Senior Director, AI/ML Engineering - Remote , MN preferred

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 Senior Director of AI/ML Engineering, you will build and scale the AI/ML engineering function within our Enterprise Digital Experience Technology organization. Leading a team of engineers across multiple scrum teams, you will expand the organization to support enterprise-wide growth as AI solutions scale across corporate functions. This leadership role combines deep AI/ML technical expertise, platform engineering leadership, and organizational leadership to deliver reusable AI capabilities, establish agent-ready data strategies, and achieve measurable business outcomes across complex enterprise data environments.

You'll enjoy the flexibility to work remotely* from anywhere within the U.S., preferably in MN, 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: 

• Build and scale the AI/ML engineering function that will drive Enterprise Functions AI Transformation leveraging Forward Deployed Engineering concepts
• Build a team of AI/ML Engineers and Forward Deployed Engineers that will scale AI solutions across the enterprise
• Design, develop, and deploy AI-powered solutions, platforms, and automations to address complex enterprise business challenges, with an emphasis on the safe and responsible use of AI
• Deliver reusable AI capabilities, internal developer platforms, engineering accelerators, shared UI frameworks, and agent-ready data capabilities that accelerate AI deployment and adoption across corporate functions
• Partner directly with business function stakeholders (e.g., Finance, HR, Legal, Operations) to reimagine, redesign, and transform corporate processes through AI-enabled solutions
• Drive the technical vision and execution of advanced AI architectures, taking solutions from prototype/MVP through enterprise production deployment, scaling, and operational transition to support teams
• Establish data quality, governance, and agent-ready data strategies to support seamless enterprise AI adoption and ensure data integrity
• Leverage enterprise-approved AI tools and modern engineering technologies to streamline workflows, automate complex tasks, and drive continuous improvement across engineering teams
• Evaluate emerging AI trends, frameworks, and architecture patterns to inform platform solution design, technical roadmap creation, and strategic innovation
• Define and enforce enterprise engineering standards for security, responsible AI, data architecture, platform engineering, and governance in large, fragmented enterprise environments

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 in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related technical field (or 4+ years of equivalent software engineering / technical leadership experience in lieu of a degree)
• 12+ years of experience in software engineering, platform engineering, or AI/ML engineering
• 5+ years of direct people management experience leading software engineering organizations and managing engineering managers, with a proven track record of leading organizations of 15+ employees across multiple Agile/Scrum teams within an AIDLC framework
• Demonstrated experience taking AI solutions from prototype/MVP through enterprise production deployment, scaling, and operational transition to support teams
• Experience partnering directly with business functions (e.g., Finance, HR, Legal, Operations) to redesign and transform business processes through AI-enabled solutions
• Demonstrated ability to discuss and explain the practical application of AI technologies through direct implementation experience, including agent architectures, orchestration, RAG, evaluation frameworks, and AI guardrails
• Experience establishing data quality, governance, and agent-ready data strategies to support enterprise AI adoption
• Principal or Staff-level architecture experience building reusable engineering platforms, developer accelerators, and defining enterprise standards for security, governance, and responsible AI
• Proficiency in Python, along with experience using TypeScript or JavaScript
• Experience with enterprise cloud platforms (Azure preferred; AWS or GCP acceptable), Kubernetes, containers, CI/CD, Infrastructure-as-Code, and enterprise data platforms such as Databricks or Snowflake
• Proven track record translating AI strategy into measurable business results and partnering effectively with executive stakeholders

Preferred Qualifications:  

• Advanced degree (Master's, MBA, or Ph.D.) in a technical or quantitative discipline
• Experience building AI/ML platforms and solutions on Microsoft Azure, including Azure AI and Azure OpenAI services
• Experience operating within highly regulated industries such as healthcare, financial services, insurance, or other complex enterprise environments
• Experience supporting Finance transformation initiatives, including FP&A, Record-to-Report (R2R), or related enterprise finance processes
• Experience leading innovation, incubation, accelerator, or rapid-delivery engineering teams focused on emerging technologies and business transformation
• Experience standing up or scaling a Forward Deployed Engineering (FDE) organization, AI Center of Excellence (CoE), or AI Platform organization
• Experience leading enterprise AI transformation initiatives within Fortune 500 companies
• Experience building internal developer platforms, shared UI frameworks, and reusable engineering accelerators adopted across multiple engineering teams
• Experience transitioning technical delivery and support from vendor/consulting models or incubation teams to permanent internal engineering teams
• Demonstrated passion for leveraging technology and AI to solve complex healthcare challenges and improve business outcomes

*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 $203,200 - $348,400 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.