Director of Network Engineering - Remote

UnitedHealth Group•Eden Prairie, MN

16h•Remote

About The Position

The Director of Network Engineering (AI / ML) is a senior people and delivery leader responsible for defining and executing the enterprise network strategy that enables AI/ML and Generative AI (GenAI) platforms across Optum Technology. This role sits at the intersection of enterprise networking, AI/ML workload enablement, and modern infrastructure, ensuring networks are secure, scalable, resilient, and optimized for data intensive and low latency AI use cases. The Director will lead multiple network engineering teams accountable for designing, building, and operating network services that support large scale AI/ML platforms in a highly regulated healthcare environment. As a trusted delivery leader, this role owns network roadmaps, drives cross functional execution, manages vendor relationships, and ensures predictable, high quality delivery aligned with Optum’s technology, clinical, and business priorities. 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.

Requirements

15+ years of experience in network engineering, supporting large scale, distributed systems
10+ years of experience in enterprise network engineering, including secure, highly available, and scalable architectures
7+ years in senior leadership roles (Manager, Senior Manager, or Director) with direct responsibility for people management and delivery outcomes
1+ years of experience leading teams that have successfully delivered network platforms supporting AI/ML or data intensive workloads
Experience designing networks that enable AI / ML model training, inference, and large scale data movement
Experience with containerized environments and Kubernetes networking concepts
Experience with modern GenAI ecosystem (LLMs, vector databases, MCP, agentic frameworks) as a consumer and enabler of network services
Experience managing and holding vendors accountable for delivery, quality, and results

Nice To Haves

Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) or equivalent networking certification
Experience supporting public cloud networking environments (AWS, Azure, and/or GCP)
Experience enabling AI/ML workloads in hybrid or cloud native architectures
Background in network automation, software defined networking, or infrastructure as code
Experience operating in regulated or healthcare environments
Proven ownership of multi year network or platform modernization roadmaps
Demonstrated ability to own roadmaps, manage complex initiatives, and drive delivery through influence
Proven people leader with solid coaching, mentoring, and organizational leadership skills
Proven outstanding communication skills, including the ability to articulate complex network and AI concepts to non technical and clinical audiences

Responsibilities

Provide executive level leadership for Network Engineering teams supporting AI/ML and GenAI platforms
Own and drive network engineering strategy and roadmaps aligned to enterprise AI/ML, cloud, and infrastructure goals
Lead the design and operation of high performance, scalable, and secure networks that support AI training, inference, and large scale data movement
Ensure network architectures are optimized for containerized platforms and Kubernetes based workloads
Partner with AI/ML, platform, security, data, and application teams to deliver end to end solution engineering
Act as a trusted delivery leader, accountable for execution, quality, and outcomes across complex initiatives
Establish standards and best practices for network resiliency, observability, automation, and security
Serve as a senior escalation point for network and delivery challenges impacting AI/ML solutions
Lead, mentor, and develop managers and senior engineers, setting clear expectations for people management and engineering excellence
Own vendor relationships and hold vendors and strategic partners accountable for performance, cost, and contractual commitments
Communicate network and AI enablement strategies to technical, executive, and clinical stakeholders in clear, actionable terms