Data Scientist, Applied Analytics and Production Solutions - Remote

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. Optum's Enterprise Clinical Services team is seeking a Senior Data Scientist to lead the strategy, architecture, implementation, scaling, and continuous improvement of applied AI and natural language processing solutions that improve healthcare delivery and operational efficiency. This role provides accountable technical leadership for NLP, large language models, voice and call analytics, AI-enabled quality assurance, intelligent automation, and related advanced analytics capabilities. The position combines hands-on technical execution, solution architecture, business strategy, and team leadership. Working at the intersection of data science, engineering, business intelligence, and clinical operations, you will move ambiguous business needs through research, design, deployment, monitoring, adoption, and sustained production use. You will also help shape the capability roadmap, establish reusable technical patterns and evaluation practices, and mentor other data scientists. You'll enjoy the flexibility to work remotely * from anywhere within the U.S. as you take on some tough challenges. For all hires in the Minneapolis or Washington, D.C. area, you will be required to work in the office a minimum of four days per week.

Applied AI, NLP, and LLM leadership Establish technical direction for NLP, large language model, voice analytics, and applied AI capabilities Evaluate emerging AI technologies and identify practical applications for clinical and business operations Design and implement AI-enabled operational solutions, including voice and call analytics, AI-driven monitoring, and intelligent workflow automation Build scalable frameworks, reusable components, and solution patterns that accelerate future AI development and deployment Establish technical standards, evaluation methods, governance approaches, and best practices for AI-enabled capabilities Guide the responsible transition of AI concepts, research, and prototypes into reliable, supported production solutions Advanced solution development and production stewardship Lead complex analytical initiatives from problem definition through implementation, adoption, performance monitoring, and enhancement Translate ambiguous business challenges into structured analytical approaches, technical architectures, and executable solution plans Design and oversee scalable data pipelines, feature and data-processing workflows, application architectures, and automation frameworks Develop and apply NLP, LLM, machine learning, statistical, optimization, and operations research methods to business problems Define monitoring, validation, reporting, documentation, and operational-readiness expectations for production AI solutions Lead technical troubleshooting and root-cause analysis for complex model, data, and application issues Review models, prompts, code, analytical methods, architecture, and implementation approaches for quality, reliability, and maintainability Business leadership and team development Partner with senior leaders and business stakeholders to identify high-value opportunities and translate strategy into practical solutions Communicate technical concepts, model results, limitations, risks, and trade-offs clearly to technical and non-technical audiences Shape the roadmap for NLP, LLM, voice analytics, automation, and advanced analytical initiatives Mentor GL27 Data