Chief Information Officer, OptumRx Pharmacy

Optum Tech is a global leader in health care innovation. Our teams develop cutting-edge solutions that help people live healthier lives and help make the health system work better for everyone. From advanced data analytics and AI to cybersecurity, we use innovative approaches to solve some of health care's most complex challenges. Your contributions here have the potential to change lives. Ready to build the next breakthrough? Join us to start Caring. Connecting. Growing together.

The Chief Information Officer (CIO) for OptumRx Pharmacy is a senior leader who oversees a global technology organization of more than 650 professionals, supporting a $50B+ pharmacy business. This role is responsible for driving business growth and providing strategic leadership in technology, engineering, data, and AI to advance the mission and goals of OptumRx Pharmacy. The CIO acts as a key partner to executive leadership, translating business priorities into scalable, secure, resilient, and innovative technology solutions. The position focuses on modernizing platforms, accelerating innovation, and nurturing world-class talent.

Hybrid in MN/DC: This position follows a hybrid schedule with four in-office days per week.

Primary Responsibilities:

Technology Strategy and Transformation Leadership
The CIO defines, prioritizes, and executes a multi-year technology strategy and roadmap that aligns with OptumRx business objectives and enterprise architecture. This includes evaluating and prioritizing technology investments based on business impact, risk, value realization, and ROI. The CIO leads large-scale transformation initiatives such as cloud migration, platform modernization, digital enablement, and data/AI acceleration. Serving as a trusted advisor to executive and business leaders, the CIO articulates how technology and AI can unlock new business opportunities, improve outcomes, and overcome structural challenges. The role advances Agile and DevOps maturity to enhance delivery speed, quality, and reliability, and sponsors continuous improvement initiatives for scalable, resilient, and high-availability solutions.

Operational and Financial Excellence
The CIO establishes and continually improves enterprise standards for operational excellence, reliability, and efficiency through automation and observability. Collaboration with business and finance leaders on capital planning, portfolio management, and ongoing O&M optimization is essential. The CIO is accountable for large-scale budgets and resources, consistently meeting or exceeding financial targets. Ensuring disciplined execution, risk management, and transparent performance reporting are integral to this responsibility.

Inclusive Leadership and Talent Development
Building, empowering, and retaining a high-performing global engineering and technology organization is a priority for the CIO. The role fosters a culture of inclusion, accountability, psychological safety, and continuous learning. Developing and mentoring senior leaders ensures sustained innovation, succession readiness, and long-term organizational health. Attracting top technology talent is achieved through strong leadership presence, clear vision, and investment in capability building.

AI and Innovation Leadership
The CIO partners with business leaders to identify, prioritize, and scale AI-driven opportunities across pharmacy operations, customer experience, and clinical enablement. Overseeing responsible adoption of AI, including GenAI and agentic AI, the CIO ensures alignment with enterprise architecture, security, and governance standards. Managing strategic relationships with AI vendors, cloud providers, and emerging technology partners is critical. The CIO ensures governance is in place to validate that AI systems are ethical, explainable, fair, and compliant with regulatory and enterprise requirements.

Organizational Enablement
The CIO evolves operating models-including talent, governance, funding, and delivery structures-to maintain agility, execution excellence, and competitiveness at enterprise scale. Collaboration across business, technology, security, product and external partners enables alignment and shared accountability. The CIO champions a culture of innovation, trust, and continuous improvement throughout the OptumRx technology ecosystem.

Governance, Security, and Reliability
Ensuring full compliance with enterprise security, privacy, and system availability objectives is a key responsibility. The CIO leverages real-time monitoring, automation, and incident management practices to ensure platform stability and resilience. The role supports enterprise-wide security training and awareness programs to reinforce a culture of compliance and accountability.

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:

• 15+ years of progressive technology leadership experience, including senior executive responsibility

• Prior experience in a business-facing CIO or equivalent enterprise technology leadership role

• Experience in pharmacy, healthcare, or highly regulated industry environments

• Proven success leading large, global organizations of 500+ employees

• Ability to operate effectively in complex, highly matrixed environments

• Solid track record partnering with executive leadership on business strategy, capital planning, and transformation initiatives

• Success influencing and engaging C-suite stakeholders

• Experience delivering highly scalable, secure, and available platforms using Agile and DevOps operating models

• Deep understanding of automation, AI/ML, GenAI, and emerging technologies

• Progressive talent leadership with ability to recruit, develop, and retain top technical and leadership talent

• Results-oriented leader with strong problem-solving, negotiation, and influencing skills

• Disruptive and systems thinker with integrity and accountability

• High emotional intelligence, resilience, curiosity, and learning agility

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. 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.