Note: The job is a remote job and is open to candidates in USA. Optum is a global leader in health care innovation, and they are seeking a Principal Data Engineer to design and evolve enterprise-scale, AI-enabled data platforms. This role combines hands-on engineering with architectural leadership, focusing on data platform design across various technologies and ensuring production excellence.
Responsibilities
- Partner closely with Platform Solution Architect to evolve the end-to-end data platform architecture across Azure, Snowflake, dbt, and future architecture changes using lake house technologies (including Iceberg where applicable)
- Define reference architectures, reusable frameworks, and engineering standards for ingestion, transformation, and consumption
- Partner with Platform Solution Architect Drive decisions around scalability, performance, resiliency, security, and cost optimization
- Partner with Tech Engineering Delivery Owner / Platform Architect / Data Architect / Offshore Tech Lead and Offshore Snowflake Admin defining best practices, data models, integration patterns, and implementation strategies
- Design, build, and operate high-volume, high-reliability batch and near real-time data pipelines using Azure Data Factory, dbt, Python, SQL, Snowflake, and related tools
- Implement scalable transformation logic to deliver trusted, analytics-ready datasets
- Support event-driven and streaming architectures were needed
- Apply canonical/common data modeling practices to ensure consistency and reusability across domains
- Enable AI/ML and GenAI use cases by building AI-ready data platforms and pipelines
- Support:
- Feature engineering and model training pipelines
- Historical and point-in-time datasets
- Data versioning and ML lifecycle integration
- Leverage enterprise tools such as Snowflake Cortex and MCP Server deliver governed AI capabilities
- Partner closely with Data Science and ML Engineering teams to enable scalable, production-ready AI solutions
- Establish and enforce data quality, observability, reconciliation, and auditability standards
- Own production stability, including monitoring, incident response, root cause analysis, and long-term remediation
- Implement practices for schema evolution, backward compatibility, and error handling
- Define and track KPIs for data freshness, pipeline reliability, platform performance, and cost efficiency
- Design and manage CI/CD pipelines for data and ML workloads, including automated testing and release orchestration
- Ensure alignment with enterprise governance, security, and regulatory requirements (HIPAA, SDLC, data governance)
- Implement lineage, monitoring, and audit frameworks to support compliance and traceability
- Serve as a senior technical authority and escalation point, driving solution design and resolving complex challenges
- Provide design reviews, code reviews, and technical guidance to engineers across levels
- Mentor and develop engineers, fostering a culture of engineering excellence, ownership, and accountability
- Influence cross-team delivery and coordinate across onshore/offshore teams and stakeholders
- Operate independently with platform-level ownership and accountability
- Balance hands-on execution with long-term architecture thinking and working with senior architect for OHBI
- Influence engineering strategy beyond immediate team scope
- Act as a trusted partner across engineering, architecture, and business teams
- Translate business and product requirements into scalable technical solutions and delivery plans
- Partner with data architecture, analytics, BI, and product teams to ensure alignment and value delivery
- Communicate complex technical concepts effectively to both technical and non-technical stakeholders
Skills
- Extensive experience with cloud data platforms, especially Azure and Snowflake
- Solid hands-on expertise in: SQL and Python, Azure Data Factory - Data pipeline design and orchestration, Snowflake - tasks and steams design and orchestration
- Deep understanding of data integration patterns (batch, micro-batch, streaming, near real-time)
- Experience with data quality, observability, monitoring, and production support
- Proven ability to design for performance tuning, scalability, and cost optimization
- Experience enabling AI/ML data pipelines and solutions
- Experience in implementing a new platform including new technologies and solutioning to ensure the business needs are met before technology needs
- Demonstrated technical leadership and mentorship experience
- Bachelor's degree, Computer Science or related field
- Experience with Databricks and/or modern data ecosystem tools
- Familiarity with BI/Analytics platforms (e.g., Power BI)
- Prior experience within Optum / UHG environments
- Experience with Lakehouse patterns and Apache Iceberg
- Solid communication skills with ability to influence senior stakeholders
- All employees working remotely will be required to adhere to UnitedHealth Group's Telecommuter Policy
Benefits
- A comprehensive benefits package
- Incentive and recognition programs
- Equity stock purchase
- 401k contribution (all benefits are subject to eligibility requirements)
Company Overview