connections with business use case teams to understand and advise on evolving business needs for AI/ML
• Collaborate closely with Optum AI / UAIS to define and prioritize requirements

Required Skills: 

• Advanced degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related technical field
• Experience technical engineering (data/software/analytics) with experience in AI/ML, with a focus on large-scale projects
• Technical leadership: The candidate must have significant experience in AI and ML engineering, demonstrating expertise in developing and deploying AI solutions. They should have a solid understanding of AI best practices and be able to provide leadership in implementing them
• Strategic planning: The candidate should possess strategic thinking skills and the ability to align AI initiatives with both technology and business goals. They should be able to develop a tactical roadmap for AI enhancements, drive the adoption of AI/ML across Blue stakeholders, and have a proven track record of executing scaled AI/ML projects
• Organizational alignment: The candidate must have the ability to foster cross-functional collaboration and align AI engineering solutions with customer needs and business objectives. They should be able to work with different teams and stakeholders to integrate AI solutions into the overall enterprise strategy, including excellent communication and stakeholder management skills
• MLOps expertise: The candidate should have experience in implementing MLOps (Machine Learning Operations) practices, which involve training, evaluating, deploying, and scaling AI solutions. They should be able to develop AI best practices in these areas to ensure efficient and effective AI operations
• Data readiness: The candidate should have an understanding of data governance frameworks and data quality standards. They should be able to design data readiness strategies that make AI easier to adopt, including providing access to data, improving standardization and quality, and integrating with enterprise platforms
• Value proposition and strategic planning: The candidate should be able to define and communicate the value proposition of Blue’s AI capabilities to both Blue team and business stakeholders. They should develop features, capabilities, and measures that align with the value propositions, ensuring customer success and satisfaction
• Integration and collaboration: The candidate should have experience in promoting integrated enterprise solutions by collaborating with different teams and business units. They should be able to align AI data engineering and AI solutions with customer needs and business objectives

Preferred Skills: 

• Experience with MLOps and AI infrastructure
• Knowledge of healthcare industry trends and challenges
• Proficiency in managing AI vendors and evaluating technical solutions

Careers with Optum. Here’s the idea. We built an entire organization around one giant objective; make the health system work better for everyone. So when it comes to how we use the world’s large accumulation of health-related information, or guide health and lifestyle choices or manage pharmacy benefits for millions, our first goal is to leap beyond the status quo and uncover new ways to serve. Optum, part of the UnitedHealth Group family of businesses, brings together some of the greatest minds and most advanced ideas on where health care has to go in order to reach its fullest potential. For you, that means working on high performance teams against sophisticated challenges that matter. Optum, incredible ideas in one incredible company and a singular opportunity to do your life’s best work.^SM

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. 

Please note you must currently be eligible to work and remain indefinitely without any restrictions in the country to which you are making an application. Proof will be required to support your application.

Diversity creates a healthier atmosphere: UnitedHealth Group is an Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, protected veteran status, disability status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by law.