Distinguished Engineer

Elevance Health; Atlanta (GA); Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Elevance Health is seeking a Distinguished Engineer to lead the design, development, and deployment of large-scale AI systems that propel enterprise-wide modernization. The role blends hands-on engineering with strategic leadership to shape platform capabilities and governance.

Hybrid work requires in-office presence 3 days per week with possible alternate locations for commuting candidates. The ideal candidate will architect scalable AI solutions, drive modernization of legacy systems, and

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in IT, CS, engineering or related field with 15+ years of software engineering and distributed systems leadership.
• Proficiency in Python or Java plus API, microservice, event-driven architecture design.
• Experience with cloud, CI/CD and DevOps practices.

Responsibilities

• Architect and deliver scalable AI solutions using agentic systems, LLMs, distributed systems and event-driven architectures.
• Define enterprise-wide technical direction, including architecture patterns and reusable platform capabilities.
• Lead AI-driven modernization of legacy systems with automated code transformation and service decomposition.
• Design and implement AI-enabled SDLC practices to improve velocity and quality.
• Establish technical standards, governance and best practices for AI systems including monitoring and responsible AI.
• Partner with teams to enable adoption of AI-assisted development and drive performance improvements.
• Provide technical leadership and mentorship while influencing enterprise technology decisions.

Skills

Python

Java

APIs

Microservices

Event-driven architectures

Cloud

CI/CD

DevOps practices

Technical leadership

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, 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

This role needs a distinguished technical leader who combines enterprise-level strategic thinking, deep business understanding, and exceptional hands-on software engineering capabilities. The ideal candidate must demonstrate a proven track record of personally designing, building, and delivering production-grade solutions while influencing enterprise technology strategy, developing technical talent, and driving measurable business outcomes.

• Hands-On Engineering Excellence and Technical Leadership: Exceptional software engineering expertise with demonstrated ability to architect, write, optimize, and deliver high-quality production code. Sets high standards for engineering practices, technical judgement, code quality, and productivity while mentoring senior engineers, developing technical talent, and building organizational engineering capabilities.


• AI Expertise and Strategic Thinking: Deep understanding of AI, generative AI, agentic systems, LLMs, intelligent automation, and modern data architectures. Demonstrated hands‑on experience applying emerging technologies to build production‑ready solutions that improve business outcomes, operational efficiency, customer experiences, and decision‑making.


• End‑to‑End Systems and Business Thinking: Demonstrated ability to understand complex business domains and connect business processes, products, data, systems, and technology across organizational boundaries. Experience translating end‑to‑end business journeys and enterprise challenges into scalable, practical technology solutions.


• Product and Platform Thinking: Experience building and evolving enterprise technology capabilities as products, establishing long‑term vision, roadmaps, reusable platforms, architectural standards, and investment priorities. Strong focus on scalability, simplicity, engineering efficiency, and measurable business value.


• Healthcare and Provider‑Domain Expertise: Experience across healthcare payer and provider ecosystems, ideally including provider onboarding, credentialing, contracting, provider data management, network management, provider performance, interoperability, and related healthcare business capabilities.


• End‑to‑End Execution and Accountability: Proven track record of personally driving complex technology initiatives from business problem definition and architecture through hands‑on development, implementation, production deployment, and measurable outcomes. Demonstrates ownership, sound judgement, and the ability to navigate ambiguity, dependencies, and organizational complexity to deliver results.


• Executive Influence and Communication: Exceptional ability to communicate complex technical and business concepts to senior executives, articulate technology strategy and trade-offs, influence enterprise decisions without direct authority, and build alignment around strategic priorities and business outcomes.


• Cross‑Functional Leadership and Collaboration: Proven ability to build trusted partnerships across business, product, engineering, architecture, data, operations, security, and other enterprise functions. Demonstrates the ability to mobilize diverse teams, challenge conventional thinking constructively, and drive shared accountability for enterprise 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.