Principal Software Engineer - Identity and Profile - Remote

Optum Tech is a global leader in health care innovation. Our teams develop cutting-edge solutions that help people live healthier lives and help make the health system work better for everyone. From advanced data analytics and AI to cybersecurity, we use innovative approaches to solve some of health care's most complex challenges. Your contributions here have the potential to change lives. Ready to build the next breakthrough? Join us to start Caring. Connecting. Growing together.

As a Principal Software Engineer on the Identity and Profile team within Optum Technology, you will own the governance processes for enterprise-wide consumer identity and profile platform.  You will also support engineering execution, architecture, and continuous evolution for enterprise identity resolution, profile management systems, and consumer engagement platforms. In this role, you will lead the delivery of highly scalable and resilient systems capable of handling real-world consumer traffic, while orchestrating the adoption of AI/ML capabilities-such as personalization pipelines, semantic search/RAG, conversational assistants, and predictive signals-into consumer experiences. Partnering closely with Product, UX, Data Science, and Security leaders, you will establish engineering best practices, govern AI engineering standards, and build intuitive, privacy-safe engagement experiences at enterprise scale.

You'll enjoy the flexibility to work remotely * from anywhere within the U.S. as you take on some tough challenges. For all hires in the Minneapolis or Washington, D.C. area, you will be required to work in the office a minimum of four days per week.

Primary Responsibilities: 

• Lead and oversee governance processes for an enterprise scale identity and profile management system
• Own engineering execution and architecture for enterprise identity resolution, profile management, and consumer engagement platforms, ensuring predictable delivery, high scalability, and operational health
• Design, develop, and deploy AI-powered solutions and AI/ML integrations (such as personalization pipelines, semantic search/RAG, and conversational assistants) to address complex consumer engagement challenges with emphasis on responsible AI usage
• Establish engineering standards and AI practices, including model evaluation, prompt governance, guardrails, human-in-the-loop workflows, coding standards, CI/CD, observability, and incident management
• Deliver core consumer engagement capabilities including identity onboarding, notification/messaging orchestration (email, push, SMS, in-app), customer support self-service flows, and analytics instrumentation
• Partner cross-functionally with Product, UX, Marketing, Data Science, and Security stakeholders to translate customer insights into intuitive, accessible, and privacy-safe experiences
• Use enterprise-approved AI tools to streamline software engineering workflows, automate tasks, evaluate emerging trends, and drive continuous operational improvement
• Own production readiness, operational health, SLAs/SLOs, threat modeling, and secure SDLC practices across all managed microservices and platforms
• Mentor engineering talent, cultivate an inclusive culture of accountability and learning, and communicate technical tradeoffs and delivery outcomes to executive leadership

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: 

• 8+ years of experience in software engineering
• 2+ years of experience with identity resolution and profile management systems
• 2+ years of experience in software governance and engineering management systems
• Demonstrated experience delivering high-availability, consumer-facing digital products at enterprise scal
• Proven background in modern software architecture, cloud-native delivery, distributed microservices, APIs, and data pipelines
• Hands-on experience with AI/ML integration patterns (e.g., personalization pipelines, RAG, conversational AI, model inference services) and operationalizing them safely
• Experience driving engineering excellence through SDLC best practices, CI/CD, testing strategies, observability, and incident management

Preferred Qualifications:  

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or an applicable technical area (or equivalent experience)
• Experience leading AI productization efforts end-to-end, including model evaluation, monitoring, governance, and cost control
• Experience with experimentation platforms (A/B testing, feature flags), personalization engines, and customer data platforms (CDPs)
• Experience building consent-aware experiences in regulated environments with privacy, security, and compliance requirements
• Proven solid analytics mindset using engagement metrics to guide technical prioritization and continuous iteration

*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 $134,600 to $230,800 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.