Principal Site Reliability Engineer - Remote

Job ID: 96560793328Posted: 2026-09-10Location: Minnetonka, Minnesota, United StatesJob Area: TechnologyCompany: UnitedHealth GroupOptum Tech is a global leader in health care innovation. Our teams develop cutting-edge solutions that help people live healthier lives and help make the health system work better for everyone. From advanced data analytics and AI to cybersecurity, we use innovative approaches to solve some of health care's most complex challenges. Your contributions here have the potential to change lives. Ready to build the next breakthrough? Join us to start Caring. Connecting. Growing together.We are seeking a Principal Site Reliability Engineer (SRE) to define and scale reliability practices across large-scale cloud platforms.This is a senior individual contributor role focused on setting SRE standards, influencing engineering teams, and driving reliability through automation and AI-enabled operations.This is a remote role with preference for candidates located in MN.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.What Makes This Role Unique:Define and influence SRE best practices across multiple platforms and teamsDrive adoption of AI-enabled reliability and operational innovation (AIOps)Work on mission-critical healthcare systems at enterprise scaleBlend hands-on technical depth with strategic influencePartner across engineering, platform, and security teams to elevate reliability standardsPrimary Responsibilities:Define and drive SRE standards across teamsLead implementation of:SLOs, SLIs, error budgetsObservability (metrics, logs, tracing)Resiliency patterns (failover, self-healing)Improve reliability through automation and proactive risk mitigationDrive reliability practices in Azure environmentsApply AIOps (anomaly detection, intelligent alerting, automation)Influence engineering teams without direct authorityWhat Success Looks Like:Established consistent SRE practices and standards across teamsImproved system reliability, observability, and incident response maturityDelivered measurable gains in uptime, performance, and operational efficiencyEnabled AI-driven improvements in reliability and operationsWhy Join Optum?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, Information Technology, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience10+ years of experience in Site Reliability Engineering, Software Engineering, or Cloud EngineeringExperience influencing multiple teams or platforms without direct ownershipDemonstrated experience improving reliability through automation, tooling, or AI-enabled approachesProven hands-on expertise in:Reliability engineering (SLOs, SLIs, incident management, observability)Distributed systems in cloud environments (Azure preferred)Solid understanding of system design, performance, scalability, and failure modesPreferred Qualifications: Experience implementing AI/ML or AIOps solutions in production environments (e.g., anomaly detection, alert optimization, automation)Experience standardizing observability frameworks (e.g., OpenTelemetry or similar)Experience working in complex enterprise or regulated environmentsBackground supporting large-scale, mission-critical systemsProven ability to influence senior technical stakeholdersLocation: MN *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 $xx,xxx to $xx,xxx 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.