Director AI or ML Engineering

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.

AI/ML Engineers code and develop software that deploys ML models and algorithms in production. Communicate and present complex analytics results and concepts to leadership and internal stakeholders. Employee AI and/or ML that may include natural language processing (NLP), natural language understanding (NLU), semantic understanding, intent classification, computer vision, deep learning, and automatic speech recognition (ASR). Applies deep learning technologies to give computers that capability to visualize, learn and respond to complex situations. May adapt machine learning to areas such as artificial intelligence, robotics and other products that allow users to have an interactive experience. Work with large scale computing frameworks, data analysis systems. Employees in this role are expected to apply knowledge of experimental methodologies, statistics, optimization, probability theory and machine learning using code for tool building, statistical analysis, using both general purpose software and statistical languages. AI/ML Applied Scientists specialize in advancing and applying artificial intelligence through research-driven, experimental research, and translate research findings into practical AI solutions for the organization.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Define and own the engineering AI strategy to measurably accelerate software development, quality, reliability, and operational efficiency through the use of AI agents
• Partner with engineering teams to analyze current workflows, development activities, and pain points across the SDLC, identifying high value opportunities where AI agents can deliver meaningful impact
• Develop a clear, prioritized roadmap of AI agent use cases aligned to business objectives, engineering strategy, and enterprise technology standards
• Build data driven proposals and business cases for AI agent investments, including baseline measurements, expected productivity gains, cost avoidance, quality improvements, and adoption metrics
• Lead the design, development, and deployment of AI agents that augment or automate engineering work (e.g., requirements analysis, design support, coding, testing, deployment, reliability, incident analysis)
• Oversee the end to end lifecycle of AI agents from proof of value through scaled production deployment, ensuring solutions are reliable, secure, observable, and maintainable
• Establish measurement frameworks, analytics, and KPIs to track realized value and continuously refine AI solutions based on usage, outcomes, and feedback
• Define a repeatable operating model for how engineering teams identify, build, govern, and adopt AI agents at scale
• Ensure all AI solutions adhere to enterprise architecture, security, privacy, regulatory, and responsible AI standards, including appropriate human in the loop controls
• Drive engineering enablement and change management, helping teams adopt new AI enabled ways of working and build confidence using AI as a force multiplier
• Serve as a trusted advisor and thought leader to engineering and technology leadership, translating complex AI concepts into clear decisions, trade offs, and business outcomes
• Collaborate closely with architecture, platform, product, data, and security partners to align AI agent strategy with broader enterprise initiatives
• Provides leadership to and is accountable for the performance and direction through multiple layers of management and senior level professional staff
• Work most often impacts a large business unit, or multiple markets/sites
• 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 degree or equivalent practical experience in applied AI, technology strategy, or complex enterprise systems
• 10+ years of experience delivering and leading complex technology initiatives, with demonstrated expertise either through hands on software engineering experience OR through deep technical partnership roles, including the driving or ownership of complex systems, platforms, or large-scale transformation initiatives
• Experience connecting AI initiatives to measurable business value, using data, analytics, and outcome-based metrics
• Experience designing, building, or operationalizing AI powered solutions, including agent based or LLM driven systems applied in real world environments
• Deep understanding of modern AI techniques and platforms, including large language models and agent frameworks used to accelerate software development and analysis
• Proven ability to identify high value AI opportunities, translate them into clear use cases, and support delivery through collaboration with engineering teams

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.