Lead AI ML 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.

You will be part of a multidisciplinary team of experts focused on proactively identifying, simulating, and mitigating threats to AI systems across UHG. You will be contributing to strengthen the strategy for adversarial and non-adversarial testing of LLM models, ensuring their robustness, fairness, and security. This role requires a unique blend of deep technical expertise and a forward-looking mindset to anticipate emerging risks in AI technologies.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Threat Simulation: Build and execute red teaming exercises targeting AI systems
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner with AI/ML engineering, enterprise cybersecurity, product, legal, and compliance teams to embed red teaming insights into model development and deployment lifecycles
• Governance and Compliance: Ensure alignment with internal policies for Responsible use of AI
• Innovation and Research: Stay ahead of the curve on adversarial ML, model exploitation techniques, and AI safety research; foster a culture of continuous learning and innovation
• Incident Response: Lead investigations into AI-related security incidents and develop mitigation strategies and post-mortem analyses
• 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

• Advanced degree (MS or PhD) in Computer Science, Machine Learning, Cybersecurity, or a related field.
• 8+ years of experience in Machine Learning
• 4+ years of experience in cybersecurity, red teaming, or adversarial testing
• 3+ years of experience with generative AI systems (e.g., LLMs, agents) and their unique threat surfaces.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience working in regulated industries (e.g., finance, healthcare, defense) with AI governance requirements
• Knowledge of secure model deployment practices in cloud and edge environments
• Familiarity with AI safety, fairness, and interpretability frameworks
• Demonstrated contributions to open-source tools, academic research, or AI security communities
• Proven solid communication skills with the ability to influence executive stakeholders and translate technical findings into business impact

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.