Lead Cloud Engineer - AI Operations

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. The Optum Insight Engineering team is seeking a Lead AI Ops Cloud Engineer with Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) experience to design, build, and scale modern AI Ops solutions across payer and provider transformation initiatives. This is a hands-on technical leadership role requiring deep involvement in architecture and engineering while leading globally distributed teams. The role focuses on delivering, Agentic AI, and Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) solutions with enterprise-grade reliability, security, and responsible AI practices. 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 end-to-end design and implementation of AI Ops solutions from concept through production with an emphasis on responsible AI practicesContribute to the improvement of our SRE practices; Lead incident response; Ensure high availability, scalability, and performance of cloud environmentsAutomate Infrastructure & Operations: Develop Infrastructure as Code using Terraform & GitHub Actions while adhering to best practicesDefine and own solution architecture for RAG pipelines, agentic workflows, tool calling, orchestration, and conversational context managementDesign, develop, and deploy AI-powered solutions to address complex business challenges across enterprise scale using RAG based solutionsWork closely with development and SRE teams to improve system design, advocate for reliability, and mentor fellow engineersDesign, code, test, and operate software using Python & Node.jsLeverage enterprise-approved AI tools to streamline workflows, automate tasks, and drive continuous operational efficiency 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 8+ years of overall software engineering and Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) experience in a public cloud environment (GCP, AWS, Azure)3+ years of experience of demonstrated hands-on experience with Python and Terraform based development2+ years delivering AI/ML or Generative AI solutions in production2+ years of experience managing Kubernetes environments (EKS, AKS, GKE, or self-hosted)Available to work rotating 24x7 primary and secondary on-call shifts Preferred Qualifications Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related technical field (or 8+ years of equivalent software engineering experience in lieu of degree)CI/CD (GitHub Actions preferred) & Infrastructure as Code experience with TerraformExperience leading globally distributed technical teamsHands-on experience with cloud infrastructure automation, observability tools, and SRE best practices for AI workloadsExperience with vector search and enterprise search solutionsProven experience building Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) pipelines, Agentic AI, or multi-step AI workflowsProven experience building evaluation and monitoring frameworks for AI qualityProven effective communication skills with ability to explain complex technical concepts to diverse stakeholdersAll 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 $112,700 - $193,200 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.