Director of Architecture and Data Strategy - Remote

UnitedHealth Group; Minnetonka (MN); Hybrid; USD 135,000 - 231,000; Full time

Job summary

UnitedHealth Group is seeking a senior data architecture leader to own the target-state data architecture for the Community & State line, aligning with enterprise strategy and guiding engineers through architectural decisions.

You will translate business needs into modeled, governed data, design semantic layers, evaluate AI trends, and drive data contracts and governance across a distributed team in a highly regulated healthcare environment.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in data architecture, data engineering, or related technical disciplines.
• 5+ years defining, evaluating, and validating enterprise-scale data architectures through pilots and production adoption.
• 4+ years with modern cloud data platforms and distributed data architectures (Snowflake, Databricks, BigQuery, Azure Synapse).
• 3+ years in senior architecture or technical leadership roles shaping technology strategy.
• 3+ years designing and validating data models across paradigms (Data Vault, semantic layers, knowledge graphs, vector representations).
• 2+ years piloting Generative AI and LLM-powered solutions with RAG, grounding, vector search, and agentic patterns.

Responsibilities

• Own the target-state data architecture for the Community & State line of business and align with enterprise data strategy.
• Translate business use cases into data requirements, modeling, governance, and serving layer.
• Drive architectural direction, trade-offs, and investment with C&S leaders.
• Direct pilots and proofs-of-concept to validate recommendations before adoption.
• Design semantic and metadata layers, ontologies, and knowledge systems for AI and humans to reason over data.
• Evaluate AI trends and inform solution design for strategic investments in data architecture.
• Write reference architectures, data contracts, and governance models for widespread adoption.
• Establish data governance, privacy, security, and AI-safety frameworks while accelerating delivery.
• Influence across engineering teams through documentation and validated proof points rather than direct authority.
• Collaborate with security, legal, compliance, and infrastructure to shape data platform investments for C&S.
• Model responsible AI adoption and guide enterprise tools and automation usage.

Skills

Data architecture

Architecture strategy

Cloud data platforms

Technical leadership

Data modeling

Generative AI

Data governance

Security & compliance

Standards & governance

Python

SQL

Leadership influence

Education

Master's degree in CS/Data Science

Bachelor's degree in CS/Engineering/Data Science

Tools

Snowflake

Databricks

BigQuery

Azure Synapse

Data lakehouse

Streaming

Vector search

Knowledge graphs

Job description

Optum Tech is a global leader in health care innovation. Our teams develop cutting‑edge solutions that help people live healthier lives and help make the health system work better for everyone. From advanced data analytics and AI to cybersecurity, we use innovative approaches to solve some of health care's most complex challenges. Your contributions here have the potential to change lives. Ready to build the next breakthrough? Join us to start Caring. Connecting. Growing together.

Reporting to the LOB Chief Architect & AI Officer, you will own the data strategy and target‑state data architecture for the Community & State (C&S) line of business - setting direction for how C&S data is modeled, governed, and served, and steering the engineering teams that execute it. You will collaborate with and contribute to UHC- and UHG‑level data strategies and workstreams, ensuring C&S both aligns with and helps shape enterprise direction. You'll stay close enough to the craft to validate key assumptions yourself, while driving delivery through the teams around you rather than through personal execution.

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 a minimum of four days per week.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Own the target‑state data architecture for the Community & State line of business, with a clear path from current to future state, and contribute to UHC- and UHG‑level data strategy and workstreams
• Serve as the translation layer between business and technology - interpret business use cases and problems‑to‑be‑solved and determine what they mean for data: how it must be sourced, modeled, governed, and served
• Translate technology and data strategy into business terms, driving alignment across C&S leaders and stakeholders on the rationale behind architectural direction, trade‑offs, and investment
• Direct and review the pilots and proof‑of‑concept work that validate architectural recommendations - guiding engineering teams and validating key assumptions yourself before the organization adopts them
• Design semantic and metadata layers, ontologies, and knowledge systems that let humans and AI agents reason over the same data, working with engineering teams to prove them out
• Evaluate emerging AI research, technologies, and architecture trends - including RAG, agentic patterns, and vector/embedding systems - to inform solution design and strategic investment decisions
• Author reference architectures, design patterns, and data contracts that C&S engineering teams adopt and build against
• Establish data governance, data quality, privacy, security, and AI‑safety frameworks that protect business assets while accelerating delivery for the teams building on top of them
• Drive architectural alignment across the C&S engineering teams through technical influence, documentation, and validated proof points rather than delivery authority
• Partner with engineering, security, legal, compliance, and infrastructure leaders to inform build/buy/retire decisions and shape data platform investments for C&S
• Model responsible, efficient AI adoption and set the expectation for how C&S teams use enterprise‑approved AI tools and automation platforms

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

Required Qualifications:

• 10+ years of experience in data architecture, data engineering, data analytics, information management, or closely related technical disciplines
• 5+ years defining, evaluating, and validating enterprise‑scale or large‑domain data architecture strategies through proofs of concept, pilots, architecture reviews, and production adoption
• 4+ years with modern cloud data platforms and distributed data architectures, including Snowflake, Databricks, BigQuery, Azure Synapse, or equivalent, as well as lakehouse and streaming architectures
• 3+ years in senior architecture, domain architecture, or technical leadership roles setting technology strategy and influencing architectural direction
• 3+ years of hands‑on experience designing and validating data models across multiple paradigms, including dimensional modeling, Data Vault, semantic layers, knowledge graphs, and vector/embedding representations
• 2+ years designing or piloting Generative AI and LLM‑powered solutions, with working knowledge of RAG, grounding strategies, evaluation frameworks, vector search, and agentic patterns sufficient to steer and challenge engineering teams
• Hands‑on experience with enterprise metadata, data governance, data catalog, lineage, semantic, and AI‑ready data platform capabilities
• Experience working in highly regulated environments with solid security, privacy, compliance, and risk management requirements
• Proven experience establishing data architecture standards, reference architectures, data contracts, and governance models across large, distributed engineering organizations
• Working proficiency in Python and SQL sufficient to review technical work, reason about trade‑offs, and challenge engineering teams - independent prototype‑building not required
• Demonstrated ability to drive architectural transformation and technology adoption through technical leadership, senior‑leader and engineering‑leader communication, influence, and validated proof points rather than direct organizational authority

Preferred Qualifications:

• Master's degree or advanced training in Computer Science, Data Science, or a related discipline
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Data Science, or a related field (or equivalent professional experience)
• Experience with health care data, Medicaid, or government‑sponsored programs relevant to Community & State
• Experience leading a data architecture function at a high‑growth product company or AI‑native organization
• Background in machine learning engineering, applied AI research, or production ML systems
• Published technical writing, conference speaking engagements, or open‑source software contributions in data architecture or AI

*All employees working remotely 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 $134,600 - $230,800 annually based on full‑time employment. We comply with all minimum wage laws as applicable.

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.