H-1B Visa ML Software Engineer Jobs
ML Software Engineer roles sit squarely inside H-1B visa specialty occupation territory, requiring at least a bachelor's degree in computer science, mathematics, or a closely related field. Employers filing H-1B petitions for these positions must certify prevailing wages through a DOL Labor Condition Application before USCIS adjudicates the petition.
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INTRODUCTION
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.
Optum AI is UnitedHealth Group's enterprise AI team. We are AI/ML scientists and engineers with deep expertise in AI/ML engineering for health care. We develop AI/ML solutions for the highest impact opportunities across UnitedHealth Group businesses including UnitedHealthcare, Optum Financial, Optum Health, Optum Insight, and Optum Rx. In addition to transforming the health care journey through responsible AI/ML innovation, our charter also includes developing and supporting an enterprise AI/ML development platform.
You'll enjoy the flexibility to work remotely from anywhere within the U.S. as you take on some tough challenges.
Optum AI team members:
- Have impact at scale: We have the data and resources to make an impact at scale. When our solutions are deployed, they have the potential to make health care system work better for everyone.
- Do ground-breaking work: Many of our current projects involve cutting edge ML, NLP and LLM techniques. Generative AI methods for working with structured and unstructured health care data are continuously being developed and improved. We are working in one of the most important frontiers of AI/ML research and development.
- Partner with world-class experts on innovative solutions: Our team members are developing novel AI/ML solutions to business challenges. In some cases, this includes the opportunity to file patents and publish papers about the methods we develop. We also collaborate with AI/ML researchers at some of the world's top universities.
PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Own the inference and delivery of machine learning insights to multiple customers.
- Manage, monitor, and scale machine learning systems, delivering insights to multiple customers.
- Partner with cross-functional engineering teams to implement scalable, flexible pipelines that bring AI innovations into real-world products.
- Work with large-scale data and distributed computing frameworks to process and analyze high-volume healthcare datasets efficiently.
- Drive pipeline efficiency and reliability through profiling, refactoring and advanced engineering.
- Develop new data pipelines to improve ML model usage.
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:
- Bachelor of Science in computer science or related quantitative field.
- 7+ years of professional software engineering experience, with at least 5+ years building and operating production ML systems.
- Expert-level Python experience, including writing production-grade, testable, and maintainable code.
- Hands-on experience building and deploying APIs using FastAPI (or similar Python web frameworks) in a production environment.
- Solid experience deploying, managing, and scaling services in Kubernetes, including:
- Containerization (Docker)
- Helm or equivalent deployment tooling
- Resource tuning, autoscaling, and failure recovery.
- Proven experience with MLOps practices, including:
- Model deployment and versioning
- Monitoring model performance, drift, and system health.
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:
- Experience with AzureML, DataBricks, and Azure Kubernetes.
- Experience with distributed computing approaches.
- Expertise in ML Ops, for example, model monitoring, drift detection, and event-based model retraining.
- Proven solid technical communication skills.
- Proven ability and drive to learn independently.
- Proven problem-solving and analytical thinking.
- Proven ability to explain technical decisions to stakeholders.
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). The salary for this role will range from $112,700 to $193,200 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.
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Get Access To All JobsTips for Finding H-1B Visa Sponsorship as a ML Software Engineer
Align your credentials to specialty occupation standards
USCIS scrutinizes whether your degree field directly relates to ML engineering. A computer science or statistics degree maps cleanly. A business degree with self-taught ML skills often triggers a Request for Evidence, so document every relevant coursework and certification upfront.
Search LCA filing history before applying
Use Migrate Mate to filter employers by verified H-1B Labor Condition Application filings for ML and software engineering roles. This surfaces companies that have already cleared DOL certification for these positions, not just those with a vague sponsorship policy.
Target cap-exempt employers to skip the lottery
Universities, nonprofit research institutions, and government-affiliated entities are cap-exempt, meaning they can file your H-1B petition any time without entering the annual lottery. ML roles in academic AI labs and federally funded research centers qualify under this path.
Verify prevailing wage tier before negotiating your offer
Run your job title and location through the OFLC Wage Search before salary discussions. Your offered wage must meet at least Level I prevailing wage. Accepting below the certified wage level forces your employer to refile the LCA, delaying your petition.
Confirm your employer's E-Verify enrollment early
If you're on STEM OPT and transitioning to H-1B, your current employer must be E-Verify enrolled for your OPT extension to remain valid. Check enrollment status before your OPT end date, not after cap-gap kicks in.
Request premium processing if your start date is tight
USCIS offers premium processing for H-1B petitions, guaranteeing a decision within 15 business days. For ML roles with offers tied to project kickoffs or fiscal-year headcount, this prevents your start date from slipping past the October 1 cap-subject effective date.
H-1B Visa ML Software Engineer: Frequently Asked Questions
Does an ML Software Engineer role qualify as a specialty occupation for H-1B purposes?
Yes. ML Software Engineer roles consistently qualify as specialty occupations because they require theoretical and applied knowledge in computer science, statistics, or a related technical field at the bachelor's level or higher. USCIS evaluates the actual job duties, not just the title. If your role involves model training, deployment pipelines, or algorithmic research, the specialty occupation standard is typically met. Employers should document the degree requirement explicitly in the petition.
How do I find employers who actively sponsor H-1B visas for ML roles?
The most reliable method is reviewing DOL Labor Condition Application disclosure data, which shows which employers have filed for ML and software engineering positions. Migrate Mate filters this data by occupation so you can identify companies with verified H-1B filing history for roles matching your background, rather than relying on employer self-reporting in job postings.
Can I use my STEM OPT cap-gap to keep working if I'm selected in the H-1B lottery?
Yes, if you're on a valid F-1 STEM OPT extension when your H-1B petition is filed and selected, cap-gap automatically extends your work authorization through September 30 of that year. Your employer must have a timely filed, approved petition pending. If USCIS issues a Request for Evidence, your cap-gap period continues while the response is pending.
What happens to my H-1B if my ML role shifts from software engineering to a research or management track?
A material change in job duties, location, or employer entity requires an amended H-1B petition. Moving from an individual contributor ML engineer role to a pure managerial position can raise specialty occupation concerns if the new duties no longer require a specific technical degree. Your employer should file an amendment before the role change takes effect, not after.
How does the prevailing wage requirement affect H-1B sponsorship for ML Software Engineers?
Your employer must certify through a DOL Labor Condition Application that your offered wage meets or exceeds the prevailing wage for your occupation, level, and geographic area. Prevailing wage is determined using O*NET occupation codes and wage data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics or an employer-submitted private survey. If the certified wage falls below your actual offer, the LCA still controls the minimum floor USCIS expects to see in the petition.