[Remote] Principal Data Scientist - Remote

Note: The job is a remote job and is open to candidates in USA. Optum is a global organization that delivers care aided by technology to help millions of people live healthier lives. The Principal Data Scientist will support the Women's Health portfolio by leading advanced analytics initiatives to demonstrate the clinical and economic value of women's health products. This role involves applying data science expertise to drive financial and clinical outcomes for women and infants across their health journeys.

Responsibilities

• Lead and execute advanced statistical analyses and modeling to quantify and communicate the clinical and economic value of our women's health products to clients, payers, and strategic partners
• Apply advanced machine learning and causal inference techniques to complex, longitudinal healthcare datasets, optimizing methodologies to uncover robust, actionable insights into women's health outcomes
• Collaborate with cross-functional stakeholders, including women's health product managers, actuarial teams, clinical experts, and external customers, to translate product engagement and health outcomes into affordability projections and strategic roadmaps
• Design, implement, and validate health economics and outcomes models, such as cost-effectiveness and Return on Investment (ROI) frameworks, specifically tailored to women's health interventions (e.g., maternity management, fertility support, and neonatal health)
• Develop and maintain reproducible analytics pipelines using statistical programming languages such as Python, R, or SAS, integrating diverse data sources from Snowflake and SQL databases
• Communicate complex findings, predictive insights, and value metrics in a clear, compelling manner to both technical and non-technical audiences, including enterprise clients and clinical advisory boards
• Champion best practices in data science, data integrity, and strict compliance with relevant healthcare data standards (e.g., HIPAA), ensuring ethical AI practices concerning sensitive demographic and reproductive health data
• Produce innovative solutions driven by exploratory data analysis from unstructured, diverse datasets typically measured in gigabytes or larger
• Apply knowledge of statistics, machine learning, programming, data modeling, simulation, and advanced mathematics to recognize patterns, identify opportunities, pose business questions, and make valuable discoveries leading to prototype development and product improvement
• Use a flexible, analytical approach to design, develop, and evaluate predictive and prescriptive models and advanced algorithms that lead to optimal value extraction from the data
• Work with analytics and statistical software such as SQL, R, Python, Hadoop and others to perform analysis and interpret data
• Develop pioneering approaches to emerging industry trends
• Serve as a resource to senior leadership

Skills

• Undergraduate degree in applicable area of expertise or equivalent experience
• Master's or PhD degree in Data Science, Statistics, Mathematics, Health Economics, Econometrics, Epidemiology or a related discipline
• 8+ years of professional experience in data science or advanced analytics
• Hands-on experience with Snowflake and SQL for large-scale data extraction, manipulation, and analysis
• Thorough understanding of the US healthcare system, including payer/provider dynamics, healthcare economics, and value measurement frameworks
• Demonstrated proficiency in statistical programming languages (e.g. SAS, R or Python)
• Proven track record of applying advanced machine learning techniques in healthcare analytics to solve real-world business problems
• Proven solid analytical, problem-solving, and communication skills, with the ability to convey complex concepts to diverse audiences
• Experience in leading multidisciplinary teams
• Expertise in designing and validating novel healthcare economics models
• Familiarity with cloud-based data platforms and scalable analytics architectures
• Demonstrated ability to influence strategic decision-making through data-driven insights
• Demonstrated exceptional stakeholder management and collaboration skills
• All employees working remotely will be required to adhere to UnitedHealth Group's Telecommuter Policy

Benefits

• A comprehensive benefits package
• Incentive and recognition programs
• Equity stock purchase
• 401k contribution (all benefits are subject to eligibility requirements)

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