Associate AI/ML Engineer - Python, Agentic AI, Machine Learning

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.

Role Summary

The Associate AI/ML Engineer will design, develop, and deploy AI-powered solutions that improve operational efficiency, automation, observability, and decision-making within Network and Infrastructure environments. The role combines software engineering, Generative AI, machine learning, and cloud technologies to build intelligent applications, AI agents, and automation capabilities. While AI/ML engineering expertise is the primary focus, knowledge of network engineering, infrastructure operations, cloud platforms, observability, and IT operations is considered a solid advantage.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Design, develop, and integrate AI-powered applications, services, and automation solutions that improve network, infrastructure, and operational outcomes
• Build and maintain scalable APIs, microservices, AI agents, and intelligent automation capabilities using LLMs, Generative AI, and modern AI frameworks
• Develop and optimize RAG solutions, vector databases, semantic search, and knowledge-grounding capabilities to support operational and business use cases
• Collaborate with Network, Infrastructure, Cloud, Platform Engineering, Product, and Data Science teams to identify, design, and deliver AI-driven solutions
• Integrate AI capabilities with monitoring, observability, ITSM, cloud, and infrastructure management platforms to enhance reliability and operational efficiency
• Evaluate, fine-tune, deploy, monitor, and continuously improve AI/ML models, ensuring performance, quality, scalability, and operational reliability
• Apply Responsible AI principles, security, privacy, governance, and compliance requirements throughout the solution lifecycle
• Lead technical design discussions, contribute to architecture decisions, and mentor engineers on AI-enabled development and engineering best practices
• Drive software engineering excellence through code reviews, testing automation, CI/CD, observability, documentation, and knowledge sharing
• Stay current with emerging AI technologies, industry trends, and best practices, and recommend their adoption where appropriate
• 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, Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience
• 3+ years of software engineering experience with solid proficiency in Python, JavaScript, TypeScript, or similar programming languages
• Hands-on experience building and deploying AI/ML and Generative AI solutions using platforms such as Azure OpenAI, Azure AI, Copilot technologies, OpenAI, Anthropic Claude, or similar services
• Experience developing applications using APIs, microservices, cloud-native architectures, and modern software engineering practices
• Experience with AI agents, RAG architectures, vector databases, semantic search, prompt engineering, model evaluation, and AI orchestration frameworks such as LangChain, Semantic Kernel, or LangGraph
• Knowledge of MLOps, DevOps, CI/CD, containerization, model deployment, monitoring, and lifecycle management
• Solid understanding of machine learning fundamentals, NLP, distributed systems, databases, and intelligent automation concepts
• Understanding of Responsible AI, security, privacy, governance, fairness, and compliance principles
• Demonstrated ability to lead technical initiatives, mentor engineers, and collaborate effectively across cross-functional teams
• Proven solid problem-solving, communication, and stakeholder management skills

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience applying AI/ML and Generative AI technologies to Network Operations, Infrastructure Engineering, Cloud Platforms, IT Operations, AIOps, or Observability use cases
• Experience developing AI-powered operational analytics, incident intelligence, automation, or infrastructure management solutions
• Familiarity with infrastructure monitoring and observability platforms such as Prometheus, VictoriaMetrics, Grafana, Splunk, Dynatrace, AppDynamics, DataDog, Azure Monitor, or similar technologies
• Knowledge of networking concepts, cloud infrastructure, systems administration, production support, and IT service management (ITSM) processes

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.