Sr Manager, Software Engineering - Remote or Hybrid in MN and DC

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.

We live in a time of unprecedented technical capability and possibility. Health care is at a pivotal point in this journey where even small gains can lead to major transformation. As a Senior Manager, Software Engineering for Avery Chat, you will lead a high-performing engineering team to deliver scalable, secure, and reliable chatbot capabilities that improve digital experiences and business outcomes. You will combine solid technical depth, people leadership, and delivery ownership to guide the team from solution design through production support while partnering closely with product, architecture, and business stakeholders.

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 the design, development, implementation, and ongoing enhancement of Avery Chat solutions and supporting platform capabilities
• Support production operations through monitoring, issue triage, remediation planning, and service reliability improvements
• Manage and coach the team, setting priorities, establishing accountability, and supporting career development
• Partner with Product Owners, Architects, operations teams, and business stakeholders to translate business needs into scalable technical solutions
• Provide hands-on technical leadership in software design, API-driven architecture, secure coding, observability, resiliency, and performance optimization
• Drive end-to-end software delivery across planning, design, development, testing, release management, production readiness, and operational support
• Guide the team in building AI-enabled chatbot capabilities using sound engineering practices, responsible implementation patterns, and solid prompt design discipline
• Lead the creation of comprehensive design documentation and architectural diagrams to clearly communicate system structure, data flow, and integration points across teams and stakeholders
• Establish engineering best practices for code quality, design reviews, CI/CD, automation, incident response, and root cause analysis
• Own delivery risks, dependencies, and execution trade-offs in partnership with the Director and cross-functional leaders
• Contribute to hiring, performance coaching, team development, and succession planning
• Stay current on emerging technologies and identify practical opportunities to improve platform quality, delivery speed, and customer experience
• Design, develop, and deploy AI-powered solutions to address complex business challenges with emphasis on responsible use of AI
• Leverage enterprise-approved AI tools to streamline workflows, automate tasks, and drive continuous improvement 
• Evaluate emerging trends to inform solution design and strategic innovation

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 software engineering experience, including 3+ years of people leadership experience managing software engineers
• 5+ years of hands-on experience with Python and/or Java, React, RESTful APIs, and microservices or service-oriented architecture
• 5+ years of experience in operations and production support, including incident management, troubleshooting, and root cause analysis 
• 3+ years of experience with cloud-native engineering practices, containerization, and CI/CD pipelines using tools such as GitHub Actions or similar platforms
• Demonstrated experience leading application development for customer-facing digital products, chat platforms, conversational experiences, or similar software solutions

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience building chatbot, GenAI, LLM-enabled applications, copilots, or AI-assisted user experiences in production or near-production environments
• Experience using these or similar tools: ServiceNow, Splunk, Datadog
• Solid understanding of system design, performance improvement strategies, caching, scalability, resiliency, and observability
• Good command of prompt engineering and practical understanding of AI-enabled application development
• Proven communication skills with the ability to explain technical concepts and delivery trade-offs to technical and business audiences
• Ability to work in a Hybrid / Remote model with alignment to Central Time (CT) business hours

*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.

#optumtechpj