Lead AI/ML Software Engineer - Remote

<p><span style="font-family:Tahoma, Geneva, sans-serif;font-size:10px;">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 <strong>Caring. Connecting. Growing together.</strong></span></p><p> </p><p><span style="font-family:Tahoma, Geneva, sans-serif;font-size:10px;">Optum AI is UnitedHealth Group’s enterprise AI team. We are AI/ML scientists and engineers with deep expertise in AI/ML engineering for health care. We develop AI/ML solutions for the highest impact opportunities across UnitedHealth Group businesses including UnitedHealthcare, Optum Financial, Optum Health, Optum Insight, and Optum Rx. In addition to transforming the health care journey through responsible AI/ML innovation, our charter also includes developing and supporting an enterprise AI/ML development platform.</span></p><p> </p><p><span style="font-family:Tahoma, Geneva, sans-serif;font-size:10px;">You’ll enjoy the flexibility to work remotely * from anywhere within the U.S. as you take on some tough challenges.</span></p><p> </p><p><span style="font-family:Tahoma, Geneva, sans-serif;font-size:10px;"><strong>Optum AI team members:</strong></span></p><ul><li><span style="font-family:Tahoma, Geneva, sans-serif;font-size:10px;"><strong>Have impact at scale: </strong>We have the data and resources to make an impact at scale. When our solutions are deployed, they have the potential to make health care system work better for everyone</span></li><li><span style="font-family:Tahoma, Geneva, sans-serif;font-size:10px;"><strong>Do ground-breaking work:</strong> Many of our current projects involve cutting edge ML, NLP and LLM techniques. Generative AI methods for working with structured and unstructured health care data are continuously being developed and improved. We are working in one of the most important frontiers of AI/ML research and development</span></li><li><span style="font-family:Tahoma, Geneva, sans-serif;font-size:10px;"><strong>Partner with world-class experts on innovative solutions: </strong>Our team members are developing novel AI/ML solutions to business challenges. In some cases, this includes the opportunity to file patents and publish papers about the methods we develop. We also collaborate with AI/ML researchers at some of the world’s top universities</span></li></ul><p> </p><p><span style="font-family:Tahoma, Geneva, sans-serif;font-size:10px;"><strong>Primary Responsibilities:</strong></span></p><ul><li><span style="font-family:Tahoma, Geneva, sans-serif;font-size:10px;">Own the inference and delivery of machine learning insights to multiple customers</span></li><li><span style="font-family:Tahoma, Geneva, sans-serif;font-size:10px;">Manage, monitor, and scale machine learning systems, delivering insights to multiple customers</span></li><li><span style="font-family:Tahoma, Geneva, sans-serif;font-size:10px;">Partner with cross-functional engineering teams to implement scalable, flexible pipelines that bring AI innovations into real-world products</span></li><li><span style="font-family:Tahoma, Geneva, sans-serif;font-size:10px;">Work with large-scale data and distributed computing frameworks to process and analyze high-volume healthcare datasets efficiently</span></li><li><span style="font-family:Tahoma, Geneva, sans-serif;font-size:10px;">Drive pipeline efficiency and reliability through profiling, refactoring and advanced engineering</span></li><li><span style="font-family:Tahoma, Geneva, sans-serif;font-size:10px;">Develop new data pipelines to improve ML model usage</span></li></ul><p> </p><p><span style="font-family:Tahoma, Geneva, sans-serif;font-size:10px;">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.</span></p><br><br><p><span style="font-family:Tahoma, Geneva, sans-serif;font-size:10px;"><strong>Required Qualifications:</strong></span></p><ul><li><span style="font-family:Tahoma, Geneva, sans-serif;font-size:10px;">Bachelor of Science in computer science or related quantitative field </span></li><li><span style="font-family:Tahoma, Geneva, sans-serif;font-size:10px;">7+ years of professional software engineering experience, with at least 5+ years building and operating production ML systems</span></li><li><span style="font-family:Tahoma, Geneva, sans-serif;font-size:10px;">Expert-level Python experience, including writing production-grade, testable, and maintainable code</span></li><li><span style="font-family:Tahoma, Geneva, sans-serif;font-size:10px;">Hands-on experience building and deploying APIs using FastAPI (or similar Python web frameworks) in a production environment</span></li><li><span style="font-family:Tahoma, Geneva, sans-serif;font-size:10px;">Solid experience deploying, managing, and scaling services in Kubernetes, including: </span><ul><li><span style="font-family:Tahoma, Geneva, sans-serif;font-size:10px;">Containerization (Docker)</span></li><li><span style="font-family:Tahoma, Geneva, sans-serif;font-size:10px;">Helm or equivalent deployment tooling</span></li><li><span style="font-family:Tahoma, Geneva, sans-serif;font-size:10px;">Resource tuning, autoscaling, and failure recovery</span></li></ul></li><li><span style="font-family:Tahoma, Geneva, sans-serif;font-size:10px;">Proven experience with MLOps practices, including:</span><ul><li><span style="font-family:Tahoma, Geneva, sans-serif;font-size:10px;">Model deployment and versioning</span></li><li><span style="font-family:Tahoma, Geneva, sans-serif;font-size:10px;">Monitoring model performance, drift, and system health</span></li></ul></li></ul><p> </p><p><span style="font-family:Tahoma, Geneva, sans-serif;font-size:10px;"><strong>Preferred Qualifications: </strong></span></p><ul><li><span style="font-family:Tahoma, Geneva, sans-serif;font-size:10px;">Experience with AzureML, DataBricks, and Azure Kubernetes</span></li><li><span style="font-family:Tahoma, Geneva, sans-serif;font-size:10px;">Experience with distributed computing approaches</span></li><li><span style="font-family:Tahoma, Geneva, sans-serif;font-size:10px;">Expertise in ML Ops, for example, model monitoring, drift detection, and event-based model retraining</span></li><li><span style="font-family:Tahoma, Geneva, sans-serif;font-size:10px;">Proven solid technical communication skills   </span></li><li><span style="font-family:Tahoma, Geneva, sans-serif;font-size:10px;">Proven ability and drive to learn independently</span></li><li><span style="font-family:Tahoma, Geneva, sans-serif;font-size:10px;">Proven problem-solving and analytical thinking</span></li><li><span style="font-family:Tahoma, Geneva, sans-serif;font-size:10px;">Proven ability to explain technical decisions to stakeholders</span></li></ul><p> </p><p><span style="font-family:Tahoma, Geneva, sans-serif;font-size:10px;">*All employees working remotely will be required to adhere to UnitedHealth Group’s Telecommuter Policy.</span></p><p> </p><p><span style="font-family:Tahoma, Geneva, sans-serif;font-size:10px;">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 $112,700 to $193,200 annually based on full-time employment. We comply with all minimum wage laws as applicable.</span></p><p> </p><p><span style="font-family:Tahoma, Geneva, sans-serif;font-size:10px;"><strong>Application Deadline: </strong>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.</span></p><p> </p><p style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-family:Tahoma, Geneva, sans-serif;font-size:10px;"><i>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.</i></span></p><p style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-family:Tahoma, Geneva, sans-serif;font-size:10px;"><i>#optumaiscience</i></span></p><p style="text-align:center;"> </p><p style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-family:Tahoma, Geneva, sans-serif;font-size:10px;"><i>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.</i></span></p><p style="text-align:center;"> </p><p style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-family:Tahoma, Geneva, sans-serif;font-size:10px;"><i>UnitedHealth Group is a drug - free workplace. Candidates are required to pass a drug test before beginning employment.</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family:Tahoma, Geneva, sans-serif;font-size:10px;"><i>#OptumTechPJ</i></span></p>

