Principal AI / ML Engineer - Remote

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 talented peers, comprehensive benefits and career development opportunities. Come make an impact on the communities we serve as you help us advance health equity on a global scale. Join us to start Caring. Connecting. Growing together.

Optum AI is UnitedHealth Group's enterprise AI team. We are AI / ML scientists and engineers with deep expertise in AI / ML engineering for health care. We develop AI / ML solutions for the highest impact opportunities across UnitedHealth Group businesses including UnitedHealthcare, Optum Financial, Optum Health, Optum Insight, and Optum Rx. In addition to transforming the health care journey through responsible AI / ML innovation, our charter also includes developing and supporting an enterprise AI / ML development platform.

As a Principal AI / ML Engineer, you will be responsible for the design, implementation, and scaling of AI systems for health applications at Optum. You will be responsible for the development and execution of the vision for enabling Agentic orchestration and deployment solutions on United AI Studio (enterprise ML platform). As a Principal Engineer, you will ensure technical tasks and properly detailed, designed and executed per existing standards. You are expected to play a key role in design activities and scoping and mentor juniors in execution.

You'll enjoy the flexibility to work remotely

• from anywhere within the U.S. as you take on some tough challenges.

Primary Responsibilities :

Design and Development : Lead the design, development, and deployment of observability solutions and Agentic orchestration features on the UAIS platform, ensuring scalability, reliability, and fault tolerance

Agentic Framework Integration : Implement and optimize Agentic orchestration frameworks, ensuring seamless integration with UAIS platform features and observability systems

Observability Frameworks : Build and maintain observability tools and infrastructure (e.g., logging, metrics, distributed tracing) to monitor the health, performance, and behavior of deployed systems and features

Platform Engineering : Develop and enhance platform capabilities, including Kubernetes-based orchestration, CI / CD pipelines, and infrastructure automation

Technical Leadership : Provide technical guidance and mentorship to offshore and onshore engineering teams, fostering collaboration and continuous improvement

Code Quality and Standards : Write robust, scalable, and maintainable code while enforcing software development standards and best practicesDocumentation : Create and maintain detailed technical documentation, supporting team alignment and knowledge sharing

Innovation and Continuous Improvement : Stay up-to-date with emerging technologies and methodologies, introducing innovative solutions for Agentic solution challenges

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 :

Master's degree or Ph.D. in computer science or related field; or bachelor's degree and at least 7 years of relevant experience

7+ years of industry experience across AI / ML Engineering and Platform Engineering with at least 3+ years in lead role

5+ years of experience with demonstrated proficiency in Python

3+ years of experience and demonstratable ability to lead and mentor a technical team with a collaborative and results-driven approach

Hands-on experience with Agentic / AI orchestration frameworks (Langgraph, ADK etc.) and AI observability tools (e.g., Langfuse, Arize, AppInsights, Prometheus, OpenTelemetry) in any cloud environment

Preferred Qualifications :

Experience working with multiple cloud platforms such as Azure, AWS, or GCP

Experience with other programming languages such as Java and C++ Familiarity with DevOps practices, such as containerization (Docker, Kubernetes) and infrastructure-as-code tools

Experience influencing in a heavily matrixed organization

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 $132,200 to $226,600 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.