Principal Software Engineer

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.

PURPOSE Serve as a senior individual contributor responsible for architecting, designing, and delivering enterprise-scale, cloud-native Java solutions while raising engineering standards through deep technical expertise, hands-on problem solving, and architecture influence. DESIGNATION - Principal Software Engineer EXPERIENCE - 12+ years LOCATION - Hyderabad, India FUNCTION Software Engineering DOMAIN Enterprise / Healthcare WORK MODEL As applicable We are seeking an accomplished Principal Software Engineer to operate as a senior individual contributor focused on technical strategy, solution architecture, hands-on engineering, and modernization of enterprise platforms. This role is not a people-management position; it is designed for a deeply technical leader who can influence architecture, guide engineering direction, solve complex technical problems, and deliver high-quality solutions through expertise and credibility. The successful candidate will bring strong experience across Java, Spring, Azure, DevOps, Kafka, Spark, APIs, relational databases, distributed systems, resiliency, security, and performance engineering. This individual will partner with architects, product owners, engineering teams, QA, and production support to translate complex requirements into scalable designs, reference implementations, technical patterns, and production-ready software.

Architecture and Technical Design Own and influence architecture for complex enterprise applications, services, APIs, data pipelines, integrations, and cloud-native components Translate business and platform requirements into scalable solution designs, architecture decisions, technical specifications, and implementation-ready engineering guidance Define and promote reusable technical patterns, reference implementations, design guardrails, and engineering standards across teams Ensure solutions align with enterprise architecture, security, resilience, performance, observability, maintainability, and operational support expectations Hands-on Engineering and Technical Execution Design, build, test, debug, optimize, and document complex enterprise applications, microservices, APIs, Spark jobs, and integration components Provide hands-on expertise in Java, Spring, Azure, DevOps, Kafka, distributed systems, data processing, and application architecture patterns Solve complex technical problems independently, including performance bottlenecks, scalability constraints, deployment issues, defect root causes, and production-readiness gaps Build reliable Kafka producer and consumer integrations, support event-driven architecture patterns, and guide teams on operationally safe implementation practices Deliver high-quality engineering outcomes without direct people-management responsibility, using technical influence, mentoring, and design authority to raise team capability AI-Enabled Engineering and Modernization Apply AI-assisted development practices to accelerate design analysis, coding, unit testing, documentation, defect analysis, modernization, and engineering productivity Use tools such as Codex, Claude, and comparable AI engineering assistants responsibly, with strong validation of generated code, test cases, designs, and documentation Identify high-value modernization opportunities where AI can reduce manual effort, improve engineering quality, and accelerate