Director AI/ML Engineering

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

Primary Responsibilities:

Technical Leadership & Delivery

Lead the design, development, and deployment of enterprise-scale AI/ML and Generative AI solutions, including LLM and agentic systems (e.g., OpenAI, Gemini, Claude, Copilot)

Define and scale AI-driven engineering practices, including AI-enabled SDLC (AIDLC) frameworks, tools, and reusable platforms

Drive the productionization of AI solutions, including performance optimization, monitoring, observability, and reliability

Apply AI-driven automation and agent-based workflows to improve engineering productivity, quality, and speed to market

Team Leadership

Build, lead, and mentor a high-performing, globally distributed team of AI/ML leaders, AI/agentic engineers, and full-stack and quality engineers

Own talent development, including hiring, upskilling, performance management, and career growth

Foster a culture of innovation, experimentation, and continuous learning

Stakeholder & Business Engagement

Partner with Product, Business, and Platform teams to define AI-driven solutions aligned to strategic priorities

Drive alignment on roadmap, prioritization, and delivery outcomes across cross-functional teams

Resolve complex technical and organizational challenges spanning engineering, data, infrastructure, and business domains

Influence product and business strategy by bringing a strong AI/ML perspective to decision-making

Thought Leadership & Evangelism

Stay current with emerging trends in AI, LLMs, and agentic systems, and translate them into enterprise opportunities

Champion responsible AI practices, including governance, risk management, and ethical use

Build and communicate compelling narratives demonstrating business value and impact of AI initiatives

Represent the organization in internal and external forums as a leader in AI innovation

Comply with the terms and conditions of the employment contract, company policies and procedures, and any and all directives (such as, but not limited to, transfer and/or re-assignment to different work locations, change in teams and/or work shifts, policies in regards to flexibility of work benefits and/or work environment, alternative work arrangements, and other decisions that may arise due to the changing business environment). The Company may adopt, vary or rescind these policies and directives in its absolute discretion and without any limitation (implied or otherwise) on its ability to do so

Required Qualifications:

Undergraduate degree or equivalent experience

15+ years of experience in software engineering, with significant focus on AI/ML and data-driven systems

5+ years of experience designing and deploying cloud-native solutions (Azure or AWS), including scalable AI/ML workloads

4+ years of experience leading large-scale AI/ML engineering organizations (20-50+ team members) with globally distributed teams

2+ years of Hands-on experience with Python and modern ML/GenAI frameworks (e.g., PyTorch, TensorFlow, LLM ecosystems, RAG, agent frameworks)

Experience implementing AI-enabled software development lifecycle practices (AIDLC) and related tools/frameworks like BMAD, SpecKit

Demonstrated ability to connect AI investments to measurable business outcomes (ROI, efficiency, growth, risk reduction)

Flexibility to collaborate with global teams, including overlap with US-based stakeholders as needed

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.