Senior Manager AI/ML Engineering

Optum; Chennai District; On-site; INR 6,000,000 - 9,000,000; Full time

Job summary

Optum is seeking a senior engineering leader to guide AI/ML and Conversational AI initiatives across enterprise platforms. You will mentor teams, define technology roadmaps, and ensure scalable, secure software practices while aligning delivery with business goals.

The role emphasizes strong leadership, governance of AI lifecycle, and collaboration with executives to drive measurable business impact. A background in cloud-native architectures and CCaaS is highly valued.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's or Master's in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field.
• 10+ years of software engineering experience, including 5+ years in engineering leadership roles.
• Experience leading enterprise AI/ML and engineering teams.

Responsibilities

• Lead and mentor engineering teams building AI/ML and Conversational AI solutions.
• Define and execute technology roadmaps aligned with business goals.
• Drive engineering excellence through scalable, reliable, and secure software practices.
• Establish delivery, quality, and adoption metrics to measure success.
• Foster Agile delivery across multiple teams and manage risk to ensure timely outcomes.
• Lead integration of AI solutions with enterprise systems and CCaaS platforms.

Skills

AI/ML leadership

Python

Node.js

TypeScript

Cloud architectures

DevOps practices

Agile leadership

Stakeholder mgmt

Education

Bachelor's or Master's in CS/Engineering

Tools

Terraform

CI/CD

DevOps

Cloud-native

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:

• Engineering Leadership
  • Lead and mentor engineering teams building AI/ML and Conversational AI solutions
  • Define and execute technology roadmaps aligned with business goals
  • Drive engineering excellence through scalable, reliable, and secure software practices
  • Establish delivery, quality, and adoption metrics to measure success
• Agile Delivery Execution
  • Drive Agile delivery across multiple teams using Scrum, Kanban, or SAFe methodologies
  • Ensure predictable execution through effective planning, prioritization, and risk management
  • Balance innovation, technical debt, and business priorities to achieve delivery outcomes
  • Foster a culture of continuous improvement and operational excellence
• AI Strategy Innovation
  • Accelerate AI adoption across products, platforms, and internal processes
  • Lead innovation initiatives leveraging Generative AI, Conversational AI, Voice AI, and intelligent automation
  • Evaluate emerging AI technologies and drive experimentation at scale
  • Champion responsible AI and AI Development Lifecycle (AIDLC) practices
• Conversational AI Platform Integration
  • Lead the development of enterprise-grade chatbots, voice bots, and virtual assistants
  • Provide technical leadership across Amazon Lex, Google Dialogflow, and Google ADK
  • Drive integration with enterprise applications, CCaaS platforms, and customer engagement solutions
• People Stakeholder Leadership
  • Build, coach, and develop high-performing engineering teams
  • Foster an inclusive, collaborative, and innovation-focused culture
  • Partner effectively with business leaders, product teams, architects, and executive stakeholders
  • Drive alignment across cross-functional teams to deliver business outcomes
• Engineering Excellence Compliance
  • Drive adoption of CI/CD, Terraform, DevOps, and cloud-native engineering practices
  • Implement Shift-Left approaches for quality, security, and operational readiness
  • Ensure compliance with enterprise security, privacy, and governance requirements
  • Promote DevSecOps and Responsible AI best practices
• 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:

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field
• 10+ years of software engineering experience, including 5+ years in engineering leadership roles
• Experience leading enterprise AI/ML and engineering teams

Technical Expertise

• Solid hands-on experience with:
  • Amazon Lex
  • Google Dialogflow
  • Google ADK
  • Experience building and scaling:
  • Voice Bots
  • Chatbots
  • Virtual Assistants
• Proficiency in Python, Node.js, or TypeScript
• Solid experience with CI/CD pipelines, Terraform, DevOps practices, and cloud-native architectures

• AI Platform Experience

  • Solid understanding of AI Development Lifecycle (AIDLC) and Responsible AI principles
  • Experience integrating AI solutions with enterprise systems and workflows
  • Exposure to LLMs, RAG, Agentic AI, and modern AI architectures
  • Experience working with CCaaS platforms and integrations

• Leadership Business Acumen

  • Solid people leadership, coaching, and talent development experience
  • Excellent stakeholder management and executive communication skills
  • Proven ability to drive AI transformation and organizational change
  • Demonstrated track record of delivering innovative solutions with measurable business impact

Preferred Qualifications:

• Certifications in AI/ML, Cloud Technologies, Agile, or DevOps
• Experience with Azure AI, AWS AI/ML, or Google Cloud AI services
• Experience with Genesys, NICE, Five9, Amazon Connect, or similar CCaaS platforms

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.