Director People Technology - 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.

The Director of People Technology - AI Implementation will lead the delivery, governance, and adoption of AI-enabled use cases across the People Team. This role is responsible for shepherding People Technology teams through the enterprise AI Review Board process, ensuring AI solutions are appropriately defined, evaluated, documented, implemented, and monitored. The Director will partner closely with HR, technology, legal, compliance, privacy, data, security, and business stakeholders to align each use case to responsible AI standards, measurable business outcomes, operational readiness, and long-term value realization.

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.

Primary Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end implementation planning and delivery for People Technology AI use cases, ensuring alignment to business priorities, HR process needs, technical feasibility, and enterprise AI governance expectations
• Guide cross-functional teams through the AI Review Board process, including intake preparation, use case definition, risk assessment, documentation, testing evidence, toll gate readiness, remediation tracking, and approval follow-through
• Establish clear success measures before implementation, including baseline metrics, target outcomes, adoption measures, risk indicators, employee or stakeholder experience measures, and post-launch monitoring requirements
• Develop and maintain cost-benefit analyses for AI use cases, including projected business value, implementation costs, run costs, efficiency gains, risk considerations, and value realization assumptions
• Validate that appropriate responsible AI steps have been completed and documented, including intended use, data and process impacts, privacy and security considerations, fairness and bias testing, performance evaluation, human oversight, user readiness, and change impacts
• Coordinate across HR process owners, product teams, engineering, data science, legal, compliance, privacy, information security, and enterprise AI governance teams to remove blockers and prepare use cases for successful review and launch
• Create implementation playbooks, governance checklists, templates, and reporting artifacts to standardize how People Technology AI use cases move from idea to approved production use
• Track implementation performance after launch, including adoption, quality, accuracy, reliability, user experience, operational efficiency, cost savings, risk indicators, and remediation actions
• Provide leadership-level reporting on AI use case pipeline status, approval progress, implementation risks, value realization, and post-launch performance
• Serve as a trusted advisor to HR and People Technology leaders on responsible AI adoption, helping teams identify practical, compliant, and measurable opportunities to improve employee, manager, recruiter, HR agent, and business outcomes

Positions in this function develop and implement technical and functional solutions through research and analysis of data, business processes and People Technology capabilities. Translate business needs into functional requirements and ensure technical designs reflect functional requirements. Possess technical knowledge of People Team systems, configure systems, maintain set up tables, create test scripts and lead testing efforts. Review software to determine feasibility in meeting business needs.

• Provides leadership to and is accountable for the performance and direction through multiple layers of management and senior level professional staff.
• Work most often impacts a large business unit, or multiple markets/sites.

You'll be rewarded and recognized for your performance in an environment that will challenge you and give you clear direction on what it takes to succeed in your role as well as provide development for other roles you may be interested in.

Required Qualifications

• Undergraduate degree or equivalent experience
• 8+ years of experience in HR technology, enterprise technology implementation, digital transformation, product delivery, program management, or related roles
• Demonstrated experience leading complex, cross-functional technology initiatives from strategy through implementation and post-launch measurement
• Experience defining business outcomes, success measures, operating metrics, adoption plans, implementation readiness criteria, and value realization tracking
• Solid understanding of governance, risk management, compliance, documentation, approval processes, and implementation controls within a large enterprise environment
• Proven ability to translate complex technology, data, risk, and process topics into clear recommendations for executive, business, technical, and governance stakeholders
• Proven ability to build repeatable frameworks, templates, playbooks, and operating routines that improve consistency, quality, and speed of delivery
• Proven solid program leadership skills, including stakeholder management, issue escalation, executive communication, decision facilitation, and dependency management

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience implementing AI, machine learning, generative AI, automation, or intelligent workflow solutions within a large organization
• Understanding of HR data, HR processes, and People Technology domains such as employee experience, talent acquisition, talent management, learning, workforce management, service delivery, case management, and core HR systems
• Familiarity with responsible AI principles, including transparency, fairness, accountability, privacy, security, reliability, human oversight, and continuous monitoring

*All employees working remotely will be required to adhere to UnitedHealth Group's Telecommuter Policy

Pay is based on several factors including but not limited to local labor markets, education, work experience, certifications, etc. In addition to your salary, we offer benefits such as, a comprehensive benefits package, incentive and recognition programs, equity stock purchase and 401k contribution (all benefits are subject to eligibility requirements). No matter where or when you begin a career with us, you'll find a far-reaching choice of benefits and incentives. The salary for this role will range from $134,600 - $230,800 annually based on full-time employment. We comply with all minimum wage laws as applicable.

Application Deadline: This will be posted for a minimum of 2 business days or until a sufficient candidate pool has been collected. Job posting may come down early due to volume of applicants.

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.

UnitedHealth Group is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer under applicable law and qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, national origin, religion, age, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, or protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by local, state, or federal laws, rules, or regulations.

UnitedHealth Group is a drug - free workplace. Candidates are required to pass a drug test before beginning employment.