About Optum
Optum is a leading global health services and technology company operating under the umbrella of UnitedHealth Group, one of the largest and most innovative healthcare organizations in the world. Optum focuses on harnessing data, technology, and analytics to improve health outcomes, streamline care delivery, and optimize healthcare operations at scale. The company blends deep industry expertise with modern AI, machine learning, and cloud capabilities to build solutions that power health systems, insurance operations, and patient-centric platforms.
The AI/ML Engineer role at Optum is designed for professionals who want to work at the intersection of healthcare, data science, and intelligent systems — delivering impactful solutions that enhance decision-making and operational efficiency in one of the most critical sectors globally.
Role Overview – AI/ML Engineer
- Position: AI/ML Engineer
- Company: Optum (UnitedHealth Group)
- Location: Bangalore, Karnataka, India
- Experience Level: Freshers / Experienced
- Qualification: Bachelor’s / Undergraduate Degree (Computer Science, EE, IT, Statistics, Data Science, or related fields)
- Employment Type: Full-time
- Domain: Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning / Software Engineering
This role provides exposure to real-world AI problems, responsible for building models and integrating analytics into production-ready platforms.
Purpose of the Role
The primary purpose of the AI/ML Engineer position is to develop, train, evaluate, and deploy machine learning and artificial intelligence solutions that solve complex problems within healthcare and business operations. Engineers in this role help build systems that extract insights from data, automate processes, and improve prediction-driven outcomes that support patient care, provider workflows, or business intelligence.
By joining Optum’s AI teams, professionals have the opportunity to apply mathematical rigor, data-centric thinking, and software engineering best practices to impactful real-world applications.
Key Responsibilities
As an AI/ML Engineer at Optum, your responsibilities will typically include:
- Designing, building, and deploying machine learning models to address business and healthcare challenges
- Performing data preprocessing, feature engineering, and exploratory data analysis
- Training and evaluating models using standard ML frameworks and techniques
- Integrating ML models into production systems or analytics platforms
- Collaborating with data engineers, software developers, and domain experts
- Experimenting with advanced modeling techniques (deep learning, NLP, ensemble methods)
- Monitoring performance and ensuring models remain robust and accurate
- Optimizing and tuning models for scalability, performance, and interpretability
- Documenting model development, evaluation, and deployment workflows
- Supporting data infrastructure, quality checks, and reproducible pipelines
These responsibilities ensure that AI/ML solutions are technically sound, scalable, and aligned with business or clinical outcomes.
Technical Skills Required
To be successful in this role, candidates should demonstrate proficiency or experience in:
- Programming languages such as Python or R for data science and modeling
- Experience with ML libraries including scikit-learn, TensorFlow, Keras, or PyTorch
- Strong foundation in statistics, probability, and linear algebra
- Knowledge of data preprocessing, feature engineering, and evaluation metrics
- Familiarity with SQL and relational databases for data extraction
- Understanding of version control systems such as Git
- Ability to build and optimize model training pipelines
- Familiarity with cloud platforms and services (AWS, Azure, GCP) is advantageous
- Exposure to deployment frameworks such as Docker, Flask, FastAPI (bonus)
Technical expertise varies with experience level, but strong fundamentals in analytics and programming are critical.
Professional and Soft Skills
In addition to technical knowledge, Optum values professionals who exhibit:
- Analytical and critical thinking to solve complex problems
- Strong communication skills for data reporting and stakeholder interaction
- Ability to work collaboratively in cross-functional teams
- Problem-solving mindset with attention to detail
- Project management and task prioritization
- Curious and continuous learning attitude
These soft skills help engineers articulate insights and collaborate effectively across teams.
Role Views – Daily Work Experience
A typical day as an AI/ML Engineer at Optum may involve:
- Preparing and cleaning datasets for model building
- Running experiments and tuning algorithms
- Collaborating with product, engineering, and analytics teams
- Writing scripts or tools to automate workflows
- Reviewing code and contributing to documentation
- Evaluating model performance metrics
- Attending stand-ups or sprint planning sessions
- Supporting model deployment and monitoring processes
This hands-on practical engagement strengthens both analytical and engineering expertise.
Who Should Apply
This role is suitable for:
- Fresh graduates with strong AI/ML foundational knowledge
- Early-career professionals seeking impact-driven AI roles
- Candidates who enjoy working with data, algorithms, and code
- Individuals aiming for careers in predictive analytics, software engineering, or data science
- Professionals eager to apply AI in healthcare and business problems
A willingness to learn and adapt to evolving technologies is critical for success.
Work Culture & Environment
Optum fosters a culture of innovation, collaboration, and growth. Teams are built on cross-functional collaboration, mentorship, continuous learning, and diversity. Bangalore serves as a key technology and delivery hub, giving employees exposure to global teams, modern engineering practices, and impactful analytics projects.
Learning & Skill Development
AI/ML Engineers at Optum benefit from:
- Structured onboarding and technical orientation
- Exposure to industry-specific data problems and use cases
- Guidance from senior data scientists and engineers
- Opportunities to work with production-grade pipelines and cloud services
- Continuous learning through internal resources and certifications
This environment supports both depth and breadth of expertise.
Career Growth & Progression
Starting as an AI/ML Engineer, professionals can grow into roles such as:
- Senior Machine Learning Engineer
- Data Scientist / Analytics Specialist
- AI Architect / Technical Lead
- Machine Learning Research Engineer
- AI Product & Solutions Lead
Career progression depends on technical impact, model performance contributions, and leadership in delivering scalable solutions.
Why This Role Matters
- Enables data-driven decisions across healthcare and business units
- Improves automation, prediction, and operational efficiency
- Supports better health outcomes through analytical insights
- Integrates AI with enterprise products and platforms
- Provides high-impact experience at the intersection of technology and real-world applications
AI/ML Engineers play a central role in transforming data into actionable intelligence.
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Final Career Insight
The Optum AI/ML Engineer position in Bangalore, India is an exceptional opportunity for professionals at all experience levels to build impactful careers in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and data-driven solutions. With access to real healthcare and business datasets, collaborative culture, and global standards, this role provides a strong foundation for future growth in data science and intelligent engineering.
