Chief Architect, Optum Health Technology

UnitedHealth Group•Eden Prairie, MN

11h•Hybrid

About The Position

The Chief Architect for Optum Health Technology (OHT) is a transformational leader charged with redefining how technology enables care delivery, clinician experience, and consumer engagement at scale. This role is not a traditional architecture function - it is a mandate to modernize, simplify, and fundamentally re-architect OHT into an AI-first, platform-driven enterprise. The Chief Architect will aggressively drive the transition from fragmented, legacy systems to a unified, intelligent, and composable ecosystem powered by cloud, data, and AI. This leader is accountable for accelerating innovation velocity, eliminating structural complexity, and embedding intelligence into every layer of the technology stack - enabling Optum Health to lead in value-based, personalized, and digitally enabled care. Success in this role requires decisive leadership, enterprise influence, and the ability to challenge the status quo while delivering measurable business and clinical outcomes. You’ll enjoy the flexibility to work remotely from anywhere within the U.S. as you take on some tough challenges. For all hires within 30 minutes of an office in Minnesota or Washington, D.C., you'll be required to work a minimum of four days per week in-office.

Requirements

15+ years of technology leadership experience, including 5+ years in an executive role driving enterprise transformation
Proven track record of leading large-scale modernization initiatives, including cloud, data, and AI transformation
Experience operating in highly regulated environments (healthcare preferred) with the ability to balance innovation and compliance
Demonstrated success influencing executive stakeholders and driving change across complex, matrixed organizations
Deep expertise in enterprise architecture, cloud platforms, AI/ML, and modern data ecosystems
Solid command of AI-native architectures, including MLOps, model lifecycle management, and intelligent automation
Relentless focus on outcomes—cost efficiency, speed, scalability, and experience improvement
Exceptional executive presence with the ability to challenge constructively and lead through influence
High tolerance for ambiguity with a bias toward action and measurable results

Nice To Haves

Experience in the Integrated Care Delivery / Value Based Care industry

Responsibilities

Lead the end-to-end transformation of OHT’s technology landscape—from legacy, siloed systems to a unified, AI-enabled platform architecture
Define and execute a bold, outcome-driven architecture strategy with clear milestones tied to cost reduction, speed-to-market, and care quality improvement
Own and continuously evolve a rolling 3-year transformation roadmap, actively driving adoption and holding leaders accountable to execution
Serve as a central force in enterprise decision-making, influencing investment strategy, operating models, and technology direction
Establish AI as a foundational capability across OHT—operationalizing reusable AI services, agentic workflows, and decision intelligence at enterprise scale
Drive pervasive adoption of AI across engineering, operations, and business processes, including AI-assisted development, testing, and support
Partner with the AI Center of Excellence to move from experimentation to production-grade AI systems that deliver measurable ROI
Enforce responsible AI practices, ensuring governance, transparency, and compliance without slowing innovation
Ruthlessly simplify the technology ecosystem by reducing redundancy, rationalizing platforms, and enforcing standard architectural patterns
Partner on acquired entities on how to bring their technology and capabilities into the OHT ecosystem
Accelerate the shift to cloud-native, API-first, and event-driven architectures to enable scalability and interoperability
Lead the creation of a composable platform model that enables rapid product innovation and reuse across lines of business
Drive interoperability standards (e.g., FHIR, APIs) to unlock longitudinal patient insights and seamless care experiences
Elevate engineering maturity by embedding modern practices (platform engineering, DevSecOps, SRE) and AI-powered productivity across teams
Shift the organization toward product- and platform-centric operating models, reducing dependency on project-based delivery
Attract, develop, and empower top-tier architecture and engineering talent capable of operating in an AI-native environment
Foster a high-accountability culture that prioritizes speed, experimentation, and continuous improvement
Establish architecture governance as an enforcement mechanism—not advisory—ensuring adherence to standards, patterns, and strategic direction
Lead enterprise-wide cloud transformation with clear accountability for adoption, cost optimization, and performance
Ensure uncompromising compliance with security, privacy (HIPAA), and regulatory requirements while enabling rapid innovation
Optimize strategic vendor partnerships to accelerate capability delivery and reduce time-to-value
Drive transparent execution through architecture forums, metrics, and continuous tracking of transformation progress