Lead AI/ML Engineer

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. We are seeking a highly experienced and hands-on Principal Software Engineer (IC Role) to design, build, and scale enterprise-grade, AI-powered platforms and applications. This role requires deep expertise in distributed systems, modern cloud-native architectures, and GenAI/LLM ecosystems, with a solid emphasis on hands-on engineering and end-to-end ownership of complex systems. The ideal candidate will influence technical direction across teams while remaining deeply involved in system design, coding, and production delivery. What Success Looks Like Scalable, resilient, and production-ready enterprise platforms High-quality, maintainable, and performant codebases Successful delivery of AI-powered solutions into production Solid adoption of best practices in system design and engineering excellence Technical influence across teams and platforms Primary Responsibilities: Technical Leadership & Delivery Design and implement scalable, distributed enterprise applications Drive end-to-end delivery of AI-powered solutions leveraging LLM ecosystems Build intelligent systems using GenAI patterns, including: Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) Embeddings and semantic search NLP-based pipelines Develop, test, and deploy production-grade services and platforms Ensure systems meet expectations for: Performance Reliability Scalability Lead deep technical problem-solving in complex and ambiguous environments Architecture & Engineering Excellence Architect and implement: Microservices-based systems Event-driven architectures Robust API-driven platforms Define and enforce best practices in: System design Code quality Testing strategies Secure software engineering Optimize systems for high throughput, low latency, and fault tolerance Platform & Technology Development Work extensively with: Programming languages (Go, Python, or equivalent) Databases (MongoDB, PostgreSQL) Cloud platforms (Azure / GCP) Container-based deployments and orchestration (ACA preferred) Build and maintain CI/CD pipelines and DevOps practices Enable efficient, automated, and reliable software delivery Observability & Production Reliability Design and implement observability frameworks including: Logging Monitoring Tracing Troubleshoot production issues and ensure rapid resolution Continuously improve system reliability and operational excellence * Stakeholder & Cross-Team Collaboration Collaborate with: Product teams Engineering teams Translate business requirements into scalable technical solutions Influence architecture decisions across teams without direct authority Communicate complex technical concepts clearly to diverse audiences Mentorship & Technical Influence Mentor and guide engineers to improve technical capabilities Promote engineering best practices and design rigor Drive technical reviews, design discussions, and innovation initiatives Foster a culture of high-quality engineering and continuous improvement Compliance 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 regard 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: 10+ years of hands-on experience designing and delivering enterprise applications Proven expertise in building and deploying production-grade software systems Solid hands-on programming experience in: Go, Python, or similar languages Experience with GenAI/LLM ecosystems, including: RAG architectures Embeddings NLP workflows Experience working with databases: MongoDB PostgreSQL Experience with: Cloud platforms (Azure / GCP) Containers and cloud-native deployments (ACA preferred) CI/CD pipelines and DevOps tooling Solid understanding of: Scalability, performance, and reliability principles Observability and production troubleshooting Secure software engineering practices End-to-end system delivery Expertise in: System design and distributed systems Microservices architecture Event-driven systems API design and integration patterns Preferred Qualifications: Experience building and scaling AI-powered enterprise platforms Experience working in large, complex enterprise environments Familiarity with advanced observability and monitoring ecosystems Leadership & Execution: Demonstrated ability to influence technical direction across teams Solid problem-solving skills in ambiguous and complex environments Proven ability to drive execution and deliver outcomes independently Communication & Collaboration Solid communication skills across technical and business audiences Ability to clearly articulate architecture and design decisions Effective stakeholder engagement and cross-team alignment 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.