The Role
The Data Scientist will design and maintain AI services, develop scalable backend systems, implement observability practices, and collaborate on deploying AI/ML solutions into production.
Summary Generated by Built In
Requisition Number: 2362996
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.
Primary Responsibilities:
Required Qualifications:
Preferred Qualifications:
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.
#njp
#NIC
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.
Primary Responsibilities:
- Design, build, and maintain production-grade AI services and APIs (REST/JSON) to support machine learning and Generative AI use cases
- Develop scalable backend systems using frameworks such as FastAPI, Flask, or equivalent
- Implement robust request/response validation, API versioning strategies, and backward compatibility support
- Engineer high-performance systems with focus on latency, throughput, and reliability (timeouts, retries, connection pooling, rate limiting)
- Build caching and optimization layers (Redis, in-memory caching, batching, concurrency controls) to improve system efficiency
- Design and implement streaming responses for AI workloads (SSE/WebSockets), including partial responses and cancellation handling
- Implement observability best practices including structured logging, metrics, tracing, and performance monitoring
- Enable LLM/GenAI observability such as prompt tracing, cost monitoring, run comparisons, and feedback loops
- Partner with data science, product, and platform teams to deploy AI/ML solutions into scalable production environments
- Build and maintain CI/CD pipelines (e.g., GitHub Actions) and support environment promotion workflows
- Ensure adherence to security and compliance best practices (authN/authZ, secrets handling, encryption, audit logging)
- Contribute to and uphold strong engineering standards including code reviews, testing, and release processes
- Work with a moderate level of autonomy to solve complex engineering problems and improve system design
- 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 in Computer Science, Engineering, Information Systems, or equivalent experience
- 4+ years of experience building production-grade backend systems or API-driven applications
- Experience building and maintaining RESTful APIs, including schema validation and versioning
- Solid understanding of distributed systems fundamentals, including concurrency, fault tolerance, and performance optimization
- Experience implementing reliability patterns such as retries, timeouts, and rate limiting
- Experience working with caching layers (e.g., Redis, in-memory caching)
- Experience with observability tools (logging, metrics, tracing) and production monitoring practices
- Experience working with CI/CD pipelines and modern development workflows
- Solid proficiency in Python and experience with backend frameworks (FastAPI, Flask, or equivalent)
- Basic understanding of security patterns including OAuth2/JWT, secrets management, and secure API design
- Proven solid problem-solving skills with ability to break down complex engineering challenges
- Proven ability to collaborate closely with cross-functional teams including data science and product
- Proven comfortable working in a team environment with ownership of deliverables across the lifecycle
Preferred Qualifications:
- Master's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field
- Experience working with Generative AI systems, LLM APIs, or RAG-based architectures
- Experience implementing streaming APIs (SSE/WebSockets) for real-time applications
- Experience with OpenTelemetry, Langfuse (or equivalent), or advanced observability platforms
- Experience deploying applications in cloud environments (Azure, AWS, or GCP)
- Experience designing scalable microservices architectures
- Experience working in healthcare or regulated environments
- Understanding of cost optimization strategies for AI/LLM-based systems
- Familiarity with LangChain, LangGraph, or similar agentic frameworks
- Familiarity with Agile product development and sprint-based delivery
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.
#njp
#NIC
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Information Systems, or equivalent experience
- 4+ years of experience building production-grade backend systems or API-driven applications
- Experience building and maintaining RESTful APIs, including schema validation and versioning
- Solid understanding of distributed systems fundamentals
- Experience implementing reliability patterns such as retries, timeouts, and rate limiting
- Experience working with caching layers (e.g., Redis, in-memory caching)
- Experience with observability tools (logging, metrics, tracing) and production monitoring practices
- Experience working with CI/CD pipelines
- Solid proficiency in Python and experience with backend frameworks
- Basic understanding of security patterns including OAuth2/JWT
- Proven solid problem-solving skills
- Proven ability to collaborate closely with cross-functional teams
- Proven comfortable working in a team environment
Optum Compensation & Benefits Highlights
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Healthcare Strength — Health coverage offers multiple plan types with employer HSA contributions, in‑network preventive care at 100%, and included 24/7 virtual visits, alongside dental and vision options. This breadth allows predictable copay choices or tax‑advantaged HSA designs to fit different usage needs.
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Retirement Support — Retirement programs include a 401(k) with employer match eligibility and full vesting over time plus an Employee Stock Purchase Plan at a discount. Together these elements support long‑term savings and ownership.
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Parental & Family Support — Family supports include six weeks paid parental leave, paid caregiver leave, adoption assistance, and subsidized Bright Horizons back‑up care. Emotional well‑being resources like a premium Calm subscription and a 24/7 EAP complement these supports.
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The Company
What We Do
Optum, part of the UnitedHealth Group family of businesses, 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. At Optum, we support your well-being with an understanding team, extensive benefits and rewarding opportunities. By joining us, you’ll have the resources to drive system transformation while we help you take care of your future. We recognize the power of connection to drive change, improve efficiency and make a difference in health care. Join a team where your skills and ideas can make an impact and where collaboration is key to creating technology that produces healthier outcomes.
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Optum Offices
Hybrid Workspace
Employees engage in a combination of remote and on-site work.
Optum has three workplace models that balance the needs of the business and the responsibilities of each role. These models, core on‑site (5 days/week), hybrid (4 days/week) and telecommute or fully remote, vary by country, role and location.
Typical time on-site:
Not Specified
