Principal Architect - Remote

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 are seeking a Principal AI Architect to lead the design and implementation of enterprise-scale AI and ML solutions. This is a senior leadership role responsible for setting the AI architecture vision, driving technical strategy, and ensuring alignment across engineering, product, and business stakeholders.

The ideal candidate brings deep expertise in AI/ML systems, cloud-native architectures, and the ability to translate complex business problems into scalable, production-grade solutions. Education can be Bachelor or Master in science or STEM disciplines.

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: 

• Define and own the AI/ML architecture roadmap, ensuring alignment with enterprise technology strategy and business objectives
• Lead the design of end-to-end AI solutions including data pipelines, model training, inference infrastructure, and MLOps frameworks
• Serve as a technical authority and mentor for AI/ML engineers, tech leads, and solution architects across the organization
• Collaborate with product managers, data scientists, and engineering teams to translate business requirements into robust architectural designs
• Evaluate and recommend AI/ML platforms, tools, and frameworks (e.g., LLMs, RAG pipelines, agent frameworks, vector databases)
• Drive adoption of responsible AI principles including explainability, fairness, bias mitigation, and model governance
• Partner with security, compliance, and infrastructure teams to ensure AI solutions meet regulatory and enterprise standards (HIPAA, SOC2, etc.)
• Lead architecture reviews, proof-of-concepts, and technical spike initiatives
• Represent the AI architecture function in cross-functional leadership discussions and executive briefings

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 overall software/systems engineering experience, with 5+ years focused on AI/ML architecture
• 5+ years of experience owning and defining the AI/ML architecture roadmap, aligned to enterprise technology strategy and business objectives
• 5+ years of experience design end-to-end AI solutions spanning data pipelines, model training, inference infrastructure, and MLOps frameworks
• 5+ years of hands-on experience with MLOps: CI/CD for ML, model monitoring, drift detection, and model lifecycle management
• Deep expertise in machine learning, deep learning, NLP, LLMs, and generative AI technologies
• Proven solid proficiency in cloud platforms - AWS, Azure, or GCP - and cloud-native AI/ML services
• Proficiency in Python and relevant ML frameworks (PyTorch, TensorFlow, Scikit-learn, Hugging Face, LangChain)
• Proven solid understanding of data architecture, data engineering, and real-time/batch processing pipelines

Preferred Qualifications:  

• Demonstrated partnership with security, compliance, and infrastructure teams to ensure AI solutions meet regulatory and enterprise standards (HIPAA, SOC2, etc.)
• Experience with RAG pipelines, agent frameworks, and vector databases at scale
• Demonstrated familiarity with responsible AI principles: explainability, fairness, bias mitigation, and model governance
• Experience representing AI architecture in executive briefings and cross-functional leadership forums
• Experience as a technical mentor for AI/ML engineers, tech leads, and solution architects across the organization
• Proven excellent communication skills - ability to influence and align both technical and non-technical audiences

*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.

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.