Lead Software Engineer - Remote or Hybrid in MN or DC

UnitedHealth Group•Irvine, CA

3h•Hybrid

About The Position

Optum Technology is seeking a Lead Software Engineer to provide hands-on technical leadership for the design, development, and operation of scalable, high-quality software platforms. This role is responsible for setting technical direction, driving automation-first engineering practices, and mentoring engineers while remaining deeply involved in backend development, API engineering, CI/CD, and test automation. The Lead Software Engineer will leverage enterprise-approved AI tools to improve productivity and software quality, influence architecture and engineering standards, and partner with cross-functional teams to deliver reliable, secure, and maintainable solutions in a regulated healthcare environment. 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 professional software engineering experience with demonstrated platform ownership
15+ years of experience designing and delivering API-based systems, including GraphQL and REST
10+ years of experience with CI/CD, build automation, and release engineering
15+ years of experience operating production-grade, distributed systems in a large enterprise environment
7+ years of demonstrated ability to act as a technical lead or domain authority
5+ years of experience Golang (Go) and backend service development
5+ years of experience with test automation, including API and service-level testing
Solid communication skills and ability to influence technical direction across teams

Nice To Haves

Experience with GraphQL schema design and governance
Experience integrating AI-enabled tools into software development workflows
Exposure to cloud-native architectures and infrastructure-as-code practices
Experience working in regulated industries (healthcare, finance, or similar)
Experience mentoring senior engineers and leading architecture reviews
Proven track record delivering and operating complex, scalable systems

Responsibilities

Provide technical leadership and architectural ownership for backend services, platforms, or major capability areas
Design, develop, and operate high-performance backend services, with a strong emphasis on Golang (Go) based implementations
Lead API strategy and development, including GraphQL (schema-first design, resolvers, versioning) and REST where appropriate
Establish and enforce automation-first engineering practices across build, test, and deployment pipelines
Own and evolve CI/CD pipelines, ensuring reliable, repeatable, and secure delivery of software
Define and implement test automation strategies, including API, service-level, and contract testing
Champion shift-left quality practices and production readiness standards
Apply enterprise-approved AI tools to improve developer productivity, code quality, testing, and documentation
Lead design and architecture reviews; ensure alignment with Optum engineering standards and security requirements
Mentor and coach engineers across levels, raising technical and automation maturity across teams
Partner with product, architecture, and delivery leadership to translate business objectives into technical solutions
Leverage Optum approved AI tools to accelerate development and testing workflows, improve engineering efficiency and consistency, and support documentation, analysis, and design activities
Evaluate and responsibly adopt emerging AI capabilities in alignment with Optum Responsible AI and governance standards
Integrate AI-enabled services or automation into backend platforms where appropriate, focusing on orchestration and consumption rather than model development