Principal Data Engineering - Remote

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 a Principal Data Engineer within the Enterprise Data & Analytics organization under the Chief Data Office, you will serve as a technical subject matter expert leading the architectural design, implementation, and optimization of scalable enterprise data solutions. In this role, you will partner closely with product owners, business stakeholders, and analytics teams to engineer reliable, end-to-end data pipelines across staging, integration, and consumption layers using technologies such as Azure Data Factory, Snowflake, DBT, Python, and metadata-driven frameworks. You will leverage approved AI tools to streamline routine engineering tasks and elevate operational efficiency, while mentoring engineering staff, establishing engineering best practices, and driving continuous technical innovation.

You'll enjoy the flexibility to work remotely * from anywhere within the U.S. as you take on some tough challenges.    

Primary Responsibilities:

• Collaborate closely with product owners, business users, and stakeholders to translate data product and reporting requirements into scalable, reliable data engineering solutions, incorporating feedback iteratively throughout the delivery lifecycle
• Design, develop, and maintain end-to-end data pipelines across staging, integration, and consumption layers, leveraging Azure Data Factory, DBT, Snowflake SQL, and metadata-driven frameworks
• Develop and optimize high-performance SQL queries, views, and stored procedures to support analytics and reporting, and provide guidance to analytics team members on effective and cost-efficient usage
• Architect, develop, and support data integration processes including batch file ingestion and automated extracts
• Partner with internal stakeholders to understand business objectives, study requirements, and identify appropriate technical solutions, integration patterns, and data models that balance performance, scalability, and maintainability
• Serve as a technical subject matter expert and mentor, providing training, design guidance, and code reviews for associates on data engineering best practices, Snowflake optimization, and ADF/DBT pipeline design
• Author and maintain detailed technical documentation, including data mappings, record layouts, file specifications, interface contracts, workflow diagrams, and operational runbooks for data loads and extracts
• Continuously evaluate and improve data quality, monitoring, and operational efficiencies
• Collaborate with business and technical partners to support data acquisition initiatives, including onboarding new data sources, developing business justifications, and executing secure, compliant data transfers
• Communicate complex technical concepts clearly through written documentation, presentations, and discussions with audiences ranging from technical teams to senior leadership
• Foster a collaborative, inclusive environment that promotes knowledge sharing, continuous improvement, and professional development across the team
• Demonstrate strong analytical and troubleshooting skills to diagnose pipeline failures, data anomalies, and performance bottlenecks
• Utilize enterprise-approved AI tools to streamline workflows, automate repetitive tasks, and increase overall engineering productivity
• Evaluate emerging tech trends to inform continuous improvement, strategic innovation, and efficient solution design
  
  

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 or equivalent work experience of 12+ years
• 12+ years of hands-on data engineering experience, with an emphasis on enterprise data warehousing and ETL architectures
• 8+ years of ETL development experience designing and building pipelines and dataflows using Azure Data Factory and/or Snowflake, including parameterized and metadata-driven designs
• 8+ years of experience using Snowflake database, including creating data ingestion and extraction through stored procedures and leveraging Snowflake native utilities
• 8+ years of experience with GitHub version control systems including code merges and cross-environment deployments using CI/CD pipelines
• 8+ years of Python experience, particularly for data processing, orchestration, or validation workflows
• 5+ years of experience designing or consuming APIs and service-based integrations (REST) within Snowflake or ADF-based workflows
• 5+ years of scripting experience (Batch, PowerShell, or similar) to support automation and operational tasks specifically on the Azure platform
• 5+ years of Experience processing both structured and semi-structured data (e.g., fixed-width files, delimited files, JSON, XML)
• 5+ years of hands-on experience in React front-end development, including designing and implementing complex visualization components and dashboards.
  
  
  

Preferred Qualifications:

• Hands-on expertise in Power BI, including DAX, semantic model design, and performance tuning
• .NET development experience
  
  

*All employees working remotely will be required to adhere to UnitedHealth Group's Telecommuter Policy

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 $112,700 - $193,200 annually based on full-time employment. We comply with all minimum wage laws as applicable.

Application Deadline: This will be posted for a minimum of 2 business days or until a sufficient candidate pool has been collected. Job posting may come down early due to volume of applicants.

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.