Associate Director, Talent Acquisition AI ML and Emerging Tech - Remote

Primary Responsibilities

• Own talent strategy for AI/ML, data science, and emerging technology roles
• Stay ahead of evolving market trends, skill adjacencies, and newly emerging roles in the AI landscape
• Translate market intelligence into actionable hiring strategies (build vs. buy, location strategy, talent pools)
• Serve as the go-to leader for insights on AI/ML talent-skills evolution, compensation trends, competitor landscape
• Continuously assess how roles are shifting (e.g., FDEs, applied AI engineers, GenAI specialists) and guide the business accordingly
• Partner with analytics and workforce planning to bring data-driven recommendations to leadership
• Pipeline Strategy for Competitive Talent
• Design and execute innovative sourcing and attraction strategies to engage highly competitive AI/ML talent
• Build proactive pipelines for critical roles rather than relying on reactive hiring
• Partner with talent marketing, events, and sourcing teams to position Optum as an employer of choice in AI/ML
• Forward-Looking Role Design
• Anticipate new and emerging roles as the AI/ML market continues to evolve
• Partner with business leaders and PBPs to define, scope, and create roles that may not yet be fully standardized
• Ensure job descriptions, leveling, and hiring approaches reflect modern skill requirements-not legacy profiles
• Talent Delivery & Execution
• Own hiring outcomes across aligned business segments, including quality, speed, and candidate experience
• Drive accountability to metrics (time to fill, acceptance rate, diversity mix, candidate NPS)
• Team Leadership
• Lead and develop a team of recruiters aligned to AI/ML hiring
• Set clear expectations around performance, execution rigor, and stakeholder engagement
• Coach team on advanced recruiting strategies for niche and technical talent
• Maintain dotted-line responsibility for AI/ML hiring across Optum Insight, ensuring alignment and consistency across teams and leaders
• Business Partnership
• Partner with senior leaders and PBPs to align hiring priorities with business strategy and product roadmaps
• Influence decisions on role design, hiring location, and talent strategy
• Act as escalation point for complex or hard-to-fill roles
• Global Alignment & Collaboration
• Partner closely with Global TA teams to ensure alignment on AI/ML talent profiles, hiring strategies, and market approaches across all countries
• Share market insights and best practices to drive consistency and scale globally
• Ensure global pipelines and strategies are coordinated for high-demand talent segments
• Operational Excellence
• Identify and remove bottlenecks in the hiring lifecycle for specialized roles
• Drive consistency in intake, calibration, and assessment practices for technical talent
• Ensure compliance with organizational and regulatory requirements

Required Qualifications

• Experience leading Talent Acquisition for technical or specialized hiring (AI/ML, engineering, data)
• Experience leveraging recruiting analytics and market intelligence tools
• Solid understanding of current AI/ML talent landscape and skill evolution
• Proven ability to influence senior stakeholders and translate market insights into hiring strategy

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience supporting emerging tech domains (GenAI, Forward Deployed Engineers, AI product roles)
• Background working in complex, matrixed, or global TA delivery models