Lead Software Engineer - 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.

We are seeking an experienced and highly motivated Backend Tech Lead Software Engineer to join our team and help drive the design, development, and evolution of our backend platforms. As a Tech Lead, you will provide technical leadership across a product-driven delivery team, owning backend technical direction while remaining hands-on with implementation.

You will partner closely with product managers, engineering leaders, and other tech leads to shape technical strategy, guide execution of complex initiatives, and ensure the delivery of high-quality, scalable, and reliable software solutions. You will set engineering standards, mentor engineers across levels, and play a key role in advancing our Java and Spring Boot microservices ecosystem within an agile scrum environment.

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

Primary Responsibilities

• Provide technical leadership for a backend delivery team, ensuring product stories are well-designed, estimable, and meet acceptance criteria
• Serve as a hands-on technical lead while remaining a primary individual contributor (player/coach)
• Design, develop, and maintain Java-based Spring Boot microservices, delivering well-tested, high-quality code that meets functional and non-functional requirements and contributes to sound microservice architecture and design decisions
• Review and improve code quality by providing high-quality pull request reviews, reinforcing engineering best practices, and coaching engineers through rigorous and thoughtful code review
• Clarify requirements with product and stakeholders, communicate technical trade-offs, and translate business needs into low-level technical designs and implementation estimates
• Fully participate in Agile ceremonies (standups, refinement/grooming, planning, retrospectives) and help improve team execution, predictability, and continuous improvement
• Support CI/CD pipelines, DevOps automation, and deployment processes; continually improve SDLC, CI/CD, and engineering best practices
• Perform debugging, monitoring, and troubleshooting using observability tools (e.g., Splunk or Sumo Logic) to maintain microservice health and reliability

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 in computer science, engineering, or equivalent practical experience
• 6+ years of professional software engineering experience with deep Java, Spring boot expertise
• 6+ years of experience with event-driven and API-based microservice architectures
• 5+ years of experience working with relational databases such as Postgres or MySQL
• 4+ years of experience leading technical design and influencing engineering decisions across a team or domain
• 4+ years of experience working within Agile development frameworks (Scrum, Kanban, or similar)
• 4+ years of experience collaborating across distributed and cross-functional teams

Preferred Qualifications

• Advanced degree in a technical field
• CI/CD and DevOps experience
• AWS cloud experience
• Experience as a Tech Lead or System Architect
• 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 $112,700 to $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 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.