Principal Data Scientist - 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.

The Principal Data Scientist will play a pivotal role in supporting our Women's Health portfolio, leading advanced analytics initiatives and statistical analyses to demonstrate the clinical and economic value of our women's health products. The successful candidate will leverage expertise in data science, healthcare economics, and longitudinal health tracking to identify areas of opportunity that drive additional financial and clinical outcomes for women and infants across their health journeys (including reproductive health, maternity, menopause and etc.). This position is critical to ensuring our products deliver improved health equity, enhanced outcomes, and measurable financial impact within the US healthcare system.

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:

• Value Demonstration: Lead and execute advanced statistical analyses and modeling to quantify and communicate the clinical and economic value of our women's health products to clients, payers, and strategic partners
• Advanced Modeling: Apply advanced machine learning and causal inference techniques to complex, longitudinal healthcare datasets, optimizing methodologies to uncover robust, actionable insights into women's health outcomes
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Collaborate with cross-functional stakeholders, including women's health product managers, actuarial teams, clinical experts, and external customers, to translate product engagement and health outcomes into affordability projections and strategic roadmaps
• Healthcare Economics: Design, implement, and validate health economics and outcomes models, such as cost-effectiveness and Return on Investment (ROI) frameworks, specifically tailored to women's health interventions (e.g., maternity management, fertility support, and neonatal health)
• Data Pipelines: Develop and maintain reproducible analytics pipelines using statistical programming languages such as Python, R, or SAS, integrating diverse data sources from Snowflake and SQL databases
• Strategic Communication: Communicate complex findings, predictive insights, and value metrics in a clear, compelling manner to both technical and non-technical audiences, including enterprise clients and clinical advisory boards
• Data Stewardship: Champion best practices in data science, data integrity, and strict compliance with relevant healthcare data standards (e.g., HIPAA), ensuring ethical AI practices concerning sensitive demographic and reproductive health data

Positions in this function produce innovative solutions driven by exploratory data analysis from unstructured, diverse datasets typically measured in gigabytes or larger. Applies knowledge of statistics, machine learning, programming, data modeling, simulation, and advanced mathematics to recognize patterns, identify opportunities, pose business questions, and make valuable discoveries leading to prototype development and product improvement. Uses a flexible, analytical approach to design, develop, and evaluate predictive and prescriptive models and advanced algorithms that lead to optimal value extraction from the data. Works with analytics and statistical software such as SQL, R, Python, Hadoop and others to perform analysis and interpret data. This function is not intended for employees performing the following work: less complex analysis on small data sets; rules-based algorithmic or descriptive analytics; development of big data infrastructure.

• Company thought leader
• Functional SME
• Broad business approach
• Resource to senior leadership
• Develops pioneering approaches to emerging industry trends

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:

• Undergraduate degree in applicable area of expertise or equivalent experience
• Master's or PhD degree in Data Science, Statistics, Mathematics, Health Economics, Econometrics, Epidemiology or a related discipline
• 8+ years of professional experience in data science or advanced analytics
• Hands-on experience with Snowflake and SQL for large-scale data extraction, manipulation, and analysis
• Thorough understanding of the US healthcare system, including payer/provider dynamics, healthcare economics, and value measurement frameworks
• Demonstrated proficiency in statistical programming languages (e.g. SAS, R or Python)
• Proven track record of applying advanced machine learning techniques in healthcare analytics to solve real-world business problems
• Proven solid analytical, problem-solving, and communication skills, with the ability to convey complex concepts to diverse audiences

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience in leading multidisciplinary teams
• Expertise in designing and validating novel healthcare economics models
• Familiarity with cloud-based data platforms and scalable analytics architectures
• Demonstrated ability to influence strategic decision-making through data-driven insights
• Demonstrated exceptional stakeholder management and collaboration skills

*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 to $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.