Sr Data Scientist - AI or ML Engineering Focus - Remote

Requisition Number: 2382649
At UnitedHealthcare, we're simplifying the health care experience, creating healthier communities and removing barriers to quality care. The work you do here impacts the lives of millions of people for the better. Come build the health care system of tomorrow, making it more responsive, affordable and optimized. Ready to make a difference? Join us to start Caring. Connecting. Growing together
A Senior Data Scientist (Grade 28) specializing in AI/ML engineering for EAR projects impacting the UHC COVE. This role is a primary hands-on contributor for building and deploying machine learning models. It emphasizes practical engineering of AI solutions: rigorous model development, evaluation of modeling approaches, and implementing MLOps pipelines to ensure models are effectively integrated and maintained in production.
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:

• Model Development & Evaluation: Develop machine learning models tailored to project requirements (classification, regression, forecasting, etc.). Perform thorough evaluations and experiments to compare model performance and iterate to optimize results. Ensure that chosen models are robust and generalize well
• MLOps & Deployment: Take ownership of deploying models into production. Build and maintain automated pipelines for model serving, including steps for data preprocessing, model inference, and continuous monitoring. Implement version control for models and manage a schedule for retraining or refreshing models as data evolves
• Solution Engineering: Integrate AI/ML solutions with the broader application ecosystem. Work closely with data engineers to ensure pipelines provide the needed data to models in the correct format and frequency (batch or streaming). Collaborate with software engineers to embed model outputs into user-facing applications or workflows
• Technical Innovation: Stay up to date with new tools and techniques in AI engineering. Evaluate external solutions or libraries that could accelerate development (e.g., AutoML tools, specialized model frameworks) and make recommendations. Build proof-of-concept demonstrations to assess new approaches or technologies for the project
• Operational Excellence: Implement monitoring and alerting for model performance and data drift. Troubleshoot issues in model predictions or system integration quickly. Optimize model runtime and resource usage (e.g., improving inference speed or reducing memory footprint) to meet production SLAs

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, Data Science, or related field
• Solid Data Science Background: 5+ years of experience in data science, machine learning, or related roles. Solid foundation in statistical modeling and machine learning techniques. Hands-on experience developing models for real-world problems and improving them based on feedback and data
• Production ML Experience: Demonstrated experience deploying and maintaining ML models in a production environment. Comfort with the end-to-end MLOps lifecycle: using source control, CI/CD pipelines, and orchestration to automate model deployment. Should understand concepts like model versioning, reproducibility, and monitoring in production
• Programming & Data Skills: Proficiency in Python and PySpark for building ML models and automating tasks. Solid SQL skills for data extraction and manipulation
• Problem-Solving & Autonomy: Proven ability to work independently on complex technical problems. Solid troubleshooting skills to debug issues whether they stem from data quality, model behavior, or pipeline failures. A mindset geared towards automation and efficiency, always looking for ways to streamline repetitive tasks

Preferred Qualifications:

• MLOps Tooling: Experience with specific MLOps and cloud tools (e.g., Databricks MLflow for experiment tracking and model registry, GitHub Actions for CI). Familiarity with infrastructure-as-code for deploying ML infrastructure
• Leadership & Collaboration: Experience in mentoring junior data scientists or leading technical workstreams will be beneficial. The ability to document work clearly and impart knowledge to others helps the overall team
• Databricks & Spark: Familiarity with the Databricks Lakehouse platform and Spark. For example, knowing how to implement ML pipelines on Databricks, use Delta Lake for data versioning, and optimize Spark jobs for feature processing
• Real-Time Systems: Exposure to real-time or streaming data analysis. Experience deploying models that consume streaming data (e.g., streaming analytics or real-time dashboards) or working with technologies like Kafka for live data feeds

*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 $91,700 - $163,700 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.