Associate AI/ML Engineer

Our Company

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, and data they need to feel their best. Here, you will find a culture guided by diversity and inclusion, talented peers, comprehensive benefits, and career development opportunities. Come make an impact on the communities we serve as you help us advance health equity on a global scale. Join us to start Caring. Connecting. Growing together.

Position Summary

As an Associate AI/ML Engineer, you will join our innovative technology team at Optum Technology to design, build, and deploy cutting-edge artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities that transform healthcare operations. In this role, you will develop scalable GenAI models, Large Language Model (LLM) applications, agentic frameworks, and robust Python inference APIs deployed on Kubernetes infrastructure. Working in a fast-paced, collaborative environment, you will leverage modern developer tools and semantic search capabilities to deliver highly accessible, impactful AI solutions across enterprise healthcare data.

You'll enjoy the flexibility to telecommute* from anywhere within the U.S. as you take on some tough challenges.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Design, develop, and validate machine learning models using GenAI (LLMs, agentic frameworks) and traditional ML techniques on cloud platforms
• Write and deploy scalable Python APIs for model inference running on Kubernetes, ensuring efficient containerization and orchestration of agentic flows
• Develop and optimize Python-based analytical and machine learning solutions, leveraging libraries such as Pandas, NumPy, Scikit-learn, and Databricks to perform data analysis, build predictive models, and generate actionable business insights from large-scale datasets
• Design, develop, and deploy AI-powered solutions to address complex business challenges with an emphasis on responsible use of AI
• Evaluate emerging technology trends and best practices to inform solution design, architecture, and strategic innovation
• Leverage enterprise-approved AI tools to streamline developer workflows, automate tasks, and drive continuous software delivery improvement
• Utilize agentic coding and version control tools (e.g., GitHub Copilot, Claude) for efficient code creation, repository management, and technical collaboration
• Maintain rigorous coding standards, thorough documentation, and effective performance monitoring across all deployed AI/ML pipelines

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

Required Qualifications:

• 2+ years of experience in software development, machine learning, data science, analytics, or AI/ML engineering
• 2+ years of professional experience in Python using core data science, analytics, and machine learning libraries (e.g., Pandas, NumPy, Scikit-learn, Databricks)
• 2+ years of advanced SQL experience, including complex query development, data analysis, performance optimization, data validation, and deriving business insights from large-scale datasets
• 2+ years of experience applying machine learning techniques in enterprise environments, including supervised learning, unsupervised learning, statistical modelling, feature engineering, and model evaluation
• 2+ years of experience developing and deploying NLP or Generative AI solutions, including Transformers, GPT models, Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), vector databases, embeddings, and prompt engineering in production environments
• 1+ years of experience building, deploying, and maintaining RESTful APIs for machine learning or Generative AI model inference

Preferred Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience
• Strong analytical, quantitative, problem-solving, and critical thinking skills
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to present detailed technical analyses to diverse technical and business stakeholders
• Experience with vision and speech models in GenAI (multimodal architectures)
• Background in healthcare data analytics (e.g., claims, eligibility, enrollment) and working within regulated compliance environments
• Hands-on experience with containerization and container orchestration technologies such as Docker and Kubernetes
• Experience utilizing AI-assisted developer and coding tools to accelerate software production and technical documentation
• Demonstrated familiarity with agentic frameworks, Model Context Protocol (MCP), and Agent-to-Agent (A2A) architectures
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to translate complex business problems into data-driven solutions and actionable insights
• Experience working with large structured and unstructured datasets, performing exploratory data analysis, data quality assessments, and root-cause investigations

*All Telecommuters 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 $77,000 to $137,600 annually based on full-time employment. We comply with all minimum wage laws as applicable.

Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

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.

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.

#RPO, #GREEN