Lead Software Engineer - Remote

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 Lead Software Engineer to join the Claims Preprocessing team. The role involves managing operational development and support, including application deployments, production support, and implementing machine learning solutions such as generative AI to improve Priority 1 application support. The position requires knowledge of both traditional software development life cycle methods and modern AI algorithms, proficiency in Java Full Stack, Kafka, React, Node.js, experience with the GenAI stack (including RAG and agents), expertise in AI evaluation tools and techniques, and an ongoing commitment to responsible use of AI within regulated healthcare environments.
The ideal candidate brings strong domain expertise in claims preprocessing workflows, deep hands-on engineering ability, architectural decision-making capability, and a proven track record of reducing incidents, improving system SLAs, and driving measurable reliability advancements.
You'll enjoy the flexibility to work remotely * from anywhere within the U.S. as you take on some tough challenges. For all hires in the Minneapolis or Washington, D.C. area, you will be required to work in the office a minimum of four days per week.
Primary Responsibilities:

• Lead and manage a high performing team of software engineers, providing coaching, mentorship, and fostering a collaborative culture
• Partner with Product Owners and stakeholders to define scope, requirements, priorities, and delivery expectations
• Develop and maintain project plans, technical roadmaps, and execution strategies for new features, enhancements, and platform initiatives
• Oversee engineering activities end to end-from design and development through deployment, production operations, and continuous improvement
• Drive Agile practices and ceremonies (PI planning, standups, backlog refinement, reviews) to ensure predictable, high quality delivery
• Lead incident response, root cause analysis, and post mortems; implement corrective actions to improve reliability and reduce recurrence
• Architect, evolve, and manage observability platforms using Open Telemetry, Splunk, Grafana, or similar tools
• Build and maintain automation frameworks and tools to reduce manual work, improve consistency, and increase operational efficiency
• Ensure engineering excellence through robust vulnerability management, automated testing, solid code quality standards, and performance monitoring
• Partner with SREs, platform teams, and global engineering groups to align architecture, priorities, and delivery outcomes
• Identify opportunities to improve system reliability, performance, scalability, and operational maturity, lead implementation of improvements
• Leverage AI-powered tools and platforms to enhance observability, incident response, and operational efficiency
• Support cloud modernization initiatives, including on-prem to cloud migration strategies and implementation

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.
Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or equivalent experience
• 12+ years of experience in SDLC, SRE, DevOps, or related engineering domains
• 3+ years of experience leading engineering or operations teams
• Hands on experience architecting and implementing observability solutions (Open Telemetry, Splunk, Grafana, Prometheus)
• Hands on experience applying AI/GenAI capabilities-such as RAG, agents, or ML driven anomaly detection-to improve observability, incident response, or operational workflows
• Deep understanding of systems architecture, cloud infrastructure, networking, security, and automation
• Solid proficiency with CI/CD tools such as GitHub Actions, Jenkins, or Azure DevOps
• Proficiency with scripting or programming languages (Python, Bash, PowerShell) for automation and tooling
• Proven expertise with public cloud platforms (preferably Azure) and experience supporting or driving on prem to cloud migrations

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with claims preprocessing workflows, regulatory SLAs, HIPAA aligned operational controls, and transactions including 837, 835, 277, and 271
• Experience building custom telemetry pipelines or integrating AI/ML for anomaly detection
• Leadership experience in globally distributed teams
• Experience with IaC tools (Terraform, ARM/Bicep, Ansible)
• Experience working in highly regulated or enterprise scale environments
• Proven solid background in performance engineering, capacity planning, or large-scale distributed systems
• Demonstrated success driving engineering excellence initiatives (DevSecOps, automated testing frameworks, SRE best practices)
• Proven exposure to AI tools and their application in SRE workflows for faster delivery and smarter operations

*All employees working remotely 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 $112,700 to $193,200 annually based on full-time employment. We comply with all minimum wage laws as applicable.
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.
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.
UnitedHealth Group is a drug-free workplace. Candidates are required to pass a drug test before beginning employment.