Product & Business Development Program (PBDP) Internship -Pipeline

Internships at Optum. If you want an intern experience that will dramatically shape your career, consider a company that's dramatically shaping our entire health care system. Optum, part of the UnitedHealth Group family of companies, is a leading health services and innovation company dedicated to helping make the health system work better for everyone. With more than 94,000 people collaborating worldwide, Optum combines people, technology, data and action to improve the delivery, quality and efficiency of health care. Our internship opportunities provide a view of a rapidly evolving, incredibly challenging marketplace of ideas, products and services. Here, you'll work with some of the smartest people in the business on assignments that matter. Join us to start Caring. Connecting. Growing together.

If you're looking for an experience that combines meaningful work, skill development, and real-world impact, the Product & Business Development Program (PBDP) Internship offers an opportunity to contribute to how healthcare operates, scales, and improves.

The PBDP Internship is a 10-week, full-time summer internship designed for students interested in building foundational experience in:

• Business analysis
• Project execution
• Product support/product management
• Process improvement
• Data-informed decision-making

You'll work on real projects, partner across teams, and develop practical skills that translate directly into business roles.

Program Details

• 10-week, full-time summer internship (June-August)
• Locations: Eden Prairie, MN and San Antonio, TX
• Work model: 4 or 5 days a week in office- depending on placement
• Placement process: Interns review project opportunities and rank preferences prior to team alignment the placement process takes place in the spring semester.
  

Why PBDP
This program is designed to help you:

• Gain hands-on experience in real business environments
• Build skills across operations, product, and analysis
• Understand how organizations use data to make decisions
• Develop professionally through mentorship, training, and networking
  

What We're Looking For
We're looking for students who are:

• Curious, motivated, and eager to learn in a business environment
• Solid communicators who can work across teams
• Organized and comfortable managing multiple priorities
• Interested in solving business problems through analysis and execution
• Detail-oriented and willing to work in structured, execution-focused environments
  

What You'll Do
Across all roles, you will:

• Contribute to real business initiatives through research, analysis, and execution
• Support teams by organizing workstreams, tracking progress, and completing deliverables
• Analyze processes and identify opportunities for improvement
• Create reports, summaries, and presentations to communicate insights clearly
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams (operations, product, analytics, technology)
• Build foundational skills in documentation, communication, and problem-solving

In this role, you will actively apply AI tools and techniques within your functional area to drive efficiency, insights, and innovation. You will design, develop and deploy AI-powered solutions to address complex business challenges.

Primary Responsibilities: 

• Apply AI tools to solve business problems within your domain
• Build and optimize prompts for analysis, reporting, and automation
• Integrate AI into workflows (e.g., reporting, dashboards, operations processes)
• Analyze data using AI-enabled tools and generate insights
• Collaborate with teams to identify opportunities for AI-driven improvements
• Ensure responsible and compliant use of AI solutions
  

What to Expect
PBDP is a placement-based internship program, meaning you'll be aligned to a specific team and project based on business need and your interests.
Depending on your placement, your experience will primarily align to one of the following:

Business Operations / Project Execution (Most Common)

• Support project coordination, timelines, and deliverables
• Build and maintain trackers, reports, and presentations
• Assist with stakeholder communication and meeting preparation
• Analyze workflows and recommend process improvements
• Develop documentation such as SOPs, summaries, and project materials
• Focus: execution, organization, and operational problem-solving
  

Product / UX / Digital Experience

• Support product teams with user insights and feedback
• Assist with requirements, user stories, and journey mapping
• Contribute to usability testing or research
• Help improve digital experiences and internal tools
• Focus: supporting how products are built and improved 
  

Data / Analytics / Systems Support

• Support reporting, dashboards, and data-driven insights
• Assist with data validation, QA checks, and testing
• Work with tools like Excel, SQL, or BI platforms (in some roles)
• Help translate data into clear business insights

Important:
This program focuses on applying data to inform business decisions, operations, and reporting.

This is not a dedicated data analytics or data science internship

• You will not be building advanced models or machine learning solutions
• If you are seeking a highly technical analytics or data science role, we encourage you to explore our other programs such as ADP (Analytics Development Program) instead.

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: 

• Currently pursuing a Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university in Business (e.g., Management, Operations), Business Analytics, Economics, Healthcare Administration, Information Systems, or a related field, and must be actively enrolled during the internship program (not graduating prior to or during the internship dates)
• Demonstrated hands-on experience (through coursework, internships, or projects) in at least one of the following:
  • Business analysis, reporting, or performance tracking
  • Project coordination or operational execution
  • Process improvement or workflow optimization
  • Product, user experience, or digital solution support
  • Data analysis using structured datasets
• Intermediate proficiency in Microsoft Excel, including the ability to:
  • Use formulas such as VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, statements, and basic data functions
  • Create and manipulate pivot tables
  • Clean, organize, and analyze datasets
• Ability to build basic reports, trackers, or summaries from data
• Experience creating and organizing work outputs, such as:
  • Building reports, dashboards, or summarizing data in Excel or similar tools
  • Creating presentations to share findings or recommendations
  • Documenting processes or tracking work using tools like project trackers, step-by-step guides, or workflows

Preferred Qualifications: 

• Experience or working knowledge of tools such as:
• SQL, Tableau, Power BI, or other data visualization platforms
• Project management tools (e.g., Jira, Smartsheet, Trello, Asana)
• UX/UI or design tools including experience creating simple wireframes, mockups, or user flows
• Experience applying structured problem-solving approaches, such as:
• Process mapping, workflow documentation, or root cause analysis
• Translating data or research into clear insights or recommendations
• Experience working on team-based projects with defined roles, timelines, and deliverables

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 hourly pay for this role will range from $18.00 to $32.00 per hour based on full-time employment. We comply with all minimum wage laws as applicable.

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.