Senior Data Scientist - 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 Insight partners with payers, providers, governments and life sciences companies to simplify and enhance clinical, administrative and financial processes through software-enabled services and analytics, while advancing value-based care. Our differentiated products, technology insights, clinical expertise and analytics support the entire health system - ultimately delivering better experiences for consumers. Optum Insight Technology and Engineering is a critical function in Optum Insight driving the innovation and value we provide our customers and partners. This team is focused on products, solutions, platform / enabling capability development, product development lifecycle, engineering excellence and connectivity to Optum Technology. The Sr Data Scientist is a key technical contributor in the design and development of state-of-the-art NLP for medical applications. The Sr Data Scientist works closely with other NLP engineers, research linguists, software engineers and subject matter experts on current company technologies and forward looking projects. The successful candidate will have a strong background in Machine/Deep Learning with an emphasis on Natural Language Processing, Information Retrieval and/or Information Extraction. The successful candidate will have proven success in taking machine/deep learning solutions to production environments. Strong technical skills are required. 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 • Enhancement of existing company NLP technologies and extension of those systems in new cloud-based applications. Emphasis is on incorporation of machine/deep learning techniques in clinical NLP solutions deployed at scale in production environments. Work will involve all aspects of software design and development from system requirements definition to implementation, integration and testing. 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 • 2+ years of related professional work experience using machine/deep learning technologies - significant academic machine/deep learning and NLP development experience will be considered for strong applicants with an advanced degree • Strength and experience with at least one of the following: Python, Java, C# • Knowledge and experience with Machine/Deep Learning frameworks including transformer architectures, state space models, large language models, and agentic approaches • Knowledge of algorithms and techniques within a computational domain with emphasis on text processing • Proven to design, develop, and deploy AI-powered solutions to address complex business challenges with emphasis on responsible use of AI Preferred Qualifications • Experience with PyTorch • Azure ML and/or AWS • Experience with Hybrid NLP solutions that combine symbolic and machine learning approaches • Experience within the medical domain • Experience with SQL • Demonstrated ability to synthesize and produce publications in the AI domain • 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 $89,900 to $160,600 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. Apply tot his job