Lead SWE, AI Dev/IT Operations - Remote or Hybrid in DC or MN

Optum; Minnetonka (MN); Hybrid; USD 113,000 - 193,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Comprehensive benefits package

Equity stock purchase program

401k contribution

Job summary

Optum is seeking a Lead Software Engineer to build intelligent automation, predictive analytics, and agentic AI for IT operations. You will design and productionize ML models and AI-driven workflows to improve observability and incident response, with collaboration across data scientists, engineers, and platform teams.

The role supports remote work from anywhere in the U.S. with MN/DC office presence required at least four days per week for local hires.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Data Science, Engineering, or related field or equivalent practical experience.
• 3+ years deploying AI/ML solutions in production.
• 3+ years Python and SQL experience, with Spark or similar distributed data processing.
• 2+ years applying ML to IT operations, observability, or reliability.
• 2+ years cloud platforms (Azure, AWS, or GCP) experience, including hybrid/cloud-native architectures.
• 2+ years MLOps, CI/CD, model monitoring and lifecycle management.
• 1+ years NLP, Large Language Models, Generative AI, and modern AI frameworks.
• 1+ years Docker and Kubernetes containerization experience.

Responsibilities

• AI/ML Development: design, build, and maintain ML models and AI-driven automation for IT operations.
• Data & Platform Engineering: build data pipelines from observability and ITSM platforms.
• Feature Engineering & Model Support: develop feature sets for anomaly detection and predictive alerting.
• Model Operationalization: deploy and productionize ML models for scale.
• AI-Driven Automation: integrate ML/AI outputs into orchestration platforms to enable self-healing workflows.
• Agentic AI Development: build components that reason, plan, and execute actions across IT operations.
• MLOps Practices: follow model lifecycle standards, data governance, and security requirements.
• Cloud & Infrastructure: utilize cloud-native/hybrid architectures for real-time analytics and scalable inference.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: work with engineers, security, and business stakeholders.
• Responsible AI: apply fairness, transparency, explainability, and accountability throughout development.

Skills

AI/ML Development

Python

Distributed Data Processing (Spark)

MLOps

Cloud Computing

NLP/LLMs

Containerization

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS/DS/Engineering

Tools

Splunk

Dynatrace

ServiceNow

Docker

Kubernetes

Jenkins

Interlink

Job description

Improve the lives of others while Caring. Connecting. Growing together.

Job Description - Lead SWE, AI Dev/IT Operations - Remote or Hybrid in DC or MN (2383875)

Lead SWE, AI Dev/IT Operations - Remote or Hybrid in DC or MN - 2383875

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.

We're seeking a skilled Lead Software Engineer to help build intelligent automation, predictive analytics, and agentic AI capabilities for IT Operations. In this role, you will design, build, and help operationalize machine learning models and AI-driven workflows that improve observability, speed up incident response, and support self-healing infrastructure across the enterprise. You'll work closely with senior engineers, architects, and data scientists to bring these capabilities into production.

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

• AI/ML Development: Design, build, and maintain machine learning models and AI-driven automation for IT operations use cases, including predictive analytics, intelligent automation, and support for autonomous remediation
• Data & Platform Engineering: Build and maintain data pipelines that ingest structured and unstructured data from observability and ITSM platforms (e.g., Splunk, Dynatrace, ServiceNow, logs, metrics, traces)
• Feature Engineering & Model Support: Develop and maintain feature sets that support anomaly detection, predictive alerting, capacity forecasting, and operational intelligence use cases
• Model Operationalization: Partner with data scientists and platform teams to deploy and productionize ML models, and help ensure they perform reliably at scale
• AI-Driven Automation: Integrate ML and AI outputs into orchestration and automation platforms (e.g., Jenkins, Interlink) to support closed-loop, self-healing operational workflows
• Agentic AI Development: Build components of agentic AI solutions that reason, plan, and execute actions across IT operations, including incident triage, root cause analysis, and resolution
• MLOps Practices: Follow established MLOps standards, model lifecycle practices, and data governance requirements aligned with enterprise security, privacy, and compliance policies
• Cloud & Infrastructure: Use cloud native and hybrid architectures to support real-time analytics, scalable model inference, and resilient AI platforms
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work with engineering, operations, security, and business stakeholders to understand requirements, document your work, and contribute reusable patterns for AI-driven operations
• Responsible AI: Apply ethical AI principles, including fairness, transparency, explainability, and accountability, throughout the development lifecycle

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:

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Data Science, Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience
• 3+ years of experience building and deploying AI/ML solutions in production environments
• 3+ years of experience in Python and SQL, with hands-on experience using distributed data processing frameworks such as Spark
• 2+ years of experience applying ML to IT operations, infrastructure, reliability engineering, or observability domains
• 2+ years of experience with cloud platforms (Azure, AWS, or GCP), including hybrid and cloud native architectures
• 2+ years of experience with MLOps practices, CI/CD pipelines, model monitoring, and lifecycle management
• 1+ years of experience with NLP, Large Language Models (LLMs), Generative AI, and modern AI frameworks
• 1+ years of experience with containerization and orchestration technologies such as Docker and Kubernetes

Preferred Qualifications:

• Hands-on experience contributing to agentic or autonomous AI systems in operational contexts
• Experience in healthcare, regulated industries, or large-scale enterprise platforms
• Experience working in agile, product-driven environments delivering scalable, high-impact solutions
• Working knowledge of IT operations concepts, including incident management, CMDB, monitoring, alerting, and reliability engineering
• Familiarity with Responsible AI and governance frameworks, including fairness, transparency, and explainability
• Solid technical communication skills, including the ability to explain AI concepts to non-technical stakeholders

*All employees working remotely will be required to adhere to UnitedHealth Group’s Telecommuter Policy.

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 $112,700 to $193,200 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.

UnitedHealth Group is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with physical and mental disabilities. If you need special assistance or accommodation for any part of the application process, please call 1-866-566-8715 to be connected to Recruitment Services. Recruitment Services hours of operation are 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. CT, Monday through Friday.

UnitedHealth Group is a registered service mark of UnitedHealth Group, Inc. The UnitedHealth Group name with the dimensional logo, as well as the dimensional logo alone, are both service marks for the UnitedHealth Group, Inc.

Diversity creates a healthier atmosphere: UnitedHealth Group is an Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, protected veteran status, disability status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by law.

UnitedHealth Group is a drug-free workplace. Candidates are required to pass a drug test before beginning employment.