Distinguished Engineer

Elevance Health, Inc.; Atlanta (GA); Hybrid; USD 230,000 - 320,000; Full time

Job summary

Elevance Health is seeking a Distinguished Engineer to lead the design, development, and deployment of large-scale AI systems across the enterprise. The role requires in-office collaboration three days per week within our hybrid model, with alternate locations considered for commuting candidates.

You will drive enterprise technology strategy, set standards for AI systems, and mentor engineering teams while delivering production-grade solutions that impact health outcomes and member experiences.

Qualifications

• Requires a bachelor’s degree in information technology, computer science, engineering, or related field and 15+ years in software engineering, with distributed systems leadership.
• Experience designing, developing, and operating APIs, microservices, and event-driven architectures using cloud, CI/CD, and DevOps practices.

Responsibilities

• Architect and deliver scalable AI solutions and large-scale systems.
• Define enterprise-wide technical direction including architecture patterns and reusable platform capabilities.
• Lead AI-driven modernization of legacy systems and automated code transformation.
• Design and implement AI-enabled SDLC practices to improve velocity and quality.
• Establish standards, governance, and best practices for AI systems.

Skills

Distributed systems

API design

Microservices

Cloud & DevOps

Python/Java

Education

Bachelor's degree in IT/CS/Engineering

Job description

Distinguished Engineer

Please note: This position is not eligible for current or future visa sponsorship

Hybrid: This role requires associates to be in-office3days per week, fostering collaboration and connectivity, while providing flexibility to support productivity and work-life balance. This approach combines structured office engagement with the autonomy of virtual work, promoting a dynamic and adaptable workplace. Alternate locations may be considered if candidates reside within a commuting distance from an office.

Please note that per our policy on hybrid/virtual work, candidates not within a reasonable commuting distance from the posting location(s) will not be considered for employment, unless an accommodation is granted as required by law.

The Distinguished Engineer is responsible for leading the design, development, and deployment of large-scale, production-grade artificial intelligence (AI) systems and platforms that enable enterprise-wide innovation and modernization.

How you will make an impact

• Architect and deliver scalable, resilient AI solutions leveraging technologies such as agentic systems, large language models (LLMs), distributed systems, and event-driven architectures.
• Define enterprise-wide technical direction, including architecture patterns, integration standards, and reusable platform capabilities.
• Lead AI-driven modernization of legacy systems through automated code transformation, service decomposition, and continuous optimization.
• Design and implement AI-enabled software development lifecycle (SDLC) practices to improve engineering velocity and quality.
• Establish technical standards, governance frameworks, and best practices for AI systems, including monitoring, evaluation, and responsible AI.
• Partner with engineering teams and stakeholders to enable adoption of AI-assisted development and drive continuous improvement in system performance and productivity.
• Provide technical leadership and mentorship while influencing enterprise technology decisions through deep expertise and hands-on engineering.

Minimum Requirements

• Requires a bachelor’s degree in information technology, Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field and a minimum of 15 years of experience in software engineering, including experience leading, designing, implementing, and operating distributed systems and large-scale architectures, or any combination of education and experience which would provide an equivalent background.
• Experience designing, developing, and maintaining software solutions using Python, Java, or comparable object-oriented programming languages also required, as well as experience designing and implementing APIs, microservices, and event-driven architectures, and applying cloud, CI/CD, and DevOps practices.

Preferred Skills, Capabilities, and Experiences

We’re seeking a distinguished technical leader who combines enterprise-level strategic thinking, deep business understanding, exceptional hands-on software engineering capabilities, and behavioral science and public health expertise. The ideal candidate must demonstrate a proven track record of designing, building, and delivering production-grade solutions while influencing enterprise technology strategy, developing technical talent, and driving measurable business and health outcomes.

