Principal Architect – Hybrid in MN or DC, 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.

Optum is a global organization delivering care, powered by data and technology, to help millions of people live healthier lives. At Optum.ai, we are not just witnessing the AI transformation in healthcare-we are leading it. Our mission is clear: to simplify healthcare with AI, turning insight into action at a scale few organizations in the world can match.

As part of the Optum.ai team, you’ll work at the intersection of cutting-edge artificial intelligence and real-world healthcare impact. From reducing administrative burden for providers to anticipating patient needs and improving access to quality care, your work will help solve some of healthcare’s most complex challenges-and directly improve health outcomes for millions of people.

You’ll collaborate with world-class talent across data science, engineering, product, and healthcare domains, backed by the reach and stability of Optum and UnitedHealth Group. Here, responsible innovation matters. So do comprehensive benefits, meaningful career growth, and the opportunity to make a tangible difference-advancing health equity and creating a simpler, more connected healthcare experience for everyone.

This is more than a job. It’s a chance to shape the future of healthcare through the transformative power of AI.

Optum AI is UnitedHealth Group’s enterprise AI organization responsible for building and deploying advanced AI/ML solutions across UnitedHealthcare, Optum Health, Optum Insight, Optum Financial, and Optum Rx. Our mission is to simplify healthcare with AI by delivering scalable solutions that improve care delivery, operational efficiency, and patient outcomes.

As a Director of AI Solution Architecture, you will operate at the intersection of client engagement, AI engineering, and enterprise architecture. This role focuses on designing scalable AIsolution architectures that address complex healthcare challenges while ensuring alignment with enterprise platforms and reusable internal capabilities.

You will work closely with sales leaders, product teams, AI engineers, and healthcare domain experts to translate business challenges into structured AI solutions and executable implementation plans. This is a client-facing architecture role focused on solution design and structured implementation planning rather than research or day-to-day delivery management.

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 structured discovery sessions with healthcare clients to understand business objectives, workflows, data environments, and measurable success criteria
• Translate complex healthcare challenges into technically grounded AI solution architectures leveraging machine learning, generative AI, and advanced analytics
• Design scalable reference architectures using reusable enterprise assets, internal AI platforms, and proven implementation patterns
• Develop phased implementation roadmaps including technical milestones, delivery sequencing, and measurable outcome metrics
• Estimate solution scope including effort estimation, technical dependencies, work breakdown structures, and delivery timelines
• Serve as senior technical advisor in client engagements, strengthening proposal credibility and presenting architecture trade-offs to executives
• Collaborate with AI engineering, data engineering, and platform architecture teams to ensure solutions are feasible and aligned with enterprise capabilities
• Identify opportunities to reuse internal AI assets, accelerators, and platform capabilities to enable repeatable solution patterns

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, Data Science, or a related technical field
• 10+ years of experience in enterprise architecture, AI/ML engineering, or complex technology solution design
• 5+ years of experience working in healthcare technology environments across payer, provider, pharmacy, or analytics domains
• 5+ years of experience designing or deploying AI/ML systems in regulated enterprise environments
• 5+ years of experience designing cloud-native architectures involving distributed data platforms, APIs, and scalable AI infrastructure
• 3+ years of experience supporting pre-sales solution architecture including scoping, proposal development, and client presentations

Preferred Qualifications:

• Cloud or AI certifications such as AWS, Azure, or GCP
• Experience designing Generative AI or LLM-enabled solutions including RAG architectures
• Experience leveraging reusable AI platforms, internal accelerators, or solution frameworks
• Experience presenting technical solutions to executive stakeholders or client leadership teams
• Familiarity with healthcare interoperability standards, claims systems, clinical workflows, or revenue cycle processes

*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 $134,600 to $230,800 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.

#OptumTechPJ