Principal UX Engineer (Researcher) – Remote

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.

Join our team at Optum Insight, where we are leveraging cutting-edge AI and machine learning technologies to revolutionize healthcare delivery, enhance customer engagement, and drive innovation across our digital platforms.

The Applied Insights & Research team specializes in user research and behavioral science to deliver actionable insights that guide product decisions. Partnering closely with Product Design, they ensure our products are always user-first.

As a Principal UX Engineer (Researcher), you will be responsible for uncovering user insights that inform product design and strategy. You will collaborate closely with designers, product managers, and engineers to ensure our products meet user needs and deliver exceptional experiences.

You’ll enjoy the flexibility to work remotely * from anywhere within the U.S. as you take on some tough challenges.

Primary Responsibilities:

• • Leads, aligns and conducts research/design activities across products, ensuring research/design integrity and commitments are upheld across projects.  

• • Conduct user research and usability testing to gather insights and inform design decisions.  

• • Collaborate with product managers, developers, and other stakeholders to ensure design feasibility and alignment.  

• • Stay up to date with industry trends and best practices, continuously improving the UX research process.  

• • Expert understanding of general research best practices including conducting empathy interviews, heuristic evaluations, usability and discovery research.    

• • Present research findings via narrative and storytelling to executive level leadership.   

• • Ensure overall quality of project solutions throughout the research and design process.  

• • Analyze and synthesize research findings into actionable insights and recommendations.  

• • Collaborate with cross-functional teams to integrate user insights into product design and development.  

• • Create research reports, personas, journey maps, and other deliverables to communicate findings.  

• • Advocate for the user and promote a user-centered design culture across the organization.  

• • Maintain and evolve research tools, templates, and best practices. 

You’ll be rewarded and recognized for your performance in an environment that will challenge you and give you clear direction on what it takes to succeed in your role as well as provide development for other roles you may be interested in. 

Required Qualifications:

• 10+ years of industry experience as a hands-on researcher, working across multiple platforms, including mobile, web, personal computer
• 5+ years of experience with user-centered design principles and methodologies.
• Demonstrated experience in AI/ML and emerging technologies
• Masterful at uncovering insights, and able to inspire others in acting upon them
• Expert in methodology, study design, and analysis/reporting, including ethnographic research, site visits, interviews, voice of the customer, think-out-loud studies, and task-based usability testing
• Knowledge of UX-related analytics, metrics, and measurement techniques
• Demonstrated ability to analyze research for key needs, pain points, and preferences, and synthesize such qualitative and quantitative information for presentation to key stakeholders
• Demonstrated ability to work in a fast-paced, dynamic environment.
• Proven passion for User Centered Design, and superior creativity and adaptability

Preferred Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in research, Social Science, Cognitive Science, Experimental Psychology, Anthropology, Information Science, or related field
• Experience with enterprise software, B2B applications or large employee-facing systems in the medical, healthcare or financial domains
• Proven ability managing multiple projects simultaneously
• Proven excellent communication and presentation skills
• Proven involvement in the UX community (e.g. associations, meet-ups, clubs, conferences)
• Proven collaborative, low-ego approach to working with others

*All employees working remotely will be required to adhere to UnitedHealth Group’s Telecommuter Policy

Pay is based on several factors including but not limited to local labor markets, education, work experience, certifications, etc. In addition to your salary, we offer benefits such as, a comprehensive benefits package, incentive and recognition programs, equity stock purchase and 401k contribution (all benefits are subject to eligibility requirements). No matter where or when you begin a career with us, you’ll find a far-reaching choice of benefits and incentives. The salary for this role will range from $110,200 to $188,800 annually based on full-time employment. We comply with all minimum wage laws as applicable. 

Application Deadline: This will be posted for a minimum of 2 business days or until a sufficient candidate pool has been collected. Job posting may come down early due to volume of applicants.

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.  

UnitedHealth Group is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer under applicable law and qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, national origin, religion, age, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, or protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by local, state, or federal laws, rules, or regulations.

UnitedHealth Group is a drug – free workplace. Candidates are required to pass a drug test before beginning employment.