• Hands-On Engineering Excellence and Technical Leadership: Exceptional software engineering expertise with demonstrated ability to architect, build, optimize, and deliver production solutions while setting high engineering standards and developing technical talent.
• AI Expertise and Strategic Thinking: Deep understanding of AI, generative AI, agentic systems, LLMs, intelligent automation, and modern data architectures. Experience applying these technologies to improve decision-making, member engagement, and health outcomes, including trusted and safe AI-enabled experiences.
• End-to-End Systems and Business Thinking: Ability to connect business processes, products, data, systems, and technology across organizational boundaries and translate complex challenges into scalable solutions informed by behavioral, social, and population-health insights.
• Product and Platform Thinking: Experience establishing technology vision, roadmaps, reusable platforms, architectural standards, and investment priorities with a focus on scalability, simplicity, experimentation, and measurable value.
• Behavioral Science, Public Health, and Healthcare Expertise: Experience in behavioral science, public health, population health, health psychology, epidemiology, or related disciplines. Knowledge of behavior change, social determinants of health, population segmentation, health equity, and evidence-based interventions. Experience translating behavioral insights into scalable digital, AI, and human interventions is highly valued. Advanced training in a relevant discipline or equivalent experience is preferred.
• End-to-End Execution and Accountability: Proven ability to drive complex initiatives from problem definition and architecture through implementation and production, including translating behavioral and population-health evidence into scalable interventions and measurable outcomes.
• Executive Influence and Communication: Exceptional ability to translate technical, behavioral, and public health concepts into clear technology strategy, influence enterprise decisions, communicate tradeoffs, and build executive alignment.
• Cross-Functional Leadership and Collaboration: Proven ability to build trusted partnerships across product, engineering, data, operations, clinical, behavioral health, population health, care management, and analytics, bringing multidisciplinary teams together around shared outcomes.

#EHS

#LI

Please be advised that Elevance Health only accepts resumes for compensation from agencies that have a signed agreement with Elevance Health. Any unsolicited resumes, including those submitted to hiring managers, are deemed to be the property of Elevance Health.

Who We Are

Elevance Health is a health company dedicated to improving lives and communities – and making healthcare simpler. We are a Fortune 25 company with a longstanding history in the healthcare industry, looking for leaders at all levels of the organization who are passionate about making an impact on our members and the communities we serve.

How We Work

At Elevance Health, we are creating a culture that is designed to advance our strategy but will also lead to personal and professional growth for our associates. Our values and behaviors are the root of our culture. They are how we achieve our strategy, power our business outcomes and drive our shared success - for our consumers, our associates, our communities and our business.

We offer a range of market-competitive total rewards that include merit increases, paid holidays, Paid Time Off, and incentive bonus programs (unless covered by a collective bargaining agreement), medical, dental, vision, short and long term disability benefits, 401(k) +match, stock purchase plan, life insurance, wellness programs and financial education resources, to name a few.

Elevance Health operates in a Hybrid Workforce Strategy. Unless specified as primarily virtual by the hiring manager, associates are required to work at an Elevance Health location at least once per week, and potentially several times per week. Specific requirements and expectations for time onsite will be discussed as part of the hiring process.

The health of our associates and communities is a top priority for Elevance Health. We require all new candidates in certain patient/member-facing roles to become vaccinated against COVID-19 and Influenza. If you are not vaccinated, your offer will be rescinded unless you provide an acceptable explanation. Elevance Health will also follow all relevant federal, state, and local laws.

Elevance Health is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, citizenship status, color, creed, disability, ethnicity, genetic information, gender (including gender identity and gender expression), marital status, national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, veteran status or any other status or condition protected by applicable federal, state, or local laws. Applicants who require accommodation to participate in the job application process should submit the Accessibility Accommodation Request Form and a member of the team will be in contact.

Qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with all federal, state, and local laws, including, but not limited to, the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance and the California Fair Chance Act.

Prospective employees required to be screened under Florida law should review the education and awareness resources at HB531 | Florida Agency for Health Care Administration.