Director of AI/ML Engineering - Hybrid in Eden Prairie, MN

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 the Director of AI/ML Engineering within our Claims, Eligibility & Benefits team, you will lead the strategic engineering efforts that are transforming our healthcare payer operations. In this role, you will define and execute our AI/ML engineering roadmap, driving touchless operations across Medicare, Medicaid, and commercial business lines. You will have the unique opportunity to lead a high-performing global team to design, build, and deploy enterprise-scale AI products, utilizing innovative technologies such as Agentic AI, digital workers, and advanced ML platforms. Your leadership will directly influence business outcomes, modernizing legacy systems and delivering secure, compliant, and scalable AI solutions that reshape the future of health technology.

This position follows a hybrid schedule with four in-office days per week.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Technical Leadership & Delivery
  • Lead the design, development, and deployment of enterprise-scale AI/ML and Generative AI solutions, including LLM and agentic systems (e.g., OpenAI, Gemini, Claude, Copilot)
  • Define and execute the AI/ML engineering strategy for Claims, Eligibility & Benefits, aligning with business outcomes (cost reduction, accuracy, scalability) and leading payer-specific transformations across Medicare, Medicaid, and Commercial business segments
  • Define and scale AI-driven engineering practices, including AI-enabled SDLC (AIDLC) frameworks, tools, and reusable platforms
  • Drive the adoption of AI solutions, including performance optimization, monitoring, observability, and reliability
  • Apply AI-driven automation and agent-based workflows to improve engineering productivity, quality, and speed to market
  • Stay current with emerging trends in AI, LLMs, and agentic systems, and translate them into enterprise opportunities
  • Champion responsible AI practices, including governance, risk management, and ethical use
  • Establish robust AI governance, model validation (Responsible AI/AI Review Board), and audit readiness while ensuring regulatory compliance and ethical AI standards
  • Own capital planning, budget management, and ROI realization for AI investments, tracking benefits realization tied to automation and efficiency gains
• Stakeholder & Business Engagement
  • Partner with Product, Business, and Platform teams to define AI-driven solutions aligned to strategic priorities
  • Drive alignment on roadmap, prioritization, and delivery outcomes across cross-functional teams
  • Resolve complex technical and organizational challenges spanning engineering, data, infrastructure, and business domains
  • Influence product and business strategy by bringing a strong AI/ML perspective to decision-making
  • Build and communicate compelling narratives demonstrating business value and impact of AI initiatives
• Team Leadership
  • Build, lead, and mentor a high-performing, globally distributed team, AI/agentic engineers, and full-stack and quality engineers
  • Own talent development, upskilling, performance management, and career growth
  • Foster a culture of innovation, experimentation, and continuous learning

You'll 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 provide development for other roles you may be interested in.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree Computer Science, Software engineering, Data engineering, AI/ML experience (in addition to the required experience years listed below)
• 12+ years of experience in software engineering, with significant focus on AI/ML and data-driven systems
• 5+ years of experience designing and deploying cloud-native solutions (Azure or GCP), including scalable AI/ML workloads
• 4+ years of experience leading large-scale AI/ML engineering organizations (20-50+ team members) with globally distributed teams
• 2+ years of Hands-on experience with Python and modern ML/GenAI frameworks
• Experience implementing AI-enabled software development lifecycle practices (AIDLC)
• Demonstrated ability to connect AI investments to measurable business outcomes (ROI, efficiency, growth, risk reduction)

Preferred Qualifications:

• Master's degree in computer science engineering, Data Science, or a related field
• Experience in Healthcare industry in domains like Claims, Provider, Eligibility.
• Proven solid written and verbal communication skills
• Proven to be highly motivated with proven success meeting commitments in a deadline-driven environment with multiple competing priorities
• Proven to lead change and innovation - pursue opportunities to adopt new technologies and drive adoption to enhance business outcomes - drive and mange high-quality execution across organizational lines

Pay is based on several factors including but not limited to local labor markets, education, work experience, certifications, etc. In addition to your salary, we offer benefits such as, a comprehensive benefits package, incentive and recognition programs, equity stock purchase and 401k contribution (all benefits are subject to eligibility requirements). No matter where or when you begin a career with us, you'll find a far-reaching choice of benefits and incentives. The salary for this role will range from $176,700 - $302,900 annually based on full-time employment. We comply with all minimum wage laws as applicable.

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.    

UnitedHealth Group is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer under applicable law and qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, national origin, religion, age, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, or protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by local, state, or federal laws, rules, or regulations.

UnitedHealth Group is a drug - free workplace. Candidates are required to pass a drug test before beginning employment. 

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