Director, AI/ML Applied Science - Remote

Minnetonka, Minnesota (United States) Overview In this role, you will lead and shape AI initiatives within Optum AI to advance health outcomes at scale. You will develop novel ML models for health data, guide an enterprise AI platform, and mentor teams across data science and engineering. You will collaborate with cross-functional partners and RUAI to ensure responsible, compliant AI solutions. This is a high-impact, research-informed position that combines hands-on implementation with strategic platform initiatives. Compensation / Benefits comprehensive benefits package equity stock purchase 401k contribution remote work flexibility career development opportunities Responsibilities Develop novel ML models for prediction of health outcomes and engagement from structured and unstructured data Define and execute the engineering platform vision and reusable code used by thousands of engineers Mentor data scientists, AI/ML scientists, and engineers to ensure delivery of AI/ML projects Collaborate with cross-functional teams to apply AI to business problems Work with RUAI to ensure solutions align with policies and standards Document novel algorithms, including patents and publications, and document infrastructure design and deployment procedures Advocate for AI model and platform adoption across the enterprise Key requirements 11+ years of total experience with a Master's degree or 5+ years with a PhD (as per ad) 3+ years delivering AI/ML/NLP solutions 5+ years leading and implementing AI/ML projects from ideation to production Hands-on AI/ML/NLP implementation experience Proficiency in Python and AI/ML frameworks (e.g., MLFlow, TensorFlow, PyTorch) Experience building and deploying data pipelines and ML models on cloud platforms (Azure, AWS, Databricks, AzureML) Experience with GenAI pipelines (RAG) and Large Language Models (e.g., BERT, GPT) Strong ability to present complex AI/ML concepts to technical and non-technical audiences Solid understanding of ML fundamentals (statistics, linear algebra) collaboration across cross-functional teams ability to mentor others clear communication of complex concepts Python TensorFlow PyTorch