Director of Data Science

About the Role

Optum, a global health technology organization, aims to improve health outcomes by connecting people with essential care, pharmacy benefits, and data resources to support healthier lives. At UnitedHealthcare in Ireland, we are seeking a Director of Data Science to lead our AI Enablement team responsible for accelerating the deployment of advanced data science and AI solutions across the organization.

This leadership role demands managing a technically skilled team, forming robust stakeholder partnerships, balancing diverse business priorities, and translating strategic goals into operational achievements. The position involves coaching talent, setting execution standards, and collaborating with internal business, data, and engineering leaders to deliver dependable, production-ready AI capabilities.

Primary Responsibilities

• Strategize and define the AI Enablement team mission, operation models, and delivery roadmap aligned with organizational priorities.
• Balance immediate project deliveries with long-term platform development and capacity building.
• Collaborate with senior business and technical stakeholders to identify and prioritize opportunities.
• Communicate clearly progress updates, risk assessments, and outcomes to executive leadership.
• Facilitate aligned decision-making and influence stakeholders without direct authority.
• Coach, guide, and retain top talent while fostering a culture of accountability and engineering best practices.
• Develop and enforce scalable standards for experimentation, validation, documentation, monitoring, and reproducibility of data science work.
• Create reusable templates and architectural patterns to advance data science capabilities.
• Engage productively with Data Engineering and Platform teams to support stable, production-grade analytics implementations.
• Guide teams in transitioning models from prototype to production including robust testing and operational handoffs.
• Promote responsible and practical use of modern AI technologies including defining standards and safety protocols for LLM-assisted workflows.
• Ensure compliance with governance and regulatory standards.

Required Qualifications

• Undergraduate degree in quantitative disciplines such as mathematics, actuarial science, statistics, computer science, engineering, or related fields.
• Proven leadership experience managing technical teams within data science, machine learning engineering, or analytics.
• Strong stakeholder management skills with senior leaders and cross-functional teams, including prioritization and alignment capabilities.
• Hands-on data science and analytics expertise with a discerning approach to involvement depth.
• Solid software and data engineering acumen, including knowledge of production-quality coding, testing, documentation, and operationalization.
• Excellent communication skills, able to simplify complex concepts and influence decision making effectively.
• Familiarity with modern cloud data architectures and production analytics workflows including batch and streaming data, orchestration, and monitoring.

Preferred Qualifications

• Advanced degree (Master’s or PhD) in a quantitative field or relevant professional certifications.

Additional Information

Applicants must be eligible to work in Ireland indefinitely without restrictions, with proof required during the hiring process.

UnitedHealth Group is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion, striving to overcome health disparities and environmental impacts through equitable care initiatives. All qualified candidates will receive equal consideration regardless of gender, sexual orientation, race, disability, and other protected characteristics. Optum maintains a drug-free workplace.