Principal Software Engineer- Java Full stack

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.

We are seeking an experienced Principal Software Engineer to provide technical leadership and drive the design, development, and delivery of enterprise-level applications and AI-enabled solutions. This individual will develop reusable utilities for the AI Development Life Cycle, establish project milestones, leverage approved AI/ML technologies and data sources, and guide engineering teams through successful project delivery.

The ideal candidate will be a hands-on technology leader with solid expertise in full-stack development, cloud platforms, enterprise architecture, DevOps, and Agile software development.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Design and develop reusable utilities and frameworks supporting the AI Development Life Cycle (AI DLC)
• Leverage approved AI/ML technologies, platforms, models, and data sources while following organizational security and governance standards
• Define project milestones, technical deliverables, dependencies, and engineering tasks
• Lead the design and development of scalable, reliable, secure, and maintainable enterprise applications
• Serve as a hands-on technical leader within the development team
• Drive engineering projects from solution design through development, testing, deployment, and production support
• Architect enterprise-level services, RESTful APIs, and cloud-native applications
• Provide technical direction and remove engineering roadblocks
• Mentor and coach junior and mid-level engineers through design reviews, code reviews, and knowledge-sharing sessions
• Champion software engineering best practices, including unit testing, automation, observability, security, and performance optimization
• Promote DevOps principles, continuous integration, continuous delivery, and infrastructure automation
• Collaborate with product, architecture, security, data science, and business teams to translate requirements into effective technical solutions
• Support application monitoring, troubleshooting, performance testing, and continuous improvement
• Evaluate emerging technologies and recommend solutions aligned with business and engineering objectives
• Comply with the terms and conditions of the employment contract, company policies and procedures, and any and all directives (such as, but not limited to, transfer and/or re-assignment to different work locations, change in teams and/or work shifts, policies in regards to flexibility of work benefits and/or work environment, alternative work arrangements, and other decisions that may arise due to the changing business environment). The Company may adopt, vary or rescind these policies and directives in its absolute discretion and without any limitation (implied or otherwise) on its ability to do so

Required Qualifications:

• Undergraduate degree or equivalent practical experience
• 7+ years of software development experience using at least two of the following languages:
  • Java
  • JavaScript
  • Python
• 7+ years of experience with HTML and CSS
• 5+ years of experience across the full Software Development Life Cycle in an Agile environment
• 5+ years of experience developing RESTful web services and APIs
• 5+ years of unit-testing experience
• 5+ years of experience working with relational or NoSQL databases, including MySQL, Oracle, or equivalent technologies
• 3+ years of experience with Spring or Spring Boot
• 3+ years of experience with Hibernate or equivalent ORM frameworks
• 3+ years of experience with React
• 3+ years of experience with cloud platforms such as AWS or Microsoft Azure
• 3+ years of experience with container platforms, preferably Kubernetes
• 3+ years of experience architecting enterprise-level applications and services
• 3+ years of experience delivering software using DevOps principles and practices
• Demonstrated experience leading technical projects and mentoring software engineers
• Solid understanding of software architecture, design patterns, security, scalability, and application performance

Preferred Qualifications:

• Healthcare industry experience
• Experience developing AI/ML-enabled applications or utilities supporting the AI development lifecycle
• Experience with application monitoring and observability tools such as Splunk and Grafana
• Experience with performance and load-testing tools such as Gatling or JMeter
• Experience developing modern single-page applications
• Experience building CI/CD pipelines using GitHub Actions
• Experience developing APIs using Python frameworks such as Flask or FastAPI
• Experience working with global or cross-functional engineering teams
• Familiarity with responsible AI, model governance, security, and approved AI/ML development practices

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.