Senior Software Engineer - Java, Spring Boot, AWS

Optum

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.

Primary Responsibilities:

Design, develop, test, and maintain scalable Java-based applications and microservices
Build and enhance RESTful APIs using Spring Boot and modern software design principles
Collaborate with product owners, architects, and cross-functional teams to deliver high-quality solutions
Participate in end-to-end software development lifecycle activities, including design, development, testing, deployment, and production support
Develop cloud-ready applications following security, scalability, and reliability best practices
Contribute to CI/CD pipelines and DevSecOps processes to improve deployment efficiency and operational excellence
Troubleshoot application issues and perform root cause analysis for production incidents
Participate in code reviews and promote engineering best practices within the team
Leverage AI-powered engineering tools to improve productivity, code quality, testing, and documentation
Support innovation initiatives focused on automation, intelligent workflows, and AI-enabled solutions
AI Builder Expectations
- This role places a strong emphasis on AI adoption and innovation. The selected candidate will be expected to:
  - AI-Powered Engineering
    - Utilize AI-assisted development tools such as GitHub Copilot, M365 Copilot, and enterprise AI platforms to accelerate coding, debugging, testing, and documentation
    - Apply AI-first development practices to improve software delivery speed, quality, and team productivity
    - Use AI to generate test cases, automate code reviews, optimize code quality, and accelerate troubleshooting
  - Building AI-Enabled Solutions
    - Partner with senior engineers and architects to design and implement AI-powered application capabilities
    - Contribute to solutions leveraging Large Language Models (LLMs), Generative AI, Agentic AI, intelligent search, and Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) patterns
    - Build integrations between enterprise applications and AI services through APIs and microservices
    - Help develop intelligent user experiences, recommendation capabilities, conversational interfaces, and workflow automation solutions
  - Innovation & Continuous Learning
    - Stay current with emerging AI technologies, frameworks, and industry trends
    - Evaluate new AI tools and recommend innovative ways to improve engineering efficiency and business outcomes
    - Participate in hackathons, innovation initiatives, proof-of-concepts, and AI adoption programs
    - Share AI learnings and best practices with peers and broader engineering teams
  - Responsible AI Development
    - Build AI-enabled capabilities following enterprise standards for security, privacy, compliance, and responsible AI usage
    - Ensure AI integrations are scalable, maintainable, and aligned with healthcare industry requirements
  - What Success Looks Like
    - Delivers quality software while effectively leveraging AI to improve engineering productivity
    - Demonstrates curiosity and hands-on experimentation with AI technologies
    - Identifies opportunities to automate repetitive engineering activities
    - Contributes to the development of intelligent, AI-enabled business solutions
    - Acts as an advocate for AI-driven engineering practices across the team
  - AI Builder Responsibilities:
    - Use GenAI tools (Copilot, Claude, Gemini AI) to ideate, prototype, and implement features efficiently
    - Apply Vibe coding techniques to maintain clean, expressive, and AI-augmented codebases
    - Develop internal tools and scripts using AI to automate repetitive tasks and improve productivity
    - Stay current with emerging GenAI trends, tools, and ethical considerations
Comply with the terms and conditions of the employment contract, company policies and procedures, and any and all directives (such as, but not limited to, transfer and/or re-assignment to different work locations, change in teams and/or work shifts, policies in regards to flexibility of work benefits and/or work environment, alternative work arrangements, and other decisions that may arise due to the changing business environment). The Company may adopt, vary or rescind these policies and directives in its absolute discretion and without any limitation (implied or otherwise) on its ability to do so

Required Qualifications:

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field
3+ years of hands-on experience in Java application development
Solid experience with Spring Boot and Microservices architecture
Experience building and consuming REST APIs
Experience working with SQL and/or NoSQL databases
Experience with source control systems such as Git
Familiarity with Agile development methodologies
Good understanding of Object-Oriented Design, Design Patterns, and Software Engineering principles
Understanding of CI/CD concepts and DevOps practices
Proven solid analytical, debugging, and problem-solving skills
Proven excellent communication and collaboration abilities

Preferred Qualifications:

Healthcare domain experience
Experience with Kafka or event-driven architectures
Experience using AI-assisted development tools such as GitHub Copilot
Exposure to AWS cloud services and cloud-native application development
Exposure to AI/ML concepts, Generative AI, LLMs, Agentic AI, or RAG-based applications
Familiarity with Docker and containerized deployments
Knowledge of observability tools such as Splunk, Grafana, Dynatrace, or New Relic

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.