Leads enterprise Data and AI platform strategy, data engineering, AI/ML operationalization, governance, modernization, and cloud cost optimization. Oversees data products, pipelines, APIs, real-time processing, MLOps, GenAI, Agentic AI, vector databases, RAG, monitoring, and Responsible AI. Partners with executives and technical stakeholders to prioritize platform investments, establish performance metrics, manage budgets and vendors, and build high-performing engineering teams.
Requisition Number: 2392368
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.
Primary Responsibilities:
Required Qualifications:
Success Metrics
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.
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.
Primary Responsibilities:
- Define and lead the enterprise Data & AI Platform Strategy, ensuring scalable, secure, resilient, and cost-efficient platforms for Analytics, ML, GenAI, and Agentic AI
- Build AI-ready data foundations using semantic layers, metadata management, data lineage, knowledge graphs, and governance frameworks
- Lead data engineering teams responsible for ingestion, transformation, storage, pipelines, APIs, data products, and real-time data solutions
- Establish engineering standards, reusable frameworks, and drive modernization of legacy systems into cloud-native architectures
- Partner with Data Science and AI teams to operationalize ML, GenAI, and Agentic AI solutions
- Enable capabilities such as feature stores, vector databases, embeddings, RAG, model deployment, monitoring, observability, explainability, and Responsible AI
- Drive enterprise-wide data governance, including data quality, stewardship, cataloging, lineage, master data management, privacy, and compliance
- Govern both AI training datasets and AI-generated outputs
- Promote a Data-as-a-Product operating model with defined ownership, SLAs, and quality standards
- Prioritize platform and data initiatives based on business value, AI readiness, and measurable outcomes
- Evaluate and implement emerging technologies including GenAI, Agentic AI, Data Fabric, Semantic Layers, Knowledge Graphs, and Intelligent Automation
- Lead proofs of concept and scale successful innovations across the enterprise
- Partner with business, product, analytics, and technology leaders to align platform investments with strategic objectives
- Present technology strategy and roadmap recommendations to executive leadership
- Manage budgets, vendors, cloud spend, operational performance, and platform reliability
- Establish KPIs for performance, availability, productivity, automation, and cost optimization
- Build, mentor, and develop high-performing Data & AI engineering teams
- Foster innovation, accountability, continuous learning, talent development, and career growth
- Comply with all applicable Company policies, procedures, and business directives, changes including those relating to work location, team assignments, work schedules, and flexible work arrangements
Required Qualifications:
- Extensive leadership experience in Data Engineering, Data Platforms, AI/ML Platforms, or Enterprise Data Architecture
- Experience implementing Data-as-a-Product frameworks and enterprise data strategies
- Experience managing large-scale engineering organizations, budgets, vendors, and cloud cost optimization initiatives
- Solid expertise in cloud-based data ecosystems and modern data platform architectures
- Deep knowledge of data engineering concepts including data pipelines, APIs, data products, streaming, and real-time processing
- Hands-on understanding of AI/ML operationalization, including:
- MLOps
- GenAI
- Agentic AI
- Vector Databases
- RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation)
- Embeddings
- Model Deployment & Monitoring
- Responsible AI
- Solid understanding of enterprise data governance, data quality, lineage, metadata management, cataloging, MDM, privacy, and regulatory compliance
- Knowledge of emerging technologies such as:
- GenAI
- Agentic AI
- Data Fabric
- Knowledge Graphs
- Semantic Layers
- Intelligent Automation
- Solid stakeholder management and executive communication skills
- Proven ability to build and lead high-performing teams across data engineering, analytics, governance, and AI domains
- Demonstrated success in driving platform modernization, digital transformation, and enterprise-scale technology adoption
Success Metrics
- Data quality and reliability
- AI adoption and business impact
- Platform availability and performance
- Data product adoption
- Engineering productivity and automation
- Cloud cost optimization
- Regulatory compliance
- Team engagement and retention
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.
Optum Chennai, Tamil Nadu, IND Office
Chennai, India, India
Similar Jobs at Optum
Artificial Intelligence • Big Data • Healthtech • Information Technology • Machine Learning • Software • Analytics
Leads the architecture and development of scalable Big Data pipelines and agentic AI systems. Establishes technical vision, cloud and application security standards, and enterprise architecture practices. Drives secure, reliable, high-performance production platforms, evaluates emerging technologies, mentors engineers, collaborates cross-functionally, and owns complex initiatives from architecture through deployment and optimization.
Top Skills:
Agentic AiAWSAzureBig DataCloud-Native ArchitectureEncryptionGCPGenerative AiHadoopIamJavaKafkaMulti-Agent SystemsPythonScalaSecrets ManagementSparkThreat ModelingVulnerability Management
Artificial Intelligence • Big Data • Healthtech • Information Technology • Machine Learning • Software • Analytics
Leads engineering teams developing enterprise AI/ML and conversational AI solutions, including chatbots, voice bots, and virtual assistants. Owns technology roadmaps, Agile delivery, platform integrations, responsible AI, DevOps, CI/CD, Terraform, security, and compliance. Partners with executives and cross-functional teams to drive AI adoption, innovation, measurable business outcomes, and organizational change while coaching and developing high-performing engineering teams.
Top Skills:
Agentic AiAi Development Lifecycle (Aidlc)Amazon ConnectAmazon LexAws Ai/MlAzure AiCcaasCi/CdCloud-Native ArchitecturesConversational AiDevOpsFive9Generative AiGenesysGoogle AdkGoogle Cloud AiGoogle DialogflowLlmsNiceNode.jsPythonResponsible AiRetrieval-Augmented Generation (Rag)TerraformTypescriptVoice Ai
Artificial Intelligence • Big Data • Healthtech • Information Technology • Machine Learning • Software • Analytics
Lead development of backend services and responsive web interfaces using Go, React, Redux, and Node.js. Collaborate with product, design, development, and DevOps teams to deliver maintainable software. Conduct code reviews, write tested and documented code, and deploy applications on Google Cloud Platform using services such as GKE. Improve application performance, scalability, and security while supporting cross-functional delivery.
Top Skills:
BigQueryDockerEs6+GoGoogle Cloud Platform (Gcp)Google Kubernetes Engine (Gke)JavaScriptNode.jsReactReduxRelational DatabasesRestful Apis
What you need to know about the Chennai Tech Scene
To locals, it's no secret that South India is leading the charge in big data infrastructure. While the environmental impact of data centers has long been a concern, emerging hubs like Chennai are favored by companies seeking ready access to renewable energy resources, which provide more sustainable and cost-effective solutions. As a result, Chennai, along with neighboring Bengaluru and Hyderabad, is poised for significant growth, with a projected 65 percent increase in data center capacity over the next decade.
