Data Engineer with AI/ML

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 diversity and inclusion, 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.

UHC Technology is focused on driving change, modernization, and ensuring reliable and stable systems so that we can help to transform health care - making it easier, more affordable, and more effective for those we serve. We are passionate about technology and the role it plays to create distinctive experiences to our constituents. While we are always focused on how technology can help us deliver faster and with improved quality, we are far more enthusiastic about the ways technology can reinvent how we deliver on our mission in partnership with the UHC lines of business and Optum Technology.

We are seeking a highly skilled and motivated Data Engineering Analyst with AI/ML expertise to drive the AI 10.0 initiative. This role blends deep expertise in data engineering, automation, and cloud-native development with hands-on experience in advanced AI/ML techniques, Large Language Models (LLMs), prompt engineering, and agentic frameworks. You will architect, build, and optimize intelligent data workflows, develop and fine-tune models, and collaborate across teams to deliver high-impact solutions for healthcare and insurance datasets.

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 for a minimum of four days per week.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Design and develop AI-driven solutions using LLMs to automate claims adjudication processes
• Build and optimize prompt engineering strategies for LLM-based applications
• Implement and integrate agentic frameworks to enable autonomous decision-making workflows
• Architect and deploy scalable data pipelines and AI workflows leveraging Python and related technologies
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure compliance with healthcare data standards and Responsible AI principles
• Contribute to model development, evaluation, and fine-tuning for production environments
• Mentor junior engineers and foster knowledge-sharing within the team.
• Work independently to deliver innovative solutions aligned with business objectives.
• Design, develop, and deploy AI-powered solutions to address complex business challenges with emphasis on responsible use of AI

You'll be rewarded and recognized for your performance in an environment that will challenge you and give you clear directions on what it takes to succeed in your role as well as provide development for other roles you may be interested in.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor's Degree in CS or IT related field
• 5+ years of hands-on experience in data engineering and backend automation
• 5+ years of experience in Python, PySpark (Databricks), T-SQL, SQL, and big data technologies (Hadoop, Spark)
• 5+ years of experience with ETL tools, workflow orchestration (Airflow), and data warehousing (Snowflake or similar)
• 1+ years of experience in any one of the cloud technologies like Azure (ML Studio), AWS, Google Cloud Platform
• 1+ years of experience with CI/CD pipelines, GitHub Actions, and containerization tools (Docker)
• 1+ years of experience with Agile methodologies and DevOps practices
• 6+ months of experience with Generative AI frameworks/architectures (LangChain, HuggingFace, OpenAI APIs)
• 6+ months of experience with AI/ML concepts including Generative AI, LLMs (GPT, Gemini, LLaMA), and prompt engineering

Preferred Qualifications:

• Understanding of Responsible AI principles and engineering best practices
• Familiarity with healthcare or health insurance domain data and compliance standards
• Excellent problem-solving skills and ability to handle ambiguity

*All Telecommuters 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 $72,800 to $130,000 annually based on full-time employment. We comply with all minimum wage laws as applicable.

Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

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.

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