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Agent guide: [/agents.md](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/agents.md). --- # Director, Data Science - Hybrid in MN or DC or Remote - **Company:** Optum, Inc - **Location:** Eden Prairie, MN, United States (Remote available) - **Salary:** $134,600.0 - $230,800.0 - **Contract:** Permanent contract - **Skills:** Artificial Intelligence, Amazon Web Services, Data Analysis, Microsoft Azure, Cloud Database, Data Transformation, Interoperability, Python (Programming Language), Machine Learning, NumPy, Software Deployment, SQL Databases, Feature Engineering, Sql Optimization, Pytorch, Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources, Retrieval-Augmented Generation, Large Language Models, Multi-Agent Systems, Apache Spark, Deep Learning, Generative AI, Pandas, Scikit Learn, Kubernetes, Information Technology, Performance Monitor, Health Level Seven International, Machine Learning Operations, Virtual Agents, Data Pipelines, Databricks - **Published:** May 19, 2026 - **Apply:** https://www.indeed.com/viewjob?jk=d3ebda6865556131 ## About the Role Do you have experience in SQL?, Do you have a Bachelor's degree?, * Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Statistics, Mathematics, Data Science, or a related quantitative field * 12+ years of experience in data science, machine learning, or advanced analytics with 8+ years developing and deploying production ML models * 8+ years of experience using Python-based data science ecosystems (for example Pandas, NumPy, scikit-learn, PyTorch, or equivalent) and advanced SQL for large-scale analytics, experimentation, and data transformation * 7+ years of experience in senior data science or technical leadership roles influencing modeling approaches, reviewing analytical work across teams, setting standards for model development and validation, and translating complex technical tradeoffs for senior stakeholders * 6+ years of experience designing, deploying, or supporting production ML systems, including model serving, monitoring, retraining workflows, experimentation frameworks, ML lifecycle management, and evaluation of LLM or GenAI applications * 6+ years of experience working with healthcare data such as claims, EHR, pharmacy, or laboratory datasets, including familiarity with healthcare coding systems such as ICD, CPT, NDC, SNOMED, and LOINC, as well as data interoperability standards including FHIR or HL7 * 3+ years of experience designing, building, or operationalizing Generative AI or LLM-based systems * 1+ years of experience with Agentic AI concepts and implementations such as AI agents, agentic skills, model context protocols (MCPs), agent-to-agent (A2A) patterns, tool use, orchestration frameworks, or autonomous workflow execution, * Master's or PhD in Computer Science, Statistics, Mathematics, or a related quantitative discipline * Experience defining or operationalizing enterprise MLOps, LLMOps, agent platform, or AI governance strategies * Experience working with cloud-based data and analytics ecosystems such as Spark, Databricks, AWS, Azure, or GCP * Experience evaluating and implementing GenAI and agentic AI patterns such as retrieval-augmented generation, tool-calling, workflow automation, multi-agent collaboration, and safety guardrails in regulated environments * Demonstrated external technical contributions such as publications, patents, or conference presentations in applied machine learning, healthcare analytics, or Generative AI * All employees working remotely will be required to adhere to UnitedHealth Group's Telecommuter Policy. ## Description Define enterprise data science strategy * Own and drive the technical strategy for applied machine learning, Generative AI, Agentic AI, and advanced analytics across multiple domains and healthcare use cases Lead development of advanced ML, GenAI, and agentic solutions * Provide hands-on technical direction for the design, development, and deployment of machine learning, deep learning, time-series, survival analysis, large language model (LLM), and agent-based AI systems in production environments Establish modeling standards and best practices * Define and standardize modeling frameworks, feature engineering approaches, prompt and context engineering practices, evaluation methodologies, and validation standards across data science teams Architect scalable ML and GenAI systems * Guide the design of production-grade ML and LLM systems including data pipelines, feature stores, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), model serving infrastructure, agent orchestration frameworks, monitoring, and retraining workflows Ensure responsible and reliable AI deployment * Implement consistent practices for model interpretability, explainability, bias assessment, fairness evaluation, guardrails, human oversight, and lifecycle management across deployed predictive, generative, and agentic AI systems Oversee experimentation and performance monitoring * Define experimentation, benchmarking, and monitoring strategies including drift detection, recalibration, LLM evaluation, hallucination and safety checks, tool-use reliability, and performance management Provide technical leadership and mentorship * Mentor principal and senior data scientists, review technical designs and modeling decisions, and provide guidance for complex analytical, GenAI, and agentic AI challenges Influence cross-functional AI delivery * Partner with engineering, data, security, product, and platform teams to align data science solutions with enterprise platforms, infrastructure, reliability requirements, AI governance expectations, and executive priorities 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. ## 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