Senior Manager Architecture

Requisition Number: 2381518
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.
Primary Responsibilities:

• Define and own the architecture strategy and technology roadmap for Provider Technology Services, supporting Provider business objectives and transformation initiatives.
• Establish and drive enterprise architecture standards, principles, reference architectures, and governance processes across the Provider applications landscape.
• apply an AI aware mindset to inform design choices, improve clarity of trade-offs, and guide teams toward a shared architectural vision
• Oversee design through the full lifecycle, ensuring reliability, performance, security, and cost effectiveness are built in from the start
• Support teams with AI enhanced design tools that streamline modeling, analysis, and documentation
• Encourage thoughtful use of AI aware patterns such as predictive insights, intelligent workflows, and automated quality checks
• Partner with data, ML, and analytics teams on safe, responsible integration of intelligence into systems
• Use AI tools to accelerate architecture tasks like API review, dependency analysis, and solution documentation
• Design solutions informed by healthcare data flows, eligibility/benefits concepts, provider models, and regulatory expectations
• Understand how EMR and clinical systems interact with payer platforms to guide integration and data movement
• Apply interoperability standards (FHIR, HL7, X12) to ensure systems communicate reliably and securely
• Mentor architects and engineers to strengthen system design, integration skills, and architectural thinking
• Lead design reviews, share best practices, and foster a culture focused on simplification, reuse, and responsible innovation
• Evaluate AI tools and products for enterprise utilization to streamline workflows, automate tasks, and drive continuous improvement
• Evaluate emerging trends to inform solution design and strategic innovation
• Design, develop, and deploy strategic solutions, including those that are AI-powered, to address complex business challenges with emphasis on responsible use of data and AI
• Establish architectural blueprints, reference models, technology landscapes, and transition roadmaps to guide development and capabilities across the ecosystem
• Serve as a technical authority and mentor for AI/ML engineers, tech leads, and solution architects across the organization
• Collaborate with product managers, data scientists, and engineering teams to translate business requirements into robust architectural designs
• Evaluate and recommend AI/ML platforms, tools, and frameworks (e.g., LLMs, RAG pipelines, agent frameworks, vector databases)
• Drive adoption of responsible AI principles including explainability, fairness, bias mitigation, and model governance
• Partner with security, compliance, and infrastructure teams to ensure AI solutions meet regulatory and enterprise standards (HIPAA, SOC2, etc.)
• Lead architecture reviews, proof-of-concepts, and technical spike initiatives
• Represent the AI architecture function in cross-functional leadership discussions and executive briefings
• Comply with the terms and conditions of the employment contract, company policies and procedures, and any and all directives (such as, but not limited to, transfer and/or re-assignment to different work locations, change in teams and/or work shifts, policies in regards to flexibility of work benefits and/or work environment, alternative work arrangements, and other decisions that may arise due to the changing business environment). The Company may adopt, vary or rescind these policies and directives in its absolute discretion and without any limitation (implied or otherwise) on its ability to do so

Required Qualifications:

• 15+ years of overall software/systems engineering experience, with 5+ years focused on AI/ML architecture
• 5+ years of experience owning and defining the AI/ML architecture roadmap, aligned to enterprise technology strategy and business objectives

Preferred Qualifications:

• AI/Cloud certifications
• Experience in Provider healthcare
• Experience with enterprise API governance and streaming platforms
• Familiarity with FHIR, HL7, or healthcare interoperability standards
• Knowledge of responsible AI frameworks and AI security controls
• Proven solid communication and stakeholder management
• Proven solid problem-solving and architecture decision-making skills
• Demonstrated ability to influence executive and engineering leadership
• Demonstrated ability to balance strategic thinking with hands-on execution

At UnitedHealth Group, our mission is to help people live healthier lives and make the health system work better for everyone. We believe everyone-of every race, gender, sexuality, age, location and income-deserves the opportunity to live their healthiest life. Today, however, there are still far too many barriers to good health which are disproportionately experienced by people of color, historically marginalized groups and those with lower incomes. We are committed to mitigating our impact on the environment and enabling and delivering equitable care that addresses health disparities and improves health outcomes - an enterprise priority reflected in our mission.