Lead Software Engineer - Remote or Hybrid in MN or DC

Requisition Number: 2358063
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 Lead Software Engineer is a hands on technical leader accountable for engineering excellence, automation maturity, architectural soundness, and AI enabled productivity. This role focuses on raising the technical bar across teams while delivering reliable, secure, and scalable software solutions that support Optum's mission.
Optum Technology is seeking a Lead Software Engineer to provide hands on technical leadership for the design, development, and operation of scalable, high quality software platforms. This role is responsible for setting technical direction, driving automation first engineering practices, and mentoring engineers while remaining deeply involved in backend development, API engineering, CI/CD, and test automation.
The Lead Software Engineer will leverage enterprise approved AI tools to improve productivity and software quality, influence architecture and engineering standards, and partner with cross functional teams to deliver reliable, secure, and maintainable solutions in a regulated healthcare environment.
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:

• Provide technical leadership and architectural ownership for backend services, platforms, or major capability areas
• Design, develop, and operate high performance backend services, with a strong emphasis on Golang (Go) based implementations
• Lead API strategy and development, including GraphQL (schema first design, resolvers, versioning) and REST where appropriate
• Establish and enforce automation first engineering practices across build, test, and deployment pipelines
• Own and evolve CI/CD pipelines, ensuring reliable, repeatable, and secure delivery of software
• Define and implement test automation strategies, including API, service level, and contract testing
• Champion shift left quality practices and production readiness standards
• Apply enterprise approved AI tools to improve developer productivity, code quality, testing, and documentation
• Lead design and architecture reviews; ensure alignment with Optum engineering standards and security requirements
• Mentor and coach engineers across levels, raising technical and automation maturity across teams
• Partner with product, architecture, and delivery leadership to translate business objectives into technical solutions
• Solid communication skills and ability to influence technical direction across teams

AI Enabled Role Expectations

• Leverage Optum approved AI tools to:
  • Accelerate development and testing workflows
  • Improve engineering efficiency and consistency
  • Support documentation, analysis, and design activities
• Evaluate and responsibly adopt emerging AI capabilities in alignment with Optum Responsible AI and governance standards
• Integrate AI enabled services or automation into backend platforms where appropriate, focusing on orchestration and consumption rather than model development

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:

• 15+ years of professional software engineering experience with demonstrated platform ownership
• 15+ years of experience designing and delivering API based systems, including GraphQL and REST
• 10+ years of experience with CI/CD, build automation, and release engineering
• 15+ years of experience operating production grade, distributed systems in a large enterprise environment
• 7+ years of demonstrated ability to act as a technical lead or domain authority
• 5+ years of experience Golang (Go) and backend service development
• 5+ years of experience with test automation, including API and service level testing

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with GraphQL schema design and governance
• Experience integrating AI enabled tools into software development workflows
• Exposure to cloud native architectures and infrastructure as code practices
• Experience working in regulated industries (healthcare, finance, or similar)
• Experience mentoring senior engineers and leading architecture reviews
• Proven track record delivering and operating complex, scalable systems

*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 $112,700 to $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.