Software Engineer

UnitedHealth Group•Washington, DC

2d•$72,800 - $130,000•Remote

About The Position

As a Software Engineer on Optum’s engineering team, you will design, build, and maintain high-performance, data-intensive applications and scalable infrastructure. You will work in an agile environment with architects, product owners, and business stakeholders to develop enterprise platforms, leveraging cloud architectures, data pipelines, and AI-assisted engineering tools. The work emphasizes code quality, security, scalability, and responsible AI use. The position may be performed remotely from anywhere within the United States, subject to UnitedHealth Group’s Telecommuter Policy. The annual salary range is $72,800 to $130,000 for full-time employment, with pay determined by factors including location, education, work experience, and certifications. Benefits and incentives are subject to eligibility requirements. Applicants must pass a drug test before employment.

Requirements

At least 4 years of software development, data engineering, or AI/ML experience.
At least 3 years of hands-on experience building and deploying modern cloud infrastructure using AWS, Azure, or GCP.
At least 3 years of hands-on experience with Databricks and Apache Spark using Scala or Python.
At least 3 years of experience with version control systems such as Git and delivering production-quality, fully tested, maintainable code.
At least 1 year of experience using AI-assisted developer and coding tools to accelerate software delivery and technical documentation.
At least 1 year of experience managing cloud infrastructure with Infrastructure as Code tools such as Terraform.

Nice To Haves

At least 4 years of experience in software development, data engineering, or AI/ML engineering, or a bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Data Science, or a related field with equivalent experience.
Healthcare industry experience.
Strong understanding of conceptual, logical, and physical data modeling principles.
Comprehensive knowledge of data warehousing, data lakehouse patterns, and data engineering best practices.
Familiarity with agentic frameworks and Model Context Protocol (MCP).
Experience with AI/ML concepts, including Large Language Models (LLMs), Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), and enterprise productivity tools.
Working knowledge of one or more high-level programming languages such as C#, Java, JavaScript, or Python.
Strong analytical, quantitative, problem-solving, and critical-thinking skills.
Strong written and verbal communication skills, including experience presenting to technical and business stakeholders.

Responsibilities

Design, develop, test, and maintain data-intensive applications using Snowflake, SQL, Java, Python, Spark/Databricks, and AWS or Azure.
Build and maintain scalable data pipelines to ingest, transform, validate, and publish data across enterprise platforms.
Develop and support Spark and Databricks jobs for large-scale data processing and analytics workloads.
Build, schedule, monitor, and troubleshoot automated data workflows using Airflow or similar orchestration tools.
Design, develop, and deploy backend services, APIs, and AI-powered solutions for complex business challenges, emphasizing responsible AI use.
Use enterprise-approved AI tools and agentic coding assistance, such as GitHub Copilot or Claude, to accelerate software creation, automate tasks, and streamline development workflows.
Manage public-cloud infrastructure using Infrastructure as Code tools such as Terraform.
Collaborate with product owners, architects, and cross-functional teams to deliver secure, scalable, high-quality solutions aligned with agile roadmaps.
Evaluate emerging technology trends and AI capabilities to inform solution design, architectural standards, and engineering innovation.
Support UI integration needs, validate API responses, and follow design, security, and coding standards.