Director, AI/ML Engineering, Accelerated Core Technology - Remote
UnitedHealth Group · Eden Prairie, MN
$176,700–$302,900from the description
Jul 2, 2026
Eden Prairie, MN
Jul 21, 2026
What this job asks for AI summary
A director-level engineering role focused on building and deploying AI/ML solutions — particularly those leveraging generative AI and large language models — for consumer-facing products within a newly formed rapid-innovation team. The position involves hands-on prototyping alongside technical leadership: setting direction for AI adoption, embedding responsible AI practices, and working with enterprise leadership to scale successful pilots organization-wide. Suits an experienced AI/ML engineer comfortable operating in exploratory, ambiguous environments.
Senior level · 5+ years · Remote · Master's required · Full-time
Advertised as Principal, but the requirements read as Senior.
“or” means any one of them counts — you don't need all of them.
We read this from the posting text with AI. Skim the description below before ruling yourself out.
How this req sits in the market our data
Roughly 27,700 people nationally plausibly meet what this posting asks for (computer and information systems managers). range 16,600–41,500
Applicant volume Heavy — This req sits in a large pool with little in its requirements to thin it, and auto-apply tools fire at everything in the occupation. Applying early and leading with the rare skills below is what gets read.
What the occupation pays Median $178,991 (middle half $141,096–$225,584). This posting is about at that midpoint.
Estimated from BLS employment for this occupation and area, per-skill prevalence across our listing corpus, and published wage benchmarks — as of Jul 28, 2026. It is a model, not a headcount.
Why we read it this way (8)
The title 'Director of AI/ML Engineering' implies a people-management role (advertised as Director/Principal level), but the JD is heavily hands-on ('act as both an AI expert and a builder', 'hands-on build') with only 2+ years of team-leading experience required — the actual scope and requirements support a Senior band rather than Staff or Principal.
The role sits ambiguously between a people-management code (11-3021) and a hands-on AI/ML practitioner code (15-1299 or 15-2051). The 'Director' title and cross-functional leadership duties tip it toward 11-3021, but the strong emphasis on individual building and prototyping makes 15-1299 a credible runner-up.
Cloud platform experience (Azure, AWS, GCP) and MLOps appear only under Preferred Qualifications.
The Master's degree requirement is a hard gate per the Required Qualifications section; equivalent experience is not offered as a substitute.
'AI/ML engineering' and 'AI/ML model deployment' are listed as named capability gates in the Required section; no single canonical tool is specified, so they are retained as capability-level requirements rather than tool names.
The caller has declared this fully remote; no metro is inferred despite the Minneapolis/DC in-office mention for local hires.
Ignored 2 non-technology phrase(s) as skills (responsibilities/concepts, not named tools): AI/ML engineering, AI/ML model deployment.
Caller marked this a fully-remote role — scored against the national candidate pool.
Read the full posting
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