Director, Software Engineering - AI Platform and Full Stack Engineering - Hybrid in MN

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 Director of Software Engineering, you will lead the development and delivery of AI-first, full stack platform capabilities that enable enterprise-scale intelligence, optimization, and decisioning. You will be responsible for both technical direction and people leadership, building and scaling high-performing teams that deliver secure, scalable, and compliant software solutions.

This role combines engineering leadership, AI platform strategy, and execution excellence, ensuring alignment across architecture, engineering, and business priorities.

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:

• Engineering Leadership & Organization Management
  • Build, lead, and scale high-performing engineering teams across full stack and AI platform development
  • Drive hiring, coaching, and performance management to develop solid engineering talent aligned to AI-first capabilities
  • Establish clear ownership, accountability, and delivery governance across teams
• Technology & Architecture Leadership
  • Define and govern architecture for AI-driven applications, full stack platforms, APIs, and microservices ecosystems
  • Establish enterprise guardrails for open-source usage, AI models, and data governance
  • Partner with product and architecture leaders to align technical strategy with business outcomes
• Delivery & Execution Accountability
  • Own end-to-end delivery of engineering roadmaps with a focus on quality, speed, and reliability
  • Manage cross-team dependencies and ensure alignment across engineering, data science, and platform teams
  • Track execution, manage risks, and proactively address capacity and delivery gaps
• AI/ML Governance & Compliance
  • Ensure governance and oversight of AI models, training data, and externally exposed capabilities
  • Drive adoption of compliance-as-code practices embedded into CI/CD and SDLC workflows
• Platform Engineering & Full Stack Enablement
  • Oversee development of end-to-end full stack solutions (UI, APIs, services, and data layers)
  • Enable scalable platforms supporting AI-driven use cases, analytics, and decision intelligence
• Engineering Productivity & Innovation
  • Champion adoption of AI-assisted development tools (LLMs, coding agents) to accelerate engineering productivity
  • Drive engineering excellence through automation, reusable patterns, and modern development practices
• Stakeholder Engagement & Influence
  • Partner with business, product, and executive stakeholders to translate strategy into execution
  • Communicate progress, risks, and outcomes to senior leadership
  • Influence enterprise decisions on engineering standards and AI adoption

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 related field
• 12+ years of experience in software engineering, including full stack development
• 5+ years of experience leading engineering teams and managing large-scale delivery
• Experience with CI/CD, DevOps tooling, and cloud platforms (AWS preferred)
• Experience with AI/ML model governance, data management, and responsible AI practices
• Experience leveraging AI-assisted development tools to improve delivery efficiency
• Solid experience with Java, Python, Node.js, and modern full stack frameworks (React/Angular, REST, GraphQL)
• Proven experience leading AI-enabled platform and full stack engineering teams
• Deep expertise in microservices architecture and distributed systems
• Track record of delivering multi-quarter, cross-team engineering programs

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with AI/ML platforms, LLM-based applications, or agentic systems
• Experience building enterprise-scale platforms for analytics, optimization, or decision intelligence
• Experience in regulated industries (healthcare, financial services, etc.)
• Knowledge of responsible AI, model lifecycle management, and governance frameworks

*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.

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.