Among computer and information research scientists, AI is already used for a large share of the tasks. Measured exposure for computer and information research scientists: 34% (high).

Share of this job’s tasks that AI is already used for at work, from real usage. It is not a forecast of job loss, and a low number means no use seen yet. Source: Anthropic Economic Index.

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About the job

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 in making healthcare work better for everyone through people-led, responsible AI while Caring. Connecting. Growing together.

The Optum Health Technology team is seeking a Senior AI/ML Engineer with a solid data science background to build and scale cutting-edge AI-powered solutions that transform value-based care delivery. In this role, you will lead the design, development, statistical analysis, and enterprise deployment of machine learning models, generative AI architectures, predictive analytics, and intelligent automations that directly improve patient health outcomes and operational efficiency. You will collaborate closely with software engineers, data scientists, data architects, product managers, and clinical leaders to translate complex clinical data into actionable intelligence, streamline healthcare workflows, empower clinical decision-making, and deliver scalable value across the care continuum.

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:

Design, develop, and deploy AI-powered solutions to address complex healthcare challenges with an emphasis on the responsible and ethical use of AI

Perform exploratory data analysis (EDA), feature engineering, statistical modeling, and hypothesis testing on large-scale clinical and healthcare datasets

Leverage enterprise-approved AI tools and frameworks to streamline engineering workflows, automate repetitive tasks, and drive continuous process improvement

Evaluate emerging AI/ML trends, foundational models, statistical techniques, and technical tools to inform architectural solution design and strategic innovation

Build, optimize, and maintain production-grade machine learning pipelines and predictive models for data preprocessing, model training, evaluation, and monitoring

Architect scalable microservices and APIs to integrate machine learning models and data science capabilities seamlessly into enterprise applications and clinical workflows

Collaborate with cross-functional technical, data, and clinical teams to translate high-level business objectives into robust, secure, and performant solutions

Implement MLOps best practices to ensure continuous integration, automated model evaluation, governance, model tracking, and reliable deployment at enterprise scale

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:

5+ years of software engineering, machine learning engineering, or data science experience in a production enterprise environment

3+ years of hands-on experience designing, statistical modeling, training, evaluating, and deploying machine learning or deep learning models in production

3+ years of proficiency with Python and core AI/ML and data science libraries (e.g., PyTorch, TensorFlow, scikit-learn, Pandas, NumPy, SciPy)

2+ years of experience with cloud platform infrastructure (AWS, Azure, or GCP) and cloud-native AI/ML/data services (e.g., SageMaker, Azure ML, Vertex AI)

2+ years of experience in statistical analysis, predictive modeling, hypothesis testing, and advanced data manipulation on complex datasets

2+ years of experience implementing MLOps, CI/CD pipelines, containerization (Docker, Kubernetes), and model monitoring/governance frameworks

Preferred Qualifications:

Master's or Bachelor's degree in Data Science, Computer Science, Statistics, Applied Mathematics, or a related quantitative field

Experience working with Large Language Models (LLMs), Generative AI architectures, prompt engineering, and Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) frameworks

Proven track record of leveraging modern AI coding tools and automation frameworks to accelerate software and data science delivery

Background in healthcare technology, clinical data standards (FHIR, HL7), or working within highly regulated data compliance environments (HIPAA, HITRUST)

Experience with distributed data processing systems and analytics platforms such as Apache Spark, Databricks, or Snowflake

*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 $120,100 - $214,500 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 help make the health system work better for everyone. Together, we are shaping the future of healthcare by harnessing technology and innovation to make care simpler to navigate, more affordable and more connected for the people we serve. We are committed to creating an inclusive workplace where everyone feels welcomed, valued, heard and respected, empowering people to bring their authentic selves to work and strengthening our collective impact through diverse talents, backgrounds, experiences and perspectives.

UnitedHealth Group and its affiliated brands are 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 and its affiliated brands are a drug-free workplace. Candidates are required to pass a drug test before beginning employment.

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