Sr. AI/ML Engineer - Remote or Hybrid in Eden Prairie, MN or Irvine, CA

Job ID: 98746233904Posted: 2026-08-15Location: Eden Prairie, Minnesota, United StatesSalary: $120,100 - $214,500/yearJob Area: TechnologyCompany: UnitedHealth GroupOptum 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 Chief Digital Office Consumer Engineering team is seeking a Senior AI/ML Engineer to own and advance the intelligence layer of our consumer-facing solutions. In this role, you will design, build, evaluate, and continuously improve AI components, including LLM workflows, RAG pipelines, agentic behaviors, classifiers, summarizers, copilots, and AI evaluation frameworks. Our team's mission is to create innovative digital capabilities that directly impact millions of consumers while ensuring that every AI solution is useful, measurable, safe, transparent, and fit for enterprise execution.If you are located in Eden Prairie, MN or Irvine, CA, you will have the flexibility to work remotely*, as well as work in the office as you take on some tough challenges.Primary Responsibilities:Design, develop, and deploy AI-powered solutions, LLM workflows, prompt chains, agents, RAG patterns, model integrations, classification models, and decision-support tools to address complex business challengesDevelop prompt strategies, tool-calling patterns, grounding techniques, guardrails, and fallback behaviors with an emphasis on responsible AI practicesPartner with Data Engineering to ensure AI components have access to trusted, appropriate, and governed data sourcesBuild and maintain evaluation datasets, scoring rubrics, model-performance tests, and failure-mode analysis toolsMonitor and continuously improve output quality, hallucination risk, relevance, accuracy, consistency, latency, and operational cost in production environmentsPartner with Quality Assurance, Responsible AI, Security, Privacy, Compliance, and Architecture teams to ensure AI solutions are safe and enterprise-readyDocument model behavior, known limitations, risk controls, and operational monitoring needs, while supporting production readiness, model observability, and drift monitoringEvaluate emerging trends and leverage enterprise-approved AI tools to streamline workflows, automate tasks, and drive continuous strategic innovationYou'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:5+ years of engineering experience with strong technical proficiency in Python or equivalent programming languagePractical experience building and deploying AI-enabled applications in enterprise settings, including hands-on experience with LLMs, RAG, embeddings, vector search, prompt engineering, and agent frameworksDemonstrated experience working with model APIs, orchestration frameworks, data pipelines, and evaluation toolingSolid understanding of model limitations, hallucination risks, bias/fairness concerns, and responsible AI frameworksProven ability to design AI workflows that are explainable, testable, governable, and safePreferred Qualifications:Bachelor's or Master's degree in Data Science, Computer Science, Machine Learning, or related technical disciplineSolid background in Data Science, Machine Learning Engineering, Applied Science, or Full-Stack Engineering with AI specializationPractical experience with statistical modeling, data analysis, controlled testing, model evaluation frameworks, and production AI monitoring toolsProven experience scaling LLM applications and data science solutions within large enterprise environments *All employees working remotely will be required to adhere to UnitedHealth Group's Telecommuter PolicyPay 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 $120,100 - $214,500 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. #optumtechpj