Senior Director Data Science

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 diversity and inclusion, talented peers, comprehensive benefits, and career development opportunities. Come make an impact on the communities we serve as you help us advance health equity on a global scale. Join us to start Caring. Connecting. Growing together.

The Optum AI team is focused on delivering AI-ML solutions for the highest impact and business prioritized problems. Across UnitedHealth Group, we are transforming the health care journey through responsible AI/ML innovation that; simplifies operations and reduce administrative burden; improves the member and provider experience; and brings insights and information to clinicians. Driving Responsible use of AI across the enterprise to ensure safe deployment of AI models into practice is a key focus of Optum AI as well as enabling democratization of AI by creating platform capabilities and frameworks for developers across the enterprise.

As artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) solutions continue to evolve, we are committed to assessing and improving our AI/ML practices continuously based on our own learning, industry best practices and regulatory guidance. Our Responsible Use of AI program, which includes the Machine Learning Review Board, supports all ML teams across UnitedHealth Group (UHG) with a holistic, structured, and cross-disciplined review of AI.

In this leadership role, the Senior Director Data Science for the Responsible Use of AI Program (RUAI), you will be collaborating with other data science and AI-ML leaders to develop technical standards for Responsible AI development and evaluation and translate them into action through the implementation of ML model metrics and monitoring tools. You will apply your expertise in reviewing, assessing, and testing AI used across the organization through several workstreams. You will implement a framework for red-teaming and conducting independent assessment and testing of internal AI and support M & A diligence efforts. You will participate in internal AI governance processes Machine Learning Review Board process by reviewing internal or supplier-provided AI and oversee external/independent assessments of internal AI. As a key leader in the Responsible Use of AI program, you will influence across the enterprise by interacting with data science leaders and functional business executives to educate and advise on key concepts related to responsible use of AI. This role is essential to the company’s success as the RUAI program has increasing requirements for standards based on emerging technology and to meet the increasing market demand.

As the Senior Director, you will drive the implementation and adoption of state-of-the-art evaluation metrics for Generative AI and other modern AI methods as well as drive the frameworks and evaluation process for measuring the safety, accuracy, and fairness of ML model implementation. Developing and leading the execution of new approaches for Responsible AI evaluations for the unique set of healthcare applications across the UnitedHealth Group enterprise is the responsibility of the Senior Director. You will provide leadership to and will be accountable for the performance and results through multiple layers of management and senior level professional staff, reporting to the Director of the Responsible Use of AI Program and working with the UHG Chief AI Officer.

To be successful in this role, you will bring strong analytical, problem-solving, and decision-making skills, with the ability to balance innovation and pragmatism to drive the team and solutions forward, possess an educator’s voice to support organizational growth and maturity, and promote a keen passion for learning and continuous improvement based on the latest AI/ML trends and research.

Please note that this role is not intended for professionals performing the following work: less complex analysis on small data sets; rules-based algorithmic or descriptive analytics; development of big data infrastructure.

You’ll enjoy the flexibility to work remotely * from anywhere within the U.S. as you take on some tough challenges.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Research and develop new methods to build, test and monitor AI consistent with UHG guiding principles for Responsible Use of AI (quality, explainability, fairness, security, accountability, and continuous improvement)
• Design and build new tools to implement AI performance and fairness testing and monitoring in partnership with legal, compliance, and engineering teams
• Play a key leadership role in the Machine Learning Review Board to provide direct oversight and review of proposed AI from teams across Optum, UHG and UHC (UnitedHealthcare)
• Conduct Red Team/adversarial reviews of AI used by UHC, Optum or UHG
• Identify and manage third party AI assessors (e.g., consultants) as they perform third-party reviews of UHG AI
• Lead AI due diligence in support of M&A efforts
• Manage a small, dedicated team with the ability to utilize development engineers, SMEs, and other resources to achieve goals

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:

• Master’s degree in computer science, engineering, mathematics, statistics, or related STEM discipline
• 12+ years of experience in Software Engineering, Data Science, or Analytics with at least 8 years of experience in AI/ML engineering
• 8+ years of experience in Python, R, or other programming languages for data analysis and AI/ML development
• 8+ years of experience with AI/ML frameworks and tools, such as MLFlow, TensorFlow, PyTorch, Keras, Scikit-learn
• 2+ years of experience with cloud platforms and services, such as AWS, Azure, and/or GCP
• 8+ years of experience with DevOps and CI/CD tools and practices, such as Git, Jenkins, Docker, and/or Kubernetes
• 8+ years of expertise in various AI/ML techniques, such as deep learning, natural language processing, computer vision, recommender systems, reinforcement learning, large language models, etc.
• 4+ years of leading and managing (direct reports and dotted line) AI/ML teams including driving projects, from ideation to delivery and evaluation
• 2+ years of experience evaluating the performance and fairness of Responsible AI

Preferred Qualifications:

• Ph.D. in computer science, engineering, mathematics, or statistics, or related STEM discipline
• Experience as a leader or reviewer in AI or data governance
• Experience in working with cross-functional and distributed teams in a global and diverse environment
• Experience in mentoring, coaching, and developing AI/ML talent
• Experience in establishing and enforcing AI/ML best practices, standards, and ethics
• Background in Healthcare AI
• Proven track record of delivering high-impact AI/ML solutions for real-world problems and use cases
• Strong portfolio of AI/ML publications, patents, or awards

*All employees working remotely will be required to adhere to UnitedHealth Group’s Telecommuter Policy

California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, or Washington Residents Only: The salary range for California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, or Washington residents is $147,300 to $282,800 annually. Pay is based on several factors including but not limited to education, work experience, certifications, etc. In addition to your salary, UnitedHealth Group offers 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 UnitedHealth Group, you’ll find a far-reaching choice of benefits and incentives.