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 diversity and inclusion, talented peers, comprehensive benefits and career development opportunities. Come make an impact on the communities we serve as you help us advance health equity on a global scale. Join us to start Caring. Connecting. Growing together. 

About the Role:

As a Fortune 5 business, we’re one of the world’s leading healthcare companies. There are no limits here on the resources you’ll have or the challenges you’ll encounter. 
We have been supporting global healthcare systems from Ireland and the UK for more than 20 years, building a dynamic and diverse team of more than 2,100 talented individuals. With a continued record of growth and stability, we're on the constant lookout for fresh talent to join our expanding teams. 

As a Principal Data Scientist within our Advanced Analytics team, you will join a multi-disciplinary team focused on improving Network Affordability, with a drive towards unprecedented growth and medical cost reduction. Major projects will include building out a contract performance & medical cost suite of analytics and improving our competitive analysis capabilities throughout negotiation processes, allowing the acceleration and expansion of insight generation and decision-making capabilities and our speed-to-market. Your work will have a significant impact on the healthcare delivery for millions of people.

Careers with Optum offer flexible work arrangements and individuals who live and work in the Republic of Ireland will have the opportunity to split their monthly work hours between our Dublin office and telecommuting from a home-based office.

Primary Responsibilities:

•    Be a functional SME for Data Science within the Advanced Analytics team and wider business
•    Work alongside other data scientists and analysts to design and implement models and experiments from end to end, including data ingestion and preparation, feature engineering, analysis and modeling, model deployment, performance tracking and documentation
•    Visualize referral pattern changes and network exposures as provider market share and patient dynamics shift; create predictive models that advance network interaction forecasting
•    Analyze, review and interpret complex data through the development of case-studies, enabling the data to tell a story
•    Understand and identify drivers of patterns/behaviors uncovered in data
•    Contribute to the design and realization of analytical based tools/assets to identify and monitor non-standard patterns
•    Collaborate with Clinical subject-matter experts to explore business problems and design solutions
•    Share analysis and interpretation for operational and business review and planning
•    Support short and long term operational/strategic business activities through analysis
•    Ideate and develop strategic solutions with business partners to mitigate rising trends in medical costs
•    Develop recommended business solutions through research and analysis of data and business process and implement when appropriate

Required Qualifications:

•    Bachelor’s Degree in a relevant discipline (i.e. applied mathematics, physics, computer science) or relevant work experience
•    Demonstrable success within a Data Science environment focused on agile thinking and innovative solutions, delivering complex and challenging projects
•    Experience applying computational algorithms, statistical and programming methods using (R and Python) to structured and unstructured data
•    Proven experience in understanding complex problems and datasets and driving data testing and strategic testing of ideas to come up with first-class solutions
•    Demonstrated ability to own and lead projects that deliver real business value
 
Preferred Qualifications:

•    MS/PhD in applied mathematics, physics, computer science, engineering, statistics, bioinformatics, actuarial science or similar numerical degree
•    Experience and understanding of US healthcare system, billing of medical claims and associated data environments
•    Experience creating Machine learning solutions to solve complex issues
 

All telecommuters will be required to adhere to the UnitedHealth Group’s Telecommuter Policy.

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 marginalised 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.

Diversity creates a healthier atmosphere: Optum is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to gender, civil status, family status, sexual orientation, disability, religion, age, race, and membership of the Traveller community, or any other characteristic protected by law. Optum is a drug-free workplace. © 2023 Optum Services (Ireland) Limited. All rights reserved.