Lead Software Engineer, AI Platforms - Remote

Job ID: 100959797456Posted: 2026-11-04Location: Hartford, Connecticut, United StatesSalary: $112,700 - $193,200/yearJob 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 highly experienced Lead Software Engineer, AI Platforms to join our UHC E&I Software Development team within Optum Tech UHC Technology to drive the design, architecture, and delivery of next-generation AI platforms and solutions. In this role, you will serve as a technical leader and strategic partner in advancing enterprise AI capabilities, with a focus on agentic systems, large language models (LLMs), and generative AI applications. As part of our commitment to building an AI-first organization, you will design scalable platforms, enable reusable capabilities, and accelerate adoption of AI across products and teams. You will play a critical role in defining how AI is integrated into our systems, shaping long-term strategy while delivering high-impact solutions in production.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: Use enterprise-approved AI tools to streamline workflows, automate tasks, and drive continuous improvementEvaluate emerging trends and tools to inform solution design, evolve AI capabilities, and drive strategic innovationLead the technical strategy, architecture, and execution of enterprise AI initiatives, with a focus on agentic systems and generative AIDesign and implement scalable, secure, and production-grade AI platforms, including LLM-based applications, orchestration frameworks, and multi-agent systemsDrive the end-to-end lifecycle of AI solutions, including ideation, prototyping, architecture, development, deployment, and continuous optimizationDefine and establish reference architectures, engineering standards, and best practices for AI platformsServe as a subject matter expert in AI engineering, providing hands-on leadership across technologies such as LangChain, LangGraph, vector databases, and orchestration frameworksPartner with product, architecture, and business stakeholders to translate strategic objectives into AI-enabled solutions that deliver measurable valueLead and influence system design and architectural decisions for distributed, cloud-native, and microservices-based AI applicationsEstablish and enforce AI governance and responsible AI practices, including model monitoring, observability, reliability, and risk mitigationMentor and develop engineers, fostering a culture of technical excellence, innovation, and modern software practicesBuild and promote reusable services, shared frameworks, and platform capabilities to scale AI adoption across teamsYou'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 or 8+ years of equivalent software engineering experience8+ years of software engineering experience with deep expertise in full-stack development, distributed systems, and scalable architecture design2+ years of experience with programming languages including TypeScript and Python for AI agents and orchestration2+ years of experience delivering LLM-based or generative AI solutions in production environments2+ years of experience building cloud-native solutions using Azure, AWS, or GCP1+ years of hands-on experience with agentic architectures and orchestration frameworks, such as LangGraph or LangChain1+ years of experience with Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), embeddings, vector databases, and semantic search1+ years of experience using modern AI-assisted development tools (e.g., Codex, Claude, Copilot)1+ years of experience designing and implementing agent-to-agent (A2A) communication patterns, multi-agent architectures, or orchestration frameworks in production environmentsPreferred Qualifications: Proven ability to lead complex system design and architecture initiatives at scaleExperience defining enterprise-level platform strategies, reusable frameworks, and technical standardsDeep understanding of microservices, API design, event-driven architecture, and system reliability principlesProven solid leadership and communication skills with the ability to influence cross-functional teams and senior stakeholdersExperience mentoring engineers and raising engineering and architectural standards across teamsAbility to operate effectively in ambiguous, fast-paced environments, balancing strategic thinking with hands-on executionExperience establishing enterprise reference architectures and driving adoption across multiple engineering organizationsExperience building reusable AI platform capabilities including orchestration, memory, agent lifecycle management, observability, governance, and securityExperience driving engineering transformation through AI-assisted software development, platform modernization, and architectural simplification initiativesPay 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.