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 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.

Software engineering is the application of engineering to the design, development, implementation, testing and maintenance of software in a systematic method. The roles in this function will cover all primary development activity across all technology functions that ensure we deliver code with high quality for our applications, products and services and to understand customer needs and to develop product roadmaps.

These roles include, but are not limited to analysis, design, coding, engineering, testing, debugging, standards, methods, tools analysis, documentation, research and development, maintenance, new development, operations and delivery. With every role in the company, each position has a requirement for building quality into every output. This also includes evaluating new tools, new techniques, strategies; Automation of common tasks; build of common utilities to drive organizational efficiency with a passion around technology and solutions and influence of thought and leadership on future capabilities and opportunities to apply technology in new and innovative ways. Basic, structured, standard approach to work.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Data Pipeline Development: Architect, build, and maintain robust, scalable, and reusable data pipelines and ETL/ELT workflows using Azure Databricks (Spark), Data Factory, and Azure Data Lake Storage to process structured and unstructured data
• Data Integration: Integrate data from diverse internal and external sources (SQL/NoSQL databases, REST APIs, on-prem/Lakehouse/cloud systems) and ensure data consistency, quality, and lineage across the entire data estate
• Data Modeling: Design and implement high-quality, optimized data models and tables for analytics using best practices, enabling fast and reliable reporting experiences in Power BI
• Application Support: Collaborate closely with Power BI developers to design semantic models, create reusable datasets, and troubleshoot data issues, supporting interactive and scheduled reporting for external users
• Performance Optimization: Monitor, profile, and optimize ETL jobs, data flows, and queries to ensure efficient use of resources, minimize costs, and maintain SLA adherence for external-facing applications
• Security & Compliance: Implement and enforce rigorous data security, privacy, and compliance protocols, including RBAC, encryption, masking, and secure data sharing practices tailored for external/client access
• Operational Excellence: Drive automation for data movement, validation, error handling, and alerting with DevOps best practices (CI/CD, testing, documentation)
• Collaboration & Communication: Act as a subject matter expert and technical advisor to colleagues, project managers, and stakeholders, articulating complex data engineering concepts and driving continuous improvement across teams
• 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, Data Engineering, Information Systems, or a related field
• 3+ years of hands-on experience designing, implementing, and supporting data pipelines and ETL processes in cloud environments, particularly with Azure Databricks and Data Factory
• Solid experience with building and optimizing data lakes, data warehouses, and Lakehouse environments
• Experience managing data security and compliance for externally facing applications (GDPR, SOC, HIPAA, etc.)
• Familiarity with API integration, REST services, and external data source connectivity
• Proficiency in data engineering programming languages such as SQL, Python, and Spark (PySpark/Scala)
• Proven solid expertise in Azure Data Lake Storage, Azure Synapse Analytics, and integrating with Power BI for real-time and batch analytics
• Proven exposure to DevOps practices, automation pipelines, unit/integration testing, and version control (e.g., Azure DevOps, Git)
• Proven excellent analytical, troubleshooting, and communication skills with a customer-focused mindset
• Proven ability to work independently and as part of a dynamic, cross-functional team

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with incremental data processing, streaming technologies, and handling large-scale, high-volume data
• Working knowledge of Power BI service administration (gateways, workspace configuration, security)
• Background in managing and optimizing costs in a cloud environment.
• Knowledge of M language (Power Query) and DAX

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.