Principal Data Scientist - Strategic | Prairie, MN

Principal Data Scientist

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.

Quality at UnitedHealth Group means striving for excellence in everything we do in order to help us achieve our Mission. Simply put, it's in our DNA and why we're in business - to help people. Our Mission serves as our why; our Values unite us around how we will achieve it. Because when we follow our Mission and live our Values, we deliver Quality.

UnitedHealth Group is seeking a Principal Data Scientist to join our Strategic Insights team. This role reports to the Director of Data Science and is responsible for shaping and advancing enterprise-level analytics that connect customer experience, brand, and business performance outcomes.

This position will lead the development of scalable analytical frameworks aligned to the Enterprise Performance Management (EPM) system, enabling measurement of leading indicators, experience metrics, and business outcomes across key value chains. The role will apply advanced statistical and AI-driven approaches to identify drivers of performance, quantify impact across quartiles, and translate complex data into actionable insights that inform executive decision-making.

As a senior individual contributor, this role will operate with a high degree of autonomy, influencing senior leadership and cross-functional stakeholders to drive customer-centric strategies, growth, and long-term value creation.

If you live near Eden Prairie, MN, you will enjoy the flexibility of a hybrid-remote role as you take on some tough challenges.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Lead enterprise analytics that connect customer experience (e.g., NPS, CAHPS), brand perception, and business performance, enabling a unified view of drivers across the EPM system
• Apply and guide the use of advanced statistical and analytical methods (e.g., regression, segmentation, predictive modeling, correlation analysis) to uncover key drivers, relationships, and trends across complex datasets
• Translate complex analytical outputs into clear, compelling narratives that influence business decisions and elevate the role of data-driven insights across stakeholders
• Drive the development and standardization of analytical frameworks, approaches, and reusable methodologies to ensure consistency, scalability, and quality across insights work
• Integrate multiple data sources (e.g., experience measurement, brand, market, and operational data) to enable connected analytics and more holistic understanding of customer and business performance
• Support the application of AI-driven approaches (including synthetic data, simulation, and AI-assisted analytics) to enhance the depth, speed, and flexibility of insights generation
• Evaluate and partner with external vendors and internal stakeholders to assess AI-enabled capabilities, tools, and data science solutions, ensuring alignment with business needs and research rigor
• Lead experimentation and proof-of-concept efforts to test AI-driven analytical approaches, applying a structured 'build, validate, scale' mindset to determine business value
• Develop and promote best practices for integrating AI into analytics workflows, ensuring output remains interpretable, reliable, and aligned with established research and governance standards
• Contribute to the evolution of scalable analytics capabilities by identifying opportunities to embed automation, standardization, and AI-assisted processes into recurring workflows

You'll be rewarded and recognized for your performance in an environment that will challenge you and give you clear directions on what it takes to succeed in your role as well as provide development for other roles you may be interested in.

Required Qualifications:

• 8+ years of experience in data science, advanced analytics, or applied statistical modeling
• 8+ years of experience in quantitative methods such as regression, segmentation, predictive modeling, and multivariate analysis
• Experience developing analytical frameworks, reusable methodologies, or standardized approaches that improve scalability and consistency
• Experience applying AI/ML techniques to business problems, including experimentation with synthetic data, simulation, or AI-assisted analytics workflows
• Advanced level of proficiency with Microsoft Suite, including Excel and PowerPoint
• Proficiency in tools such as Python, SQL, or R, and experience with data visualization and reporting tools
• Demonstrated ability to work with large, complex datasets and integrate multiple data sources for advanced analytics
• Demonstrated ability to simplify complex data into clear, actionable insights and compelling, executive-ready narratives

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience in customer experience, market research, or insights analytics (e.g., NPS, CAHPS, brand measurement)
• Experience evaluating or working with external data science or AI vendors, tools, or platforms
• Familiarity with integrating analytics into broader business strategies, including growth, retention, and customer experience optimization
• Healthcare industry experience

Soft Skills:

• Strong problem-solving skills with the ability to navigate ambiguity and structure analytical approaches effectively
• Exceptional at proactively building and strengthening relationships across teams and functions to drive alignment, collaboration, and business impact
• Effective communication skills, including the ability to explain technical concepts to non-technical audiences
• Experience working across teams and functions to solve complex business problems and influence decision-making

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.

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.