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Common Interview Questions And Answers

1. HOW DO YOU PLAN YOUR DAY?

This is what this question poses: When do you focus and start working seriously? What are the hours you work optimally? Are you a night owl? A morning bird? Remote teams can be made up of people working on different shifts and around the world, so you won't necessarily be stuck in the 9-5 schedule if it's not for you...

2. HOW DO YOU USE THE DIFFERENT COMMUNICATION TOOLS IN DIFFERENT SITUATIONS?

When you're working on a remote team, there's no way to chat in the hallway between meetings or catch up on the latest project during an office carpool. Therefore, virtual communication will be absolutely essential to get your work done...

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Many people want to work remotely because of the flexibility it allows. You can work anywhere and at any time of the day...

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With this question, companies are looking to see what equipment they may need to provide you with and to verify how aware you are of what remote working could mean for you physically and logistically...

5. HOW DO YOU PROCESS INFORMATION?

Several years ago, I was working in a team to plan a big event. My supervisor made us all work as a team before the big day. One of our activities has been to find out how each of us processes information...

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Or you may receive even more specific questions, such as: What's on your calendar? Do you plan blocks of time to do certain types of work? Do you have an open calendar that everyone can see?...

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Just like your schedule, how you track files and other information is very important. After all, everything is digital!...

8. HOW TO PRIORITIZE WORK?

The day I watched Marie Forleo's film separating the important from the urgent, my life changed. Not all remote jobs start fast, but most of them are...

9. HOW DO YOU PREPARE FOR A MEETING AND PREPARE A MEETING? WHAT DO YOU SEE HAPPENING DURING THE MEETING?

Just as communication is essential when working remotely, so is organization. Because you won't have those opportunities in the elevator or a casual conversation in the lunchroom, you should take advantage of the little time you have in a video or phone conference...

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This is a great question because it shows your comfort level with technology, which is very important for a remote worker because you will be working with technology over time...