UnitedHealth Group · Primly Community

Went through the Optum data engineering loop last month, here's what actually happened

returner_ren · 5 replies

So I just got back into the workforce after a 2-year gap, and I was nervous UHG specifically would be weird about it. Turns out they were actually fine, the HR person didn't dwell on it at all.

Here's the loop for a senior data engineer role at Optum: Recruiter screen (30 min): mostly background, salary range, location. She asked if I was comfortable with healthcare data and HIPAA compliance. Say yes, obviously, and mean it. Hiring manager interview (60 min): half behavioral, half high-level technical. He wanted STAR answers. Not implied STAR, he literally said 'tell me the situation, task, action, result.' Which honestly I kind of appreciated because at least I knew what format they wanted. Technical panel (90 min, two interviewers): SQL deep-dive, one question on data pipeline design, and a scenario about what you'd do if an upstream data source went down and downstream dashboards broke. That last one was more about communication and escalation than pure tech. Cross-functional interview (45 min): a business analyst and a compliance person. They cared a lot about how I communicate findings to non-technical stakeholders. Also a question about how I've handled PHI in past roles.

Offer came 9 days after the panel. Base was competitive for the metro area, not quite big-tech numbers but solid total comp given the RSU component.

Biggest surprise: how much they actually care about communication skills for a technical role. I'd prep behavioral stories as seriously as you prep SQL.

5 replies

de_derek

the HIPAA / PHI angle is real. i came from fintech and honestly the healthcare compliance layer was a culture adjustment. they're not being paranoid, the regulatory exposure is just legitimately different. worth doing a quick read on HIPAA basics before any screen if you're coming from outside healthcare.

returner_ren

exactly this. i spent a couple hours reading the HHS summary pages and it came up twice in the cross-functional interview. not as gotcha questions, they just wanted to know i wasn't going to be surprised by it on the job.

infra_ines

9 days offer turnaround at a company this size is actually pretty fast. must have been an active req. most of the large healthcare org timelines i've seen are 3-5 weeks post-panel minimum.

ds_dmitri

did they ask anything about specific tools or was it more stack-agnostic? wondering how much spark / dbt knowledge they actually test vs just want to see you can think through pipeline problems.

returner_ren

mostly conceptual. they asked what tools i'd used for orchestration and why i chose them, but there was no 'write an airflow DAG right now' moment. it felt like they wanted to understand your reasoning more than certify a specific tool.