Combinatorial Optimization Jobs in Virginia (NOW HIRING)

Become a part of our caring community Become a part of our caring community and help us put health first. We are looking for a skilled Decision Intelligence Engineer to design, train, and improve the reinforcement learning policy at the heart of Humana's Next Best Action platform. This role is hands‑on and research‑oriented. You will design and evaluate decision‑making algorithms, and instrument training pipelines. Additionally, you will collaborate with data and platform engineers. Furthermore, you will ensure the system operates correctly within the constraints of clinical eligibility rules and program‑specific objectives. The Senior Decision Intelligence Engineer is involved in all stages of software development, including front‑end development, back‑end development, database integrations, network and hosting management, user interface, user experience, and back‑end server management. Begins to influence department’s strategy. Makes decisions on moderately complex to complex issues regarding technical approach for project components, andwork is performed without direction. Exercises considerable latitude in determining objectives and approaches to assignments. Use your skills to make an impact

• 5+ years (post undergraduate level) of software engineering or quantitative research experience building and operating large‑scale production systems, with emphasis on data‑intensive platforms, recommendation systems, optimization engines, or simulation frameworks serving millions of users.
• 2+ years (post graduate level) of software engineering or quantitative research experience building and operating large‑scale production systems, with emphasis on data‑intensive platforms, recommendation systems, optimization engines, or simulation frameworks serving millions of users.
• 2+ years of hands‑on experience implementing reinforcement learning, operations research methods, or simulation‑driven decision systems in production.
• Relevant backgrounds include policy gradient and value‑based RL (PPO, A3C, DQN, CQL), stochastic dynamic programming, discrete‑event simulation, or large‑scale combinatorial or constrained optimization.
• Deep familiarity with Markov Decision Processes, Bellman‑equation‑based value estimation, reward or objective shaping, exploration‑exploitation tradeoffs, and constraint formulation in real‑world decision systems.
• Demonstrated ability to diagnose failure modes in learned or optimized policies: instability, poor credit assignment across long horizons, and distributional shift across large populations.
• Proficiency in Python 3.x; experience with PyTorch or TensorFlow for policy network or learned model implementation.
• Experience with Ray RLlib or equivalent distributed computation frameworks for large‑scale training or optimization.
• Experience with Databricks, PySpark, and Delta Lake for large‑scale ML or data pipelines processing tens of millions of records.
• Experience with MLflow for experiment tracking, model registry, and artifact management.
• Experience with shipping systems that operate reliably under production load, not just research or prototype work.

• Experience with multi‑agent RL frameworks (PettingZoo or equivalent) or multi‑agent simulation and coordination methods.
• Familiarity with operations research methods applicable to constrained sequential decisioning: linear programming, mixed‑integer programming, Lagrangian relaxation, or constraint programming.
• Experience operating decision or optimization systems in regulated domains (healthcare, finance, or insurance) where member safety, auditability, and explainability are requirements.
• Experience building simulation environments using Gymnasium, SimPy, AnyLogic, or equivalent frameworks for policy evaluation and backtesting.
• Familiarity with event‑driven feedback loops and how disposition signals feed retraining or re‑optimization pipelines.
• OpenTelemetry instrumentation experience for ML or optimization pipeline observability.

• Remote/Hybrid - Preferably Boston, MA.
• Occasional travel to Humana's Tech Hubs for training or meetings may be required.
• Work Hours: Typical business hours are Monday‑Friday, 8 hours/day, 5 days/week-- some flexibility might be possible, depending on business needs.
• Very minimal travel might be required for training, meetings, and/or conferences.
• Work at Home Requirements WAH requirements: Must have the ability to provide a high‑speed DSL or cable modem for a home office. Associates or contractors who live and work from home in the state of California will be provided with payment for their internet expense. A minimum standard speed for optimal performance of 25x10 (25mpbs download x 10mpbs upload) is required. Satellite and Wireless Internet service is NOT allowed for this role. A dedicated space lacking ongoing interruptions to protect member PHI / HIPAA information.

The compensation range below reflects a good faith estimate of starting base pay for full time (40 hours per week) employment at the time of posting. The pay range may be higher or lower based on geographic location and individual pay will vary based on demonstrated job related skills, knowledge, experience, education, certifications, etc. $106,900 - $147,000 per year This job is eligible for a bonus incentive plan. This incentive opportunity is based upon company and/or individual performance.

• Humana, Inc. and its affiliated subsidiaries (collectively, “Humana”) offers competitive benefits that support whole‑person well‑being.
• Associate benefits are designed to encourage personal wellness and smart healthcare decisions for you and your family while also knowing your life extends outside of work.
• Among our benefits, Humana provides medical, dental and vision benefits, 401(k) retirement savings plan, time off (including paid time off, company and personal holidays, paid parental and caregiver leave), short‑term and long‑term disability, life insurance and many other opportunities.

It is the policy of Humana not to discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, marital status, genetic information, disability or protected veteran status. It is also the policy of Humana to take affirmative action, in compliance with Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act and VEVRAA, to employ and to advance in employment individuals with disability or protected veteran status, and to base all employment decisions only on valid job requirements. This policy shall apply to all employment actions, including but not limited to recruitment, hiring, upgrading, promotion, transfer, demotion, layoff, recall, termination, rates of pay or other forms of compensation and selection for training, including apprenticeship, at all levels of employment.

About Humana: Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM) is a leading U.S. healthcare company. Through our Humana insurance services and our CenterWell healthcare services, we make it easier for the millions of people we serve to achieve their best health – delivering the care and service they need, when they need it. These efforts are leading to a better quality of life for people with Medicare and Medicaid, families, individuals, military service personnel, and communities at large. Learn more about what we offer atHumana.comand atCenterWell.com.

Application Deadline: 09-27-2026