Principal AI Data Analyst

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 Principle Event Data Analyst (AI & Advanced Analytics) is responsible for leading AI driven investigation and analysis of workplace incidents and data events using a systematic, analytics first approach. This role focuses on identifying impacted data at scale through automation, machine learning, and advanced analytics, while collaborating with cross functional teams including security, legal, privacy, and engineering.

This role plays a key part in building and evolving an AI enabled investigative data platform, leveraging modern data lake architectures, distributed processing, and production AI/ML pipelines to accelerate insight generation and decision making.

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 AI assisted analysis of data events and incident investigations using structured and unstructured data
• Design and implement automated pipelines to ingest, normalize, deduplicate, enrich, and classify large scale datasets
• Apply machine learning, entity resolution, and data fingerprinting techniques to identify impacted individuals and data elements
• Build and maintain production analytics solutions using Python, PySpark, and Databricks
• Develop and deploy AI driven workflows (including Generative AI use cases) to improve investigative speed, accuracy, and scalability
• Secure, preserve, and validate data sources to maintain analytical integrity and evidentiary standards
• Partner with security, legal, and privacy teams to translate complex analytical findings into clear, actionable insights
• Create dashboards, visualizations, and analytical summaries for executive and technical stakeholders
• Operate effectively in time sensitive environments while maintaining analytical rigor, objectivity, and confidentiality
• Contribute to the evolution of Optum's AI and analytics capabilities within the cybersecurity and data protection space

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:

• Bachelor's degree or 6+ years of equivalent professional experience
• 5+ years of experience in advanced data analytics, data science, or AI focused analytical roles
• 5+ years of experience developing, testing, and deploying production grade Python code
• 3+ years of experience with DevOps and CI/CD tooling (GitHub Actions, Docker, Kubernetes, Terraform)
• 3+ years of experience with distributed data processing using PySpark and Databricks
• Proven experience working with data lake architectures and medallion schemas
• Proven solid expertise in SQL, data modeling, and data integration
• Proven ability to transform unstructured data (e.g., documents, images, OCR-derived content) into structured, enriched, and model-ready datasets

Preferred Qualifications:

• Advanced degree in Data Science, Computer Science, or a related field
• Hands on experience with machine learning, predictive analytics, and classification models
• Experience delivering AI driven analytics within a cybersecurity or incident response environment
• Experience deploying Generative AI solutions into production analytics workflows
• Experience with entity resolution, MDM technologies, or identity matching
• Experience building AI models for file classification, data fingerprinting, or anomaly detection
• Demonstrated familiarity with cloud platforms such as AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud
• Demonstrated familiarity with eDiscovery platforms and large scale data investigations
• Proven solid understanding of modern analytics platforms and scalable data architectures

*All employees working remotely will be required to adhere to the company 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 $112,700 - $193,200 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 the company, 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.

the company 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.

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