Senior Manager AI/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. We are seeking a highly motivated Senior Manager, AI/ML Engineering to lead the design, development, and delivery of enterprise-scale Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning solutions. This leader will drive AI innovation, build high-performing engineering teams, and partner with business, product, and technology stakeholders to develop AI-powered applications that improve customer experience, operational efficiency, and business outcomes.

The ideal candidate combines strong technical expertise in AI/ML and Generative AI with proven engineering leadership experience and a passion for mentoring teams in a fast-paced healthcare technology environment.

Primary Responsibilities

• AI/ML Engineering Leadership

• Lead the development and deployment of AI/ML and Generative AI solutions across enterprise applications
• Define technical strategy, architecture, and engineering best practices for AI-powered platforms and services

• Drive adoption of Large Language Models (LLMs), AI agents, intelligent automation, and predictive analytics solutions

• Solution Delivery

• Oversee end-to-end delivery of AI/ML products from ideation through production deployment
• Collaborate with product, business, architecture, and engineering teams to translate business needs into scalable AI solutions

• Establish MLOps practices, model governance, monitoring, and operational excellence

• Technology Innovation

• Evaluate emerging AI technologies and identify opportunities to accelerate business value
• Lead proof-of-concepts and pilot initiatives to validate new AI capabilities

• Partner with enterprise technology teams to ensure secure, responsible, and compliant AI implementations

• Team Leadership

• Build, mentor, and develop a team of AI engineers, machine learning engineers, and technical leads
• Foster a culture of continuous learning, innovation, collaboration, and engineering excellence

• Support talent development, succession planning, and technical capability growth

• Stakeholder Partnership

• Collaborate with business leaders, architects, and product teams to prioritize and deliver AI initiatives

• Communicate technical solutions and business value effectively to senior leadership

• Comply with all applicable Company policies, procedures, and business directives, changes including those relating to work location, team assignments, work schedules, and flexible work arrangements

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Data Science, or related field
• 15+ years of software engineering experience
• 10+ years of engineering leadership experience managing teams
• Hands-on experience building and deploying Machine Learning or AI solutions in enterprise environments
• Experience with cloud platforms (Azure, AWS, or GCP)
• Experience with Python, ML frameworks, and modern software engineering practices
• Solid understanding of AI/ML lifecycle, model deployment, and MLOps
• Proven excellent communication, stakeholder management, and leadership skills

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s Degree in Computer Science, Data Science, Artificial Intelligence, or related discipline
• Experience with Generative AI, LLMs, prompt engineering, AI agents, and RAG architectures
• Experience leading AI transformation initiatives in healthcare, payer, provider, or regulated industries
• Experience with Azure OpenAI, Databricks, MLFlow, LangChain, Semantic Kernel, or similar technologies
• Knowledge of responsible AI, governance, security, and compliance practices

Leadership Competencies

• Engineering Leadership
• AI & Innovation Mindset
• Talent Development & Coaching
• Strategic Thinking
• Customer & Business Focus
• Cross-Functional Collaboration
• Execution Excellence
• Continuous Improvement

*At UnitedHealth Group, our mission is to help people live healthier lives and make the health system…