Note: The job is a remote job and is open to candidates in USA. Optum is a global leader in health care innovation, seeking a Senior Director of AI/ML Engineering to build and scale their AI/ML engineering function. The role involves leading a team to develop AI solutions that address complex business challenges and drive enterprise-wide growth in AI capabilities.
Responsibilities
Build and scale the AI/ML engineering function that will drive Enterprise Functions AI Transformation leveraging Forward Deployed Engineering concepts
Build a team of AI/ML Engineers and Forward Deployed Engineers that will scale AI solutions across the enterprise
Design, develop, and deploy AI-powered solutions, platforms, and automations to address complex enterprise business challenges, with an emphasis on the safe and responsible use of AI
Deliver reusable AI capabilities, internal developer platforms, engineering accelerators, shared UI frameworks, and agent-ready data capabilities that accelerate AI deployment and adoption across corporate functions
Partner directly with business function stakeholders (e.g., Finance, HR, Legal, Operations) to reimagine, redesign, and transform corporate processes through AI-enabled solutions
Drive the technical vision and execution of advanced AI architectures, taking solutions from prototype/MVP through enterprise production deployment, scaling, and operational transition to support teams
Establish data quality, governance, and agent-ready data strategies to support seamless enterprise AI adoption and ensure data integrity
Leverage enterprise-approved AI tools and modern engineering technologies to streamline workflows, automate complex tasks, and drive continuous improvement across engineering teams
Evaluate emerging AI trends, frameworks, and architecture patterns to inform platform solution design, technical roadmap creation, and strategic innovation
Define and enforce enterprise engineering standards for security, responsible AI, data architecture, platform engineering, and governance in large, fragmented enterprise environments
Skills
Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related technical field (or 4+ years of equivalent software engineering / technical leadership experience in lieu of a degree)
12+ years of experience in software engineering, platform engineering, or AI/ML engineering
5+ years of direct people management experience leading software engineering organizations and managing engineering managers, with a proven track record of leading organizations of 15+ employees across multiple Agile/Scrum teams within an AIDLC framework
Demonstrated experience taking AI solutions from prototype/MVP through enterprise production deployment, scaling, and operational transition to support teams
Experience partnering directly with business functions (e.g., Finance, HR, Legal, Operations) to redesign and transform business processes through AI-enabled solutions
Demonstrated ability to discuss and explain the practical application of AI technologies through direct implementation experience, including agent architectures, orchestration, RAG, evaluation frameworks, and AI guardrails
Experience establishing data quality, governance, and agent-ready data strategies to support enterprise AI adoption
Principal or Staff-level architecture experience building reusable engineering platforms, developer accelerators, and defining enterprise standards for security, governance, and responsible AI
Proficiency in Python, along with experience using TypeScript or JavaScript
Experience with enterprise cloud platforms (Azure preferred; AWS or GCP acceptable), Kubernetes, containers, CI/CD, Infrastructure-as-Code, and enterprise data platforms such as Databricks or Snowflake
Proven track record translating AI strategy into measurable business results and partnering effectively with executive stakeholders
Advanced degree (Master's, MBA, or Ph.D.) in a technical or quantitative discipline
Experience building AI/ML platforms and solutions on Microsoft Azure, including Azure AI and Azure OpenAI services
Experience operating within highly regulated industries such as healthcare, financial services, insurance, or other complex enterprise environments
Experience supporting Finance transformation initiatives, including FP&A, Record-to-Report (R2R), or related enterprise finance processes
Experience leading innovation, incubation, accelerator, or rapid-delivery engineering teams focused on emerging technologies and business transformation
Experience standing up or scaling a Forward Deployed Engineering (FDE) organization, AI Center of Excellence (CoE), or AI Platform organization
Experience leading enterprise AI transformation initiatives within Fortune 500 companies
Experience building internal developer platforms, shared UI frameworks, and reusable engineering accelerators adopted across multiple engineering teams
Experience transitioning technical delivery and support from vendor/consulting models or incubation teams to permanent internal engineering teams
Demonstrated passion for leveraging technology and AI to solve complex healthcare challenges and improve business outcomes
Benefits
A comprehensive benefits package
Incentive and recognition programs
Equity stock purchase
401k contribution (all benefits are subject to eligibility requirements)
All employees working remotely will be required to adhere to UnitedHealth Group's Telecommuter Policy
Company Overview
Optum provides primary care and optical care services. It was founded in 1985, and is headquartered in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA, with a workforce of 10001+ employees. Its website is