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.
The Director, Technical Project/Program Management is a senior program leader within the Optum AI organization, accountable for defining and executing multi-year program strategy for one or more AI-driven programs across the U.S. healthcare and life-sciences domain. Operating at the intersection of business, data science, and engineering, this role owns the full program lifecycle, from program definition and planning through production, release, and end-of-life, with a strong technical focus on modern AI/ML platforms and enterprise-grade solution delivery. The role leverages market insights, Voice of Customer (VOC) programs, and emerging technology trends to identify new capabilities that enhance customer value and market differentiation. It balances deep subject-matter expertise, business acumen, and technical aptitude to deliver measurable business outcomes and functions as a trusted advisor across business, architecture, and engineering teams. This position provides leadership to and is accountable for the performance of managers and/or senior-level professional staff, with impact most often felt at the operational, business-unit, or market level.
Primary Responsibilities
- Program Strategy & Vision
- Define and execute the multi-year program strategy, roadmap, and portfolio priorities for Optum AI programs, aligned to business objectives and OKRs
- Translate the Optum AI commercialization strategy into actionable program plans that accelerate revenue realization and expand the client footprint
- Continuously evaluate the market and competitive landscape to identify new AI opportunities and adjust current offerings
- Portfolio & Delivery Leadership
- Lead program initiatives across multiple teams, programs, and dependent portfolios, coordinating dependencies to enable on-time delivery of strategic capabilities
- Influence program prioritization and strategic investment decisions across the AI portfolio
- Manage program budgets and ensure alignment between business goals, customer outcomes, and technology investments
- Drive Agile program delivery using tools such as JIRA, Aha!, Rally, and GitHub, applying Lean Program Management frameworks and modern program operating models
- Customer & Market Focus
- Drive Voice of Customer (VOC) programs and NPS-driven insight cycles to enhance customer value and differentiation
- Own user-experience strategy, program adoption, and value realization through customer-centric program management practices
- Technical Leadership
- Evaluate technical alternatives and guide program decisions with a solid understanding of AI/ML architecture, cloud infrastructure (e.g., Azure / Optum Cloud), data pipelines, and system integration
- Ensure programs meet enterprise standards for security, privacy, responsible AI, and regulatory/AI governance in the healthcare context
- Serve as a trusted advisor bridging business, architecture, and engineering teams
- Drive user experience strategy, program adoption, and value realization through customer-focused program management practices
- Stakeholder & People Leadership
- Communicate program vision, roadmap, and progress to senior leadership and executive (CXO) stakeholders
- Provide leadership to and be accountable for the performance of managers and/or senior-level professional staff
- Coach and mentor project/program managers, fostering a culture of innovation, collaboration, and continuous improvement
- Drive adoption of organizational program management best practices and standards
- 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
- Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Business, or a related field or equivalent experience
- 14+ years of experience with latest (most recent) 8+ years in project/program management, with senior-level portfolio leadership experience
- 3+ years of experience as Programmer, Software roles in early years of career
- Extensive experience in technical program management, program strategy, and Agile program delivery
- Experience mentoring teams and driving organizational program management best practices
- Deep understanding of customer needs, business processes, software architecture, and technology ecosystems
- Demonstrated ability to influence senior leadership and drive decisions across multiple business units and portfolios
- Demonstrated solid leadership, negotiation, stakeholder management, and executive communication skills
- Proven ability to deliver measurable business outcomes through strategic program leadership
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience delivering AI/ML, Generative AI, or data-driven programs at enterprise scale
- Experience with cloud-native delivery on Azure / Optum Cloud, including data pipelines and platform integration
- Experience in Vibe Coding desirable using tools such as Claude Code, Codex
- Knowledge of Python, React, NodeJS, LLM, User Experience tools such as Figma, Sketcher, etc
- Domain knowledge of U.S. healthcare, payer/provider, or life-sciences ecosystems
- Familiarity with Responsible AI, model governance, and AI Governance / privacy / legal review processes
- Track record of leading AI programs from POC through commercialization / go-to-market
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.