Principal Data Engineer

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.  

Primary Responsibility:

• Comply with the terms and conditions of the employment contract, company policies and procedures, and any and all directives (such as, but not limited to, transfer and/or re-assignment to different work locations, change in teams and/or work shifts, policies in regards to flexibility of work benefits and/or work environment, alternative work arrangements, and other decisions that may arise due to the changing business environment). The Company may adopt, vary or rescind these policies and directives in its absolute discretion and without any limitation (implied or otherwise) on its ability to do so

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related technical field
• 12+ years of professional experience in data engineering, data products development, AI tools, including technical leadership
• Data Engineering Expertise: Hands-on experience with Azure, Apache Spark, Databricks (using Scala and Python), and Azure Data Factory
• Database Management: Solid experience with SQL and NoSQL databases for efficient data storage and querying
• Agile & Testing: Familiarity with Agile methodologies, unit testing, and test automation frameworks
• Version Control: Proficiency with Git or similar systems
• Solution Architecture: Proven ability to design, implement, and integrate solutions with robust data security measures
• Performance Optimization: Proven to ensure cross-browser compatibility and optimize applications for scalability and high performance
• Server-Side Development: Proven to design, develop, and maintain API services and server-side applications
• AI: GitHub Copilot, M365 Copilot, LLM Models, Gen AI

Technical Skills:

• Solid expertise in modern data engineering and cloud platforms, including Azure Data Lake, Databricks, Snowflake, Spark, Python/Scala, No SQL DB like Cosmos DB, and Azure Data Factory. Hands-on experience designing scalable batch and streaming data solutions, implementing observability frameworks, and optimizing platform performance, reliability, and cost. Exposure to AI/GenAI technologies, including LLMs and AI-driven analytics automations/solutions

Functional & Leadership Skills:

• Proven ability to lead large-scale data migration and modernization programs, translating business requirements into scalable data products and platforms. Strong stakeholder management, delivery governance, and project execution capabilities, with experience mentoring data engineering teams, establishing coding standards, driving engineering excellence, and ensuring successful business outcomes within committed timelines

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.