Principal Software Engineer - Hybrid in MN or DC, remote elsewhere
Explicitly requires vibe coding skills and AI-assisted development, mentioning tools like Codex, Claude Code, Cursor, and Windsurf.
About the Role
Principal Software Engineer responsible for architecting and delivering enterprise-grade full-stack platforms that integrate AI and Generative AI capabilities for healthcare applications. Lead architectural decisions across frontend, backend, and cloud infrastructure to enable scalable, secure, and compliant AI-enabled production systems.
Job Description
Role
As a Principal Software Engineer on Optum.ai, you will be a senior individual contributor responsible for architecting and delivering enterprise-grade full-stack platforms that power AI-enabled healthcare applications. You will lead architectural decisions across frontend, backend, and cloud infrastructure layers while enabling scalable integration of AI/ML and Generative AI capabilities into production systems.
Key Responsibilities
- Architect enterprise full-stack platforms spanning frontend interfaces, backend services, APIs, and integrations ensuring scalability, reliability, and performance
- Lead development of modern application frameworks using React or Angular with TypeScript and backend services using frameworks such as FastAPI, Node.js, or equivalent
- Design scalable distributed and cloud-native systems using microservices architectures, event-driven patterns, asynchronous processing, and container-based deployments
- Enable AI and Generative AI capabilities within applications including LLM inference APIs, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) pipelines, and AI-powered application features
- Drive platform reliability, security, and compliance including authentication, authorization, identity management, observability, and regulatory requirements
- Define and enforce engineering standards including code structure, testing practices, API standards, performance optimization, and architectural patterns
- Drive DevOps excellence through CI/CD pipelines, containerization, infrastructure automation, and resilient deployment practices
- Mentor engineers and collaborate with product, platform, and data science teams to deliver enterprise AI-enabled applications
Requirements
Required
- 12+ years of experience in software engineering with 9+ years building large-scale full-stack platforms using modern frontend frameworks and backend API architectures
- 8+ years designing distributed systems and cloud-native architectures including microservices, event-driven systems, and containerized applications
- 8+ years developing in TypeScript/JavaScript or Python using frameworks such as React, Angular, FastAPI, Node.js, or equivalent
- 5+ years implementing DevOps and platform engineering practices including CI/CD pipelines, containerization (Docker), and automated deployment
- 3+ years integrating AI/ML or Generative AI capabilities into production applications including LLM inference APIs and RAG pipelines
- 1+ years using AI-assisted development or “vibe coding” tools such as Codex, Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf, or similar tools
Preferred
- Master’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or related discipline
- Experience building AI-powered web applications or AI copilots
- Experience deploying applications on cloud platforms such as AWS, Azure, or GCP
- Experience building systems in regulated environments (healthcare or financial services)
- Experience collaborating with data science and ML engineering teams to productionize AI models
Location & Work Arrangement
- Remote work available from anywhere within the U.S.
- Hires in Minneapolis (MN) or Washington, D.C. are required to work in the office a minimum of four days per week
Compensation & Benefits (summary)
- Salary range: $134,600 to $230,800 annually (full-time)
- Comprehensive benefits package, incentive and recognition programs, equity stock purchase, 401(k) contribution