Senior Principal Applied Scientist – Machine Learning – Telecommute

Key Skills

Java Programming, Python Programming, SQL, Deep Learning, Natural Language Processing (NLP), NeurIPS, Transformer

Job Description

UnitedHealth Group is a company that's on the rise. We're expanding in multiple directions, across borders and, most of all, in the way we think. Here, innovation isn't about another gadget, it's about transforming the health care industry. Ready to make a difference? Make yourself at home with us and start doing your life's best work.(sm)

Optum Labs is the research and development arm of UnitedHealth Group. We're a diverse team of curious thinkers and experts in big data, artificial intelligence and machine learning, and scientific and clinical research searching for new ways to help people live healthier lives. We partner with world leaders in health care delivery, research, and technology to create disruptive solutions that serve patients, caregivers, providers, and commercial and government payers.

More equitable, effective, and affordable health care – that's our goal. We aren't just trying to improve the care an individual receives. We're building a future where the health care system works better for everyone.

Optum Labs is looking for a Senior Principal Machine Learning Scientist with deep subject matter expertise in the area of image processing, NLU and SLU (Natural language understanding and Spoken Language Understanding) who will lead the technical development and inventions that allow Optum machine learning products drive positive impact in the healthcare business.

A successful candidate will have solid foundations in mathematics, statistics and natural language understanding with exceptional communication and leadership skills, and a proven track record of delivery under tight deadlines. Hands-on experience with large-scale, state-of-the-art automatic natural language processing systems or other NLG, NLU or speech recognition is a plus.

Your expertise will bring business and industry context to science and technology decisions. As part of the team, you set the standard for scientific excellence and make decisions that affect the way we build and integrate algorithms. Your code, designs and documents are exemplary and are used as references across the organization.

A successful candidate is a hands-on applied scientist leader that will tackle intrinsically hard problems, acquiring expertise as needed. The candidate will help decompose complex problems into straightforward solutions. You will be scrutinizing and reviewing experimental design, modeling, and other research procedures, as well as, probing assumptions, illuminating pitfalls, and fostering shared understanding.

You’ll enjoy the flexibility to telecommute* from anywhere within the U.S. as you take on some tough challenges.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Help design and develop the next generation of NLP, ML & AI products, and services for healthcare
• Develop machine learning and deep learning models and systems in domains including, but not limited to image processing, NLP, NLU, NLG, SLU and multidimensional time series forecasting among others
• Manage NLP & ML models lifecycle for a suite of products
• Run large complex proof-of-concepts for the healthcare business
• Manage prioritization and technology work for building NLP, ML & AI solutions
• Lead the full end-to-end machine learning development process including data ingestion and preparation, feature engineering, analysis and modeling, model deployment, performance tracking and documentation
• Establish best practices for end-to-end deep learning and machine learning development cycle to ensure rigor in process and quality in outcome
• Effectively communicate complex technical results to peers, machine learning engineering teams, software development partners, and business partners
• Work with a great deal of autonomy to find solutions to complex problems
• Represent our team and associated capabilities in enterprise (and public where appropriate) forums, conferences, and other channels

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:

• PhD in Computer Science, Statistics, Electrical Engineering, or another quantitative field
• 10+ years of industry/academic experience in data science, machine learning or a related field
• 5+ years of experience with Machine Learning and Deep Learning modeling
• 5+ years of experience applying computational algorithms and statistical methods to both structured and unstructured data
• 3+ years of experience with state-of-the-art algorithms and topologies including, but not limited to: GNNs, GANs, Transformers, deep and wide among others
• Experience with Deep Learning Frameworks and Distributed training
• Experience working with senior leaders to drive business decisions

Preferred Qualifications:

• Demonstrated thought leader in machine learning and NLP, sought after for key tech decisions
• Proven ability to successfully sell ideas to an executive-level decision maker
• Proven solid publication record in top-tier ML and NLP conferences (e.g., NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, ACL, EMNLP, etc.)
• Demonstrated ability to mentor and train scientists on complex technical issues
• Significant experience in deploying scalable solutions to complex problems, from defining the problem, implementing the solution, and launching the new product successfully
• Experience in the health care industry
• Demonstrated excellent communication, writing and presentation skills
• Full COVID-19 vaccination is an essential job function of this role. Candidates located in states that mandate COVID-19 booster doses must also comply with those state requirements. UnitedHealth Group will adhere to all federal, state and local regulations as well as all client requirements and will obtain necessary proof of vaccination, and boosters when applicable, prior to employment to ensure compliance. Candidates must be able to perform all essential job functions with or without reasonable accommodation