Lead AI/ML Engineer

Optum; Gurugram District; On-site; INR 4,000,000 - 7,500,000; Full time

Job summary

Optum is seeking a senior software leader to drive architecture and delivery of enterprise AI-enabled platforms. You will design scalable microservices and event-driven systems, leveraging GenAI patterns such as RAG, embeddings, and NLP workflows.

You will ensure high throughput, low latency, and strong observability across cloud-native deployments. You will mentor engineers, influence cross-team architecture decisions, and collaborate with product teams to translate business needs into robust

Qualifications

• 10+ years of hands-on experience delivering enterprise applications.
• Proficient in Go and/or Python; experience with GenAI/LLM ecosystems.
• Experience with RAG architectures, embeddings, and NLP workflows.
• Experience with MongoDB and PostgreSQL.
• Cloud platforms (Azure / GCP), containers and cloud-native deployments.
• CI/CD pipelines and DevOps tooling; observability and production troubleshooting.
• Strong system design and distributed-systems expertise; microservices and API design.
• Proven ability to deliver production-grade software in complex environments.

Responsibilities

• Provide technical leadership and end-to-end delivery of scalable enterprise applications.
• Lead architecture across microservices, event-driven designs, and API platforms.
• Drive GenAI-powered solutions and NLP pipelines using RAG, embeddings, and related patterns.
• Ensure performance, reliability, and fault tolerance; maintain observability and monitoring.
• Mentor engineers, influence cross-team architecture decisions, and uphold design rigor.

Skills

Go

Python

GenAI/LLM ecosystems

RAG architectures

Embeddings

NLP workflows

System design

Microservices

Event-driven

API design

Observability

CI/CD

DevOps tooling

Tools

MongoDB

PostgreSQL

Azure

GCP

Container-based deployments

CI/CD tooling

Job description

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
  • 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 all applicable Company policies, procedures, and business directives, changes including those relating to work location, team assignments, work schedules, and flexible work arrangements.

Required Qualifications:

• 10+ years of hands-on experience designing and delivering enterprise applications
• 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
• Proven expertise in building and deploying production-grade software systems

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.