Software Engineering Lead - Python

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 Responsibility:

• 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:

• Bachelors degree
• Python, Django, DRF: 5+ years building production-grade REST APIs
• Node.js + Next.js: hands-on experience consuming REST APIs in a decoupled setup (SSR/SSG fundamentals)
• PostgreSQL: schema design, indexing, query optimization, migrations (Alembic is a plus if used outside Django)
• Decoupled Architecture: clear understanding of API-first systems, client-server separation, CORS, auth, and caching
• Design & Patterns: SOLID, DRY, clean architecture, dependency inversion, DTOs/serializers, repository patterns when appropriate
• Web Security: authN/authZ, OWASP Top 10, input validation, secrets management, TLS, and secure headers
• Testing & Quality: pytest/unittest, DRF test client, snapshot/contract tests, linting (flake8/ruff), type hints (mypy/pyright)
• Delivery: Git, feature branching, code reviews, CI pipelines, containerization (Docker), environment configs (12 factor)

Preferred Qualifications:

• Async Python (FastAPI/async DRF patterns), Celery/RQ for background jobs, WebSockets
• Caching & Queues: Redis, message brokers (RabbitMQ/Kafka)
• API Gateways & WAF: NGINX/Ingress, rate limits, IP allow/deny, request size limits
• Cloud & DevOps: Azure/AWS/GCP services, Kubernetes, IaC basics (Terraform), secrets vaults
• Observability: OpenTelemetry, Prometheus/Grafana, Sentry
• Data: basic data modeling, denormalization trade-offs, read replicas, CDC/ETL awareness