Senior Software Engineer

Requisition Number: 2390097
Optum 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.
This role supports the Identity Management rebuild initiative and ongoing support for the existing application. The Software Engineer will design, build, test, deploy, and operate scalable APIs, microservices, and data-intensive backend services. The role retains a solid foundation in Python and PySpark while expanding into API development, cloud-native application engineering, automation, observability, and secure software delivery.
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:

• Lead the design, development, testing, deployment, and support of backend applications, RESTful APIs, and microservices for the Identity Management rebuild and existing application
• Design and build production-quality services using Python and modern API frameworks, establishing reusable patterns and engineering standards
• Architect and develop data-intensive application components and distributed processing workflows using PySpark, Azure Databricks, and Azure Data Factory
• Own API design standards, including contracts, request and response models, error handling, versioning strategies, and service documentation using OpenAPI or Swagger
• Implement resilient microservice patterns, including service-to-service communication, retries, timeouts, idempotency, asynchronous processing, and graceful failure handling
• Create automated unit, integration, API, regression, and performance tests; integrate quality checks into CI/CD pipelines
• Implement application logging, metrics, tracing, alerting, and dashboards to improve observability, incident response, and operational reliability
• Apply secure coding practices, authentication and authorization controls, secrets management, encryption, and privacy-by-design principles
• Lead troubleshooting of complex production issues, perform root cause analysis, improve service performance, and drive scalability, reliability, and cost optimization
• Champion Git-based engineering practices, lead code and design reviews, and strengthen branching, automated build, release control, and infrastructure-aware deployment workflows
• Use enterprise-approved AI tools and custom agents to accelerate coding, testing, documentation, debugging, monitoring, and operational support
• Partner with product, data engineering, platform engineering, architecture, security, and application teams to shape technical direction, deliver priorities, and communicate risks, dependencies, tradeoffs, and progress
• Provide technical leadership through architecture reviews, design guidance, code reviews, and mentoring of software engineers
• Identify technical debt, define modernization priorities, and drive continuous improvement in engineering quality, reliability, and delivery practices

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:

• 7+ years of hands-on software engineering experience building and operating enterprise applications, backend services, APIs, or microservices
• 5+ years of hands-on experience with Python, including object-oriented programming, modular design, exception handling, packaging, automation, and maintainable coding practices
• 3+ years of hands-on experience developing RESTful APIs and working with API specifications, validation, authentication, versioning, and documentation
• 3+ years of hands-on experience with PySpark for distributed processing, transformation, data validation, and performance tuning
• 2+ years of working experience with Azure Databricks or similar distributed data platforms for data-intensive application use cases
• 2+ years of working experience with relational and NoSQL databases, data modeling, SQL, transaction patterns, and application-level data access
• 2+ years of Advanced experience designing and building microservices, including service decomposition, interface design, scalability, resilience, and operational support

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with event-driven architecture and messaging technologies such as Kafka, Azure Event Hubs, Azure Service Bus, or comparable platforms
• Experience supporting performance testing, capacity planning, secure software development lifecycle practices, and cloud cost optimization
• Experience building identity management, identity resolution, consumer profile, member/customer identity, or entity-resolution applications
• Hands-on experience with Azure Data Factory and data pipeline orchestration
• Hands-on experience building or supporting custom AI agents for coding, testing, documentation, validation, monitoring, incident triage, or workflow automation
• Healthcare, insurance, consumer profile, or enterprise identity data experience
• Knowledge of caching, API gateways, load balancing, rate limiting, asynchronous programming, and high-availability design
• Experience with automated testing frameworks such as pytest and unit, integration, API, and regression testing practices
• Git experience, including pull requests, code reviews, branching strategies, CI/CD fundamentals, release management, and production support
• Experience implementing logging, monitoring, alerting, metrics, and distributed tracing for production services
• Strong knowledge of software architecture, design principles, common design patterns, clean code, code quality, and maintainable architecture
• Basic working understanding of cloud security, identity and access management, data privacy, governance, and enterprise compliance concepts
• Proven advanced problem-solving and root cause analysis skills, with the ability to troubleshoot complex issues across application, API, data, and cloud layers
• Proven leadership, communication, and collaboration skills, with the ability to influence technical decisions, mentor engineers, and explain risks, dependencies, tradeoffs, and delivery progress clearly

AI Skills and Usage Expectations

• Demonstrate baseline proficiency with enterprise-approved AI tools such as GitHub Copilot, Microsoft 365 Copilot, Databricks Genie, and other approved GenAI platforms, where applicable
• Apply AI tools responsibly to improve coding, code review, test creation, technical documentation, debugging, analysis, monitoring, and delivery quality
• Use or support custom agents for software development, automated testing, API validation, failure detection, incident triage, runbook execution, and operational reporting
• Follow enterprise guidance for responsible AI use, data protection, human review, security, and software quality

Success Profile

• Combines strong software engineering leadership with practical data engineering knowledge
• Designs and guides the delivery of secure, observable, scalable, and maintainable services that can be supported reliably in production
• Provides technical direction and works effectively across application, data, platform, security, and business teams
• Mentors engineers and continuously improves engineering productivity through automation, reusable components, standards, and responsible use of AI-assisted development tools

*All Telecommuters 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 $91,700 to $163,700 annually based on full-time employment. We comply with all minimum wage laws as applicable.
Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.
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.
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