Principal Data Scientist

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 Principal Data Scientist to lead the design, development, and deployment of AI-powered data solutions that improve business performance in UHC Payment Integrity. This role will lead a team of data scientists, provide technical leadership across the analytics roadmap, and partner closely with product, engineering, and business stakeholders to deliver scalable solutions that enable self-service insights, operational efficiency, and measurable financial impact. The ideal candidate combines solid technical depth in AI, data science and machine learning with proven people leadership, the ability to guide teams through ambiguity, and a track record of turning advanced analytics into practical business outcomes.

Careers with Optum offer flexible work arrangements and individuals who live and work in the Republic of Ireland will have the opportunity to split their monthly work hours between our Dublin or Letterkenny office and telecommuting from a home-based office in a hybrid work model.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Drive the design, development, deployment, and scaling of AI-enabled capabilities that support self-service decision-making, insight generation, and operational improvement
• Lead, coach, and develop a team of data scientists, providing day-to-day people leadership, technical direction, and support for career growth and high-quality delivery
• Partner with product, engineering, and business leaders to define priorities, translate business needs into technical solutions, and ensure successful execution against roadmap commitments
• Apply advanced analytics, machine learning, statistical analysis, and large-scale exploratory analysis to identify patterns, uncover opportunities, and improve business outcomes
• Champion adoption of AI and analytics solutions by building tools and workflows that improve user experience, increase self-service, and reduce reliance on manual reporting
• Communicate complex technical findings and recommendations clearly to senior stakeholders, connecting AI and analytical work to strategic, operational, and financial outcomes

You will 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 providing development for other roles you may be interested in.

Required Qualifications:

• Undergraduate degree in a relevant field such as data science, statistics, mathematics, computer science, engineering, or a related discipline
• Proven solid experience in AI, advanced analytics, machine learning, predictive modeling, and large-scale data analysis
• Demonstrated solid technical proficiency in SQL and Python
• Proven experience leading analytics or data science work in a business environment, including translating ambiguous business needs into scalable solutions

Preferred Qualifications:

• Proven experience managing, mentoring, or leading a team of data scientists or other analytical professionals, and/or leading teams that build AI-powered analytics products, self-service tools, or decision-support capabilities
• Proven experience in healthcare analytics, payment integrity, or other complex, highly regulated data environments
• Demonstrable experience introducing AI into operational workflows to improve efficiency, speed, or insight quality

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.  

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.


Diversity creates a healthier atmosphere: Optum is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to gender, civil status, family status, sexual orientation, disability, religion, age, race, and membership of the Traveller community, or any other characteristic protected by law. Optum is a drug-free workplace. © 2026 Optum Services (Ireland) Limited. All rights reserved.